What an interesting Gallery theme this week – and one in the past that I might have skipped. But not now.
These are my grandparents. My mothers parents. The dog was their much loved Jack Russell called Tina. I found this picture when I cleared out the garage this weekend.
My Grandfather was a lovely man. He was an ex policeman and his father was an admiral in the Merchant navy. They had a lovely photo of my great grandfather hanging up on the wall when you went into their house – one of those old fashioned black and white ones – in his full uniform.
He was also a very talented man. He made a lighthouse for my mother where you put coins in and it lit up.
His passion was model railways. He started with a Hornby set that ran all round his garage. From there he built a larger scale model railway that went all round his garden. It had a stop in his greenhouse so he could refuel and play with it in shelter. He even built the engines that ran on this railway, that ran on little paraffin cubes.
He really was a very talented guy and very good natured. He would often sneak me a fiver when no one was watching. Of course everyone knew he did it but he loved doing it sneakily. He was definitely mischievous.
He was also a ham radio fan and had it all set up in a shed at the bottom of his garden. He would grab his daily glass of Guinness and head down there to talk to all his friends, much like I do on Twitter these days.
When my grandfather was in his late 70’s they decided to sell their house and release the capital from it. I’m not sure why they wanted to do that. They didn’t particularly go on holidays or anything and it was set up for him nicely. They moved into sheltered housing and he declined rapidly. He was a bright man with nothing to do all day. He developed Alzheimers and then went downhill even more rapidly dying just a few years later.
It was sad but I will always remember him with fondness for the amazing character he was. He was also one of the few people in my childhood that did me no harm and gave me nothing but love and smiles.
This was all put together for this weeks gallery over at sticky fingers where the subject is "Family"
