..BACK IN UK.WORKING AND ---.Shades of the Hanrattys and latter days...... ( The Hanrattys misappropriated the McNally inheritance in Ireland..???????????..My grandmother Mary McNally's family lost out the inheritance of her father Michael and uncles to the in-laws the Hanratty's who misappropriated the inheritance and squandered it on alcohol and wastage).This was backed up by old Mr Hoey in the village...much later when I visited.
Mike
and I, arrived back, in London were, we stayed on the Mile End Road, in the
East End. We went to work for Collier's
but soon moved up to Liverpool, where we could stay with my mother and other
sister, Maureen, and brother Paul. My
family was happy to see me, for I had been away for about eight years. My mother was especially happy and we got on famously especially without all the problems, from before I went away; It was a second chance so to speak. This was an opportunity I probably wouldn't
have had if I had gone straight back to Australia. I got to visit Esha and all the
family, and I climbed the fell and stayed on the farm, for the last time. My grandparents had died whilst I was in
Australia unfortunately. They had been business people since before the war and my Nanny ran pubs and my grandfather was a foremen shipwright. They retired with investments and properties, which an uncle of mine, Father Ted, was managing. The Uncle,a Catholic Priest, was made the executor of the will....but he sold property he
wasn’t supposed to and did not properly pay anybody out on the will, or so his siblings claimed!!!...see Note 1. below.
Nobody knew where my father was
so I didn't see him, although I did call up my cousins in Wallasey. I didn't visit the priest Father Evans, who was involved in
my early disasters either, although I told my mother to tell him I had left the
church and come and beat me up if he could, as she still was visiting him. That was the threat that had been made to me many years before at the
"have to get married meeting".
My mother said she told him and he just laughed, of course he did.
Mike and I were keeping sales deposits and drinking a little on occasion. One time Peter King I think his name was, came around when I was lying on the floor farting...so not really in a position to accept guests.. He wanted to know about my sister Therese, who he was sweet on and he said he bought her a dress...I shook his hand but didn't get up from the floor or stop farting..Just as I shook his hand I let out a long colonic fart like an officer's horse. I think I remember him from when I was younger, we probably thought they were wimpy..His impression of me was probably not good, but I never worried about what people thought of me...I had only met Therese at the airport anyway, when the Canadians were putting Mike and I on to a plane to the UK. If we had been anything but British, we could have got welfare payments, accommodations and even loans to study for trades and such.. or I could have forced a hearing as I was legal resident, when I landed in 1968.
When we were short of money, my brother in law's father, Luke Hogan used to help us out with a few pounds here and there and I appreciated it immensely, and never forgot it. My brother and law, Phil and myself and Mike got on well and sank many a pint together, often.
My sister's welcome ran out soon and so much so that Mike said..'your sister is a shit tell your Mum we are going back down to London where we have accommodation'. As it was still my mother's house I relayed this to her and she told us not to go.....I had never noticed my sister's attitude before this. Although my mother running around saying that Anthony was so clever and then not entering my sisters for the 11+ and GCE as she didn't think they could pass them didn't help me. Can't say I agreed with that as I was the only boy in my class to pass the 11+ that year as the rest were girls.
Anyway and I Mike set up a sales office
in the Philharmonic Hotel in Liverpool and we did very well. Too well in fact for our office was the top
in a few weeks. We were even
entertaining the idea of staying in England, for a season and setting up. So it seems that I was becoming a bit wary of
returning to Australia. I had not decided whether to work in Sydney or Melbourne, at this time anyway. This was
considering the circumstances of my separation from the family. I obviously wasn't sure that I should return
but my children were there and my mother and sister were exhorting me to
reconcile. This of course was mainly a Catholic thing. I also knew that Rosetta had a boyfriend and I
wasn't sure at all what was happening. My sister told me that Goeff Berry, who she had been out with, told her something about Rosetta....but that was all that was said and I never did find out what he said,( he probably knew about her mental condition and had a longer history than I did).
However the manager in London closed us
down and stole some of our staff, he even sent an old associate, McClaren from Australia,
to pick up our kits. Whilst we were
there another old associate, Graham Hitch, got a job with Robert Maxwell's
International Learning Systems. He also came up for a visit and offered Mike a
deal in Australia. I thought this would
be good, for it would get me back as well. For, there was nothing happening, in
Liverpool, except a future on the dole, or small wages. So it was a few weeks experiment. In the end Caxton/ILSC
paid my fare to Australia, and gave me a job there also, but it was available in Sydney, not Melbourne. So off I went to London and back to Sydney,
to work for Sir Robert Maxwell, ILSC.
Prior to this I had stopped drinking to try and get myself in order for my return to Australia and a possible reconciliation with the family..My mother and sister, with their religious background and need to 'organise', were pushing me very hard on this path but they didn't really know the circumstances.However there was an ulterior motive as Phil had decided to go back to Australia, and needed a place to go with his family and a place for my mother a few months later, see chapter 6, and I had my doubts about the success of it, knowing what I knew from our previous relationship, and Rosetta's affairs, boyfriend and such. And that in fact we had been separated for about two years already, which had been initiated by Rosetta herself, by saying she was not coming to Canada. However I did want to see the kids again as I missed them, and Mike went and visited them in Sydney when he got back. So both Rosetta and I made the fatal mistake of deciding on an attempted reconciliation for the kid's sake really.Also she had some serious mental problems of some kind.
Note 1.
The last time I visited there my cousin John tried to get me to go up and see the Penellums, and apparently they were pushing for him to bring me up to the Lake District. I refused to go because of the fact they never told Eilish she was dying so depriving my mother and uncle Mick from paying her a last visit....On the Monday John called and said he was ready to go to the Lakes and was I ready; I said no I have told you that I am not going up there for the reasons I had given.
(The last visit I had paid up there a few years before Uncle Greg had indirectly given me a veiled threat, using his son Greg.I had no idea what they were talking about and Eilish was still alive...They must have had a guilty conscience about something.)....
I visited my Uncle Mick who asked me why I wouldn't go to the Penellums. He then said that he was very angry also and was only given a visit on the day she was a dying,,,He then went on and complained to me about the missing property, a missing valuable ring, in the more than tens of thousands in value, and said that only R. Penellum would know as she was the executor along with Greg. So I went and did something about it...as monies paid to the siblings was a pittance..I never thought much about it at the time but when I found out later the properties were worth over 100,000-200,000 ++ pounds each and there were four or five of them, I started enquiries...
I got hold of the wills 43 years later, from the government office in York, when I first found out about it all, one was an unlikely intestate? of even more unlikely amount of 600 pounds, 400 net only, made out to him.Where the rest went under his management I suppose we'll never know. His own will showed an amount of no more than 125K, or less than 40K,which in the 1990s was substantial for somebody not on a regular salary, and that didn't include pre-will disbursements, such as debt forgiveness, and charitable donations.) He did help out my Aunt up in the hills,for many years,with some of the estate money no doubt. I used to remember everybody waiting for his monthly visit. A good thing to do but it wasn't his money and apparently there is no evidence of it being returned to the siblings or estate. Also nobody in the family had challenged 'The Holy Priest', apparently, and I was overseas and didn't find out about it until years later, so perhaps only the executors of his will would have any idea what happened if anything.
Note 1.Only the Penellums, who were the trustees and executors of his estate and its credits and debits would know the real facts. Which years of debts were forgiven against the estate, monies expended and gifts: If there was in fact anything left. My late Uncle Mick was the person who informed me of the discrepancies. He said the only person would know would be The Penellum girl.....Marie? and he said no the other one....I said oh Rosaleen and he said yes her and Greg..Mick told me that the cottage, which is worth 100-200K pounds ,in todays money, was supposed not to be sold and only used for the family, but this never happened and nobody really knew what happened to the four cottages. Mick said a few pounds were handed out at one stage but it was no where near enough . I am not sure why he told me all this as I have been away all my life and was in ignorance of it all...I told him later that I was going to dig into it all as money was owed to my mother as well...Which Paul and I decided the greater part should go to our sister, in consultation with our other sister, who was looking after our mother. When I acted on what I was told and got copies of wills etc, everybody denied it and blamed me for digging up crap.........shoot the messenger....and refused to take any responsibility...Anybody who has insurance on a business or runs a franchise is normally required to have a will...to protect the holder, in this case at least Hartley's Brewery and others. One other cousin also said that he thought that if there was anything left the Penums would have benefited. The problem is we don't know!!!!!!!!!!!They should have informed all beneficiaries of the accounting and the books of the accountant if there was one.This was not done.....as far as I was told and the pittance they received was an insult questioned by all the beneficiaries.
The other problem I had with the Penellums is that they did not tell my Aunt Eilish, their own very intelligent mother, she was dying of bone cancer and so deprived my mother and uncles for paying a last visit when she was alive.......Being invited to a funeral of catholic crap was no substitute......such arrogance and ego to think they can manipulate people's lives for their own ends........My mother was living in Australia so travel was not instant and Eilish could have come out for a holiday in the sun, as my mother Marie wanted her to.........This kind of manipulation carries horrendous karma. My mother was so hurt she did not even go to the funeral .......I hope this not telling her about her dying had nothing to do with Uncle Ted's money................I spent some months living with her that year so I know first hand the damage done to her,,,Also it is strange for raving Catholics not to have told Eilish she had a terminal illness for Catholics are supposed to prepare themselves for death and get everything in order and have last rites etc..She died suddenly and had no time for real consciousness for the extreme unction or last rites.............or to get her financial affairs in order....Marie also gave two different stories about why my mother and siblings were not told..so I knew there was a real problem, as I already knew the truth.( Paul and I had an email conversation with her with me asking questions and Paul asking Marie).
Nobody in the family would back me up .... cousins and all...Obviously Uncle Mick picked his mark with me as he knew I would act in the face of injustice .Even though I am not a beneficiary and cannot benefit from it...and do not wish to.......Apparently at this time there is not much I can do...but ask the questions...
On my visit in the early 90s Father Ted was looking at the stock market on the TV when i first walked in the house...He said to me...'Do you know what that is? I said-' yes the stock market.'.I don't know whether it was a red herring or not, to show me how he made money or how he lost money...I don't know but it looked staged for me to walk in the door....Another point was Nanny and Grandad stayed with their children in turn and Ted got the old age pension and never passed any of the money on for board etc...May be Fr Ted lost a lot on the stock market...and the rest was administered by the Penellums.
I AM NOT ACCUSING ANYBODY OF ANYTHING BUT THERE HAS BEEN NO DISCLOSURES..OR TRANSPARENCY.WHICH LEAVES EVERYTHING OPEN TO CONJECTURE AND SUSPICION.....I HOPE I AM WRONG........
ALSO NANNY AND GRANDAD RETIRED INTO A COTTAGE WITHOUT A BATHROOM, WHERE DID ALL THEIR BUSINESS MONEY GO TO FROM THEIR LIVES???????? IF NANNYS MONEY WENT TO SUPPORT THE PENELLUMS AS THE FARM WAS FAILING IN FACT HAD MOSTLY FAILED, THEN IT SHOULD BE ACCOUNTED WITH A DISCLOSURE AT LEAST.....AND PERHAPS LOANS REPAID TO THE ESTATE FROM THE RICHER AND MORE SUCCESSFUL MEMBERS..I THOUGHT GREG WAS INCREDIBLY LAZY BUT I LATER DECIDED HE HAD PTSD TO COMPOUND HIS ALREADLY LACKS ADAISICAL STYLE --HE JUST COULD NOT COPE AT ALL....AS I HAVE ALREADY SAID I WOULD NOT BENEFIT FROM ANY OF THIS...T