Astonishingly, on 5th October, I accrued a half century of years on the planet and perhaps even more incredibly, despite the ensuing alcoholic celebrations, I've yet to be thrown off it or even asked to leave!
Therefore, it seems like a good time for a family update.
It's hard to believe that it's now over 38 years since while on a day trip from Fleetwood, I dragged my Granddad around the Manx estate agents and we discovered and then viewed The Welbeck.
And we're still here!
My mother, Hilda still does the gardening around the Hotel but has retired from the business as such and she is very active in what seems like a hundred different clubs, plays canasta on Saturday, paints on a Wednesday, displaying incredible acting prowess, assumes the role of a 'Confused Old Lady' during Civil Defence emergency practices, joins her friends on their UK coach trips and still finds time for a couple of cruises every 12 months or so. I thought my life was hard work!
My sister, Christine whom I featured last year isn't working here currently and now we have none of her branch of the family on our current staff, though her sons, Alistair and latterly Alex have both done their bit in the Hotel.
If it's been a landmark 2015 for me, it's even more so for number one son, Matthew, who after leaving The Welbeck and all his other jobs in May 2008, has finally managed to attain permanent residency in Australia with his beautiful girlfriend, Gayle, as well eventually managing to break into computer programming which has been his ambition since before he could talk.
He too has a big birthday coming up as he turns 30 next month, so of course, he did what any upstanding, mature pillar of society would do and dyed his hair green.
Unfortunately, due to work commitments, not to mention having a 10 month old son, Elizabeth who ceased to be in our employ after TT 2006, could not make it over for my big bash, so earlier this week, we headed over to Stockport to visit her and her husband Rodders instead.
For Irene, it certainly has not been a great year with the loss of both her brother, Anthony and her mother, Irene whom some of you may remember from her time living at the Hotel.
Although currently injured, she remains the only athlete in the family, following my retirement. No pressure then! Here's one from a few weeks ago when Lucy was a baby.
Everyone misses Lucy from the Welbeck, although she still does come and help us out whenever she's available. We were obviously disappointed to lose her but it's much better for her and Harry now that she has a more conventional position with evenings and weekends off.
Our final full time family member, besides Irene and me of course, is Terence and he is off travelling to Australia and Asia come December accompanied by Lenny Musker with whom he first went to school back in the first year of the new millennium.
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