Chapter 21
Divorce
While I had been losing my job, my business, my income and most of my life’s work I had been busy looking the other way and kept busy with my community work. Whether or not I could have made any difference to the collapse of my company had I not been involved in the community will remain forever unknown. Given the long term total dissolution of Coventry’s once famous car industry, the demise of C.W.Walker was probably inevitable. Nearing sixty years of age I was in no mood or condition to fight.
For the past 16 years Fay and I had lived our own lives. We ate together and went out together regularly and learned to tolerate and even to be polite to each other, but we were never lovers again. She spent much of her time in front of the television and I spent much in front of my computer.
I had had a brief encounter shortly after the fight over the Road Scheme and it made me determined to settle my marital problems. Fay had taken to going on holiday with her friends for two weeks each January and in 2000 I decided I had had enough. When she returned I sat with her and talked and we rapidly agreed to divorce despite having been together for forty one years.
Most of our friends thought we were mad but we were prepared to face the reality. We both consulted solicitors. Mine eventually charged me a total of around £400 and our financial adviser set out a financial settlement based upon an equal division of all our wealth. Fay consulted a solicitor who gave her some quite offensive advice and wanted her to pay several thousand pounds up front. Good sense prevailed and Fay eventually received half of our joint estate without any cost to her at all. The total costs of our divorce were much under £1000.
I bought a small house near to my factory that I had looked at when it was first built sixteen years before when I was going out with Jane. This time I bought it and have made many improvements to turn a basic house into a very comfortable home.
Fay bought a nice ground floor flat in Allesley and has settled in quite well there. Two of our old friends live just around the corner and help her when necessary. I still take her shopping regularly as she does not drive and I help her occasionally with “man” type problems such as plumbing and electricity.
We meet occasionally with our children and grandchildren and have a perfectly good relationship. We even go out for dinner occasionally with our six old friends. Eight of us have been eating out together about four times a year since 1980. We have all known each other since our teens, several of us since primary school. Between the eight of us we have mutual friendships totalling around 3000 years.
I maintain a good relationship with Fay and sometimes refer to her as my wife. She never did me any harm and I bear her no ill-feelings. The trauma that caused me so much pain has now been exorcised and I am sure that had we not had that trauma we would now be like Derby and Joan. It was not to be.