Journalist Jonathan Margolis has embarked on a deeply personal exploration, revisiting the homes he has lived in throughout his life. This endeavor, inspired partly by Paul McCartney's reflective new album, has become a journey of nostalgia, grief, and ultimately, healing. Margolis, now over 70, finds himself increasingly drawn to his past, a sentiment he notes is common when one's history stretches longer than their anticipated future.

The quest began in earnest after the death of his wife, Sue, nearly a decade ago. Margolis found solace in revisiting significant places from their 40 years together, from their favorite beach in Devon to a New York diner and a London restaurant where they celebrated Sue's 62nd birthday, shortly before her terminal cancer diagnosis. Even revisiting the hospice where she died and the hospital where they received the devastating news offered a form of catharsis.

His children described his explorations as a "magical misery tour" or a "secular exorcism." The sadness extended beyond his wife; Margolis's parents both died at age 50 when he was living in the house where he was born in Gants Hill, Essex. While visiting this childhood home, he found a piece of concrete his father had laid in 1966 and took it to Shanghai, a symbolic gesture as his father never traveled beyond Europe.

A Chronicle of Residences

Margolis details his visits to several significant homes:

  • Collinwood Gardens, Gants Hill, Essex (1955-1974): His childhood home, where his father and brother's amateur radio hobby led to international headlines when they made contact with King Hussein of Jordan during the Jordanian Civil War. The house served as a crucial news source for several days, attracting numerous journalists. This period also marked personal tragedies, including his mother's mastectomy and his father's painful illness.
  • Bramcote Road, Beeston, Nottingham (1974-1977): His student house with Sue, near Nottingham University. It was a time of early romance, with the house noted for its smell of freesias and the daily presence of a wood pigeon.
  • Parkside Road, Meanwood, Leeds (1977-1980): An 18th-century farm cottage he and Sue restored. Their first daughter was brought home from the hospital to this residence. Margolis was a trainee journalist at the Yorkshire Post during this time, while Sue worked as a reporter for Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
  • Parkland Drive, Meanwood, Leeds (1980-1982): Their second child, David, was born here. Margolis received a job offer from Fleet Street while living in this house. The home later gained local fame as the "Emmerdale House" after being featured in the soap opera.
  • Forest Road, Woodford Green, Essex (1982-1986): A home described as blissful, nestled deep in Epping Forest, where children played outside until dark and adults gathered socially.
  • Monkhams Lane, Woodford Green, Essex (1986-1990): This house saw the birth of their daughter Ellie. Margolis wrote his first book, a biography of John Cleese, in the conservatory. The property's value significantly decreased during a 1990 market slump.
  • Richmond Hill, Richmond (1989-2013): A spacious four-bedroom flat with stunning views across the Thames, where his older children grew up. Sue began her writing career here, using their son David's word processor.
  • Ferry Lane, Brentford (2016-2023): This was a smaller home on the Thames. It was here that Sue became ill and passed away, and where Margolis spent his COVID-19 lockdown alone. The property also had issues with squirrels in the loft. Notably, Sue had an uncanny premonition about the house being a