Ending the year on a high -- Mummy Barrow

Like so many blog posts I write the post you are reading is not the one I planned. Today’s post was going to be a look back at the year to see just what BB Towers had been up to. Holding the FA Cup in our lounge (no you shut up, we so did) / a trip to Tanzania / Mr B putting up with me saying “we are doing this next weekend” and doing all the driving without complaining / C moving house and showing her ex landlord that her and her boyfriend would not be bullied / J doing his A levels and starting his first job / E getting a scholarship / Team Honk raising over £30,000 for Comic Relief. I could go on. There are so many moments that I can look back on and say “I am proud of that”.

But screeching in at the last minute this year is something that makes me incredibly proud. It started as a secret divulged just ahead of official announcement. Another #SecretThing but this time involving Mr Barrow Sr, or Hopalong as you may have seen in the comments on this blog. James Barrow Esq was to receive a British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours list and become James Barrow BEM. Awarded for services to hockey over the past sixty odd years, and in particular for helping turn around Wilmslow Hockey Club into a club to be reckoned with.

Both my inlaws, work tirelessly for various charities and helping other people and for Jim to be recognised in this way is so lovely. I know these sorts of awards don’t mean anything to some people but to those that have been nominated by their peers and had those efforts recognised it is a heart warming moment. And one to be cherished and acknowledged.

I noticed as I went to bed last night that there was a link to the full listing of awards on the Guardian on Twitter so I clicked on the link and found the official proof, knowing it was then safe to tell the world:

I remember vividly having a conversation with Rog (Mr B’s older brother who sadly died a few years ago) about how we should look into getting a nomination in and I also remember Googling how to do it. Then, like so many things, we didn’t do anything about it, other things happened and then, well, it didn’t happen. Yet actually it did, just instigated by somebody else having the same thought. Other members of the Hockey Club made it happen and I like to think that maybe Rog is thinking “about bloody time”.