RON Goldthorpe has put his Christmas tree up early this year - to help him cope with the death of his wife.
Sheila Goldthorpe died suddenly last month, leaving Ron, of Highstone Road, Ward Green, and her daughters Carole Wells, Tracy Mills and Lisa Hamer heartbroken.
To try and lift his spirits, and in a special nod to his late wife, Ron, 71, has decided to trim up early with the help of granddaughter Alisha Hamer, 11.
“Me and Sheila normally put the tree up at the end of November but my mind will not settle so I thought I would put it up now,” said Ron, who met Sheila in 1992 through the Chronicle’s lonely hearts column, marrying three years later.
“When I sit and look at the tree, I’m thinking about Sheila. All them lights are shining for her.”
Read more in this week's Barnsley Chronicle, dated November 13
