Richard Fletcher

Research Associate, Car enthusiast and follower of local history.

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@LUDENClassics P38 👌

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@AutoInfatuation 18s look old money class, much more tasteful. These with a nice 3x3 plate will have more presence than a footballer spec one worth 10x more.

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@YesterdaysBrit1 Ah yes.
You forgot the 2 lady customers with their hair in rollers discussing what had happened at number 24 last night in hushed voices .

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@DibsYard @YesterdaysBrit1 I'm guessing a big Toyota or Datsun of the age?

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@MattTakeThree Volvo seats are bliss. Also full fat range rover.
Sold my d-max, never had a car that gave me such bad back ache.

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@Farmer_Boycie I'll be honest, it's a decision that still haunts me after 10 years. The look in their eyes is crushing.

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@MrJamesMay Class.

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@HagertyUK Senator. Ta.

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@YesterdaysBrit1 Riverhead shopping precinct, Grimsby. Later covered over to become Freshney Place.

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@AutoInfatuation *Vectra *

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@AutoInfatuation I love cars from this period (Insignia for me) but they are ~20 years old now, and not being premium, most will not have had the best of care. I wonder if this boat has passed?

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@GyHistoryClub Late 70s ?

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@timpitt100 TBH I think I'd rather have half the power and twice the elegance?

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@GeorgeCochrane1 Silver polo looks so modern in comparison to everything else!

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@WilkiWheels Old money class. Helped by the plate 👌

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

*One month before her 95th birthday, Patricia Routledge wrote something that still gently echoes:*

**“I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. In my younger years, I was often filled with worry — worry that I wasn’t quite good enough, that no one would cast me again, that I wouldn’t live up to my mother’s hopes. But these days begin in peace, and end in gratitude.”**

My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.

At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.

At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.

At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.

At 80, I took up watercolor painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.

Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.

**I’m writing this to tell you something simple:**

**Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter — if you let yourself bloom again.**

Let these years ahead be your *treasure years*.

You don’t need to be famous. You don’t need to be flawless.

You only need to show up — fully — for the life that is still yours.

*With love and gentleness,*

— Patricia Routledge

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@GyHistoryClub Love the one of Riby St.

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@CarsCurious Is this guy your brother?🤣

[Richard Fletcher @Richardalan33]

@Premierseafoods Simple Campari and soda for me.