My beautiful Byron,

I am assuming you are as beautiful as the last time I saw you, although it has been many years, I feel certain your beautiful ways are not impacted by this passage of time. Certainly my confidence in that is certain.

This Thursday finds me in an outdoor cafe, working on the final touches of a book I have been compiling for the past Months. Its about endemic system corruption, in this climate here where endemic systemic racism is very much to the fore as we see the racist religious right create chaos in what seems to be an unchecked race to win the stupid prize.

In part, I have written it in a way that you will understand, as a history lesson that is also relevant to our times. I miss being a part of your education and this is one small way I can share stuff with you. It has a few stories from the war and from my trips to Greece when I was ten and saw lots of WW2 battle sites that were still around at that time. (In 1971.)

Do you know – and this is quite funny – when you were 6 months old – I carried you on a baby shoulder wrap, facing forwards, around many of the Normandy landing locations. And famous battle sites from June 1944, after D Day. You have even been to Omaha Beach, where many Americans made land under extreme gunfire, and inside the remaining concrete casements of the German gun emplacements at Pointe du Hoc, where the Americans climbed a cliff while the Germans fired down at them.

James Rudder was the Commander there on 6 June, 1944, when Army Rangers stormed the beach at Pointe du Hoc, scaling 100-foot (30-meter) cliffs under enemy fire to reach and destroy a German gun battery. More than half of the US soldiers who climbed there were hit by German gunfire. Rudder himself was wounded twice during the course of the fighting. But they kept going until they got to the top.

At six months old, you actually looked down over that cliff at where the Americans made land. It was a lovely sunny day. You absolutely loved being there. In fact you spent four days visiting many of the most famous locations from the landings in Normandy after D Day. I have many photos and will look them up soon to post for you.

I read your school report from last week and it occurred to me you will be quite good at History and Geography just from the travels and sights we saw together.

Miss you,
love you,
Daddy

LETTERS TO BYRON in chronological order:

The first of the LETTERS TO BYRON:  The PILOT
2nd GRAHAM COY
3rd:  TOM AMLOT
4th:  Thanksgiving day
5th: MICHELLE O’LEARY. The switch Judge
6th : Raining in California
7th: Music
8th: December Rain
9th: Brexit and Greek war
10th: Winnie the Poo
11th: December kayaking
12th: Family law and Mark Zetin
13th: Xmas day 2018
14th: Maria and Anna
15th: New years eve 2018
16th: Your first smile
17th: Your Uncle GEORGE
18th: The Mighty PACIFIC
19th: WEBSTER and Summer HOLIDAY 2019
20th: Breach of Privacy offense
21st: MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY
22nd: Philotimia
23rd: A short note
24th: MUSIC and KINDNESS
25th: Robin Hood
26th: SRA ethical code
27th: NINE YEARS LATER
28th: Valentines day
29th: EVZONES
30th: Rushing
31st: Quick Note
32nd: Johannesburg 2019
33rd: Still in Johannesburg
34th: More Johannesburg
35th: Last Johannesburg for now
36th: Traveling. Upgrade
37th: Spring
38th: Whales
39th: MEXICO
40th: CABO ST LUCAS
41st: 1 April. Wallace’s Birthday
42nd: SANTA BARBARA
43rd: Short letter
44th: PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
45th: KIRA visits
46th: Goodbye uncle Lazaros
47th: Easter Monday
48th: OJAI Tennis
49th: Short letter
50th: PARENTAL ALIENATION FACTS
51st: Cartagena memory
52nd: NEW RECORD
53rd: Last letter to 9 yo
54th: First letter to 10 yo
55th: D Day – 75 years
56th: LA QUINTA
57th: MASON GRADUATES
58th: DESIDERATA
59th: EARTHQUAKE
60th:  Chris and Golf
61st: Chris visits Byron in London
62nd: SUMMERTIME
63rd: PHYLLIS’ LETTER TO BYRON
64th: GUN CRAZY AMERICANS
65th: MISS YOU
66th: SCRUFFY
67th: Mason leaves for college
68th: ART
69th: Day after 911
70th: PAPOU. CALLING CHRIS
71st: Two Women
72nd: ANOTHER YEAR
73rd: PLANNING CALIFORNIA VISIT 2019
74th: KAYAKING WITH DOLPHINS
75th: M and M
76th: HALLOWEEN 2019
77th FINGER EXERCISE
78th: First late letter
89th: MIAMI
90th: Thanksgiving and the SRA
91st: Dentist
92nd: EDUCATION
93rd: Almost Xmas
94th: Boxing day 2019
95th: 2nd January 2020
96th: 9 January 2020. Liars and Thieves
97th: 16 January. Thursday
98th: 23 Jan. Mystery Thursday visit99th: 30 Jan. Months end
100th: 6 February. 2020. Summer Holiday101st: 13 February. 2020. Family Law
102nd: 20 February. Dogs
103rd: 27 February. The elderly in the desert
104th: 5 March. James Munbys’ talk on family law. And unilateral judgments
105th:  26 March covid19-what-else
106th: 2nd April. British Family law
107th. 9th April. Good news about Covid
108th: 15 April. 2020. Covid Tzar. A good pair of hands
109th:  23 April: Distance Learning
110th: 30 April. A video Letter. Byron Sundays
111th:  7 May. VE Day
112th:  14th May. History Lesson
113th:  21 May. A family birthday
114th: 28th May. Happy Birthday
155th: 4th June. Riots
156th: 11th June. Guessing
157th: 18th June. More Covid
158th:  25th June. Business open from Lockdown
159th: 2nd July. Writing and Cleaning
160th: 9th July. Six years after Scotland
161st: 23 July. Masked Lockdown
162nd: 30 July. Maybe next year?