Vanessa remembered the separation in snapshots too. She remembered her brother winning a goldfish. She said it was a nice trip away. Her mother had been like any other mum taking her children away on holiday. In contrast to Jeremy, she remembered coming back with Carol to Leece. Gordon Park had come to pick them up, and Carol Park had come back with them. It is possible that is the time Mr. Park talked about, as did Mr. Brierley, when the final separation occurred from Brierley. After that Carol had stayed at home, and at that stage Vanessa and Jeremy would have been seven and five respectively. Vanessa said she did not know the state of her parents' relationship after Carol's return, and she was not aware of any unhappiness she said after she had come back from the North East, and that is what the children said about it.
We know of course a lot more about that period from Mr. Brierley and from Mr. Park. Mr. Brierley told us that he did attend that course in the Summer holidays of 1974. Carol attended. It was an Arts Foundation course for a week, and on Monday the 12th of August it seems Carol wrote the letter in affectionate terms that we have in our folders, and that was the Monday of that week apparently. She reassured Mr. Park as to her affection for him and reminded him in it that she was going to return at the weekend. Of course it was during that week that she met Mr. Brierley. He told us that he qualified as a teacher in the 1960's. He had a short spell in Durham Police and then returned to teaching. He was married but separated from his wife. He had a son called Michael. He met Carol Park at the course. They were attracted to each other and became friendly, although he told us that there was no sexual relationship at that stage. He had been aware that Carol was married, but had understood that her boyfriend was going to visit her whilst she was on the course.