Gordon Wilson and his wife Joan, brave and generous parents of Joan, fatally injured in Enniskillen
Gordon Wilson and his wife Joan, brave and generous parents of Joan, fatally injured in Enniskillen

Boxing Day – Starting the day with my Mum and dad, Mum playing scrabble with Debbie and Dad and I chatting and then a cold Turkey salad and Christmas pudding lunch after which they left and we travelled to Bar Hill for the Jackson family gathering. The UDA president’s funeral passed of peacefully today and Gordon Wilson, the father of the Enniskillen victim, nurse Marie,  was ‘greatly moved and humbled’ by being mentioned and endorsed in Her Majesty’s plea for an end to such violence to bring peace to Ulster but the year is ending with more violence in Israel and The Gulf and trouble on the financial markets for Japan and the US. Extreme weather in the USA leads to snowstorms and floods, with 10 ins + of rain in Tennessee, in snow flurried for the first time in 20 years in California’s San Diego.

Slept well enough and actually made the breakfast table this morning in time to join the family. We had all had a good night and soon Dad joined us for a couple of slices of toast and then took a tray of tea up to Mum. They had survived two nights together in the same double bed, despite Mum’s disability and were still comfortable. We may well have started something there! This morning, I lit the fire again and then Daniel and Debbie played a long game of Scrabble with Mum in the dining room, whilst Dad and I sat in the lounge and had a chat. Then the rest joined us to open the last of the Christmas tree presents, whilst Di laid up the dining room table for lunch. A nice meal of cold turkey salad, with Christmas pudding and cream to follow. Then, some Chinese table fireworks to complete our Christmas celebration, which the children thoroughly enjoyed. After, we waved goodbye to Mum and Dad, who had stayed with us for the first time since my Mum’s injury. We then fed the ducks and doves, gathered up another collection of presents, and all set off in the Range Rover to visit Di’s family in Bar Hill. An easy journey, on quiet roads, and then a pleasant visit.

There was Di’s Mother and Father, brother Charles with his wife Chrisula and daughters. We chatted, ate, exchanged presents etc. Both of these families are planning a house move early in the new year, but neither have exchanged contracts yet. Daniel enjoyed chatting to Charlie junior about videos and compact disks and the children played reasonably, if excitably, together. Home in time to watch the first TV appearance of the ‘Ghostbusters’ feature film, which Daniel videotaped in HiFi sound. Today was a bit chillier, with the odd shower and a cool breeze making the day feel a lot less comfortable. The news this Boxing Day is of rising concern over the involvement of the Royal Navy in the Gulf war. The Labour Party has organised its opposition to government involvement, now that British frigates in the Armilla Patrol also seem to be accompanying international ships. Saudi Arabian tankers now tag along to the convoy and a British Naval helicopter rescuing crewmen from a foreign ship damaged in action.  There was the funeral today of John McMichael, the UDA President, and it passed off peacefully and without incident or accompaniment by paramilitary display. A lone piper preceded the funeral procession through Lisburn and played ‘Abide With Me’. Following the Queen’s praise of the dignity, tolerance and forgiveness of Enniskillen victim’s father, Gordon Wilson, he has said that his family were ‘greatly moved and humbled’ by being mentioned and endorsed her plea for an end to such violence to bring peace to Ulster. More trouble in Israel and its occupied territories, as Israeli spokesmen claimed to have intercepted three Palestinian fighters dressed in Israeli uniforms. In Spain, four American sailors were hurt in a grenade attack in a bar known for their patronage. Another big fall on the Tokyo stock exchange today, as the main share index goes down 587.50, a drop of over 2 ½ %. The $ also falls by more than 2c. This is the last day’s trading before a 1 week close over the new year. As the US authorities allow the dollar to fall, there is a discordant note from ex-Federal Reserve Chairman, Paul Volker, who talks of the need ‘to correct some imbalances in the domestic economy’ and plays down the fall of the dollar as a ‘cure all’. All signs are for more trouble after Christmas. Extreme weather in the USA leads to snowstorms and floods, with 10 ins + of rain in Tennessee, in snow flurried for the first time in 20 years in California’s San Diego.