|
Grandad
Whether he was Grandad, Mr Ward or Uncle
Len
I don’t expect we’ll ever meet someone
like him again
Stubborn to a fault – he knew his own
mind
But always a true gentleman – honest,
loyal, kind
He spent most of his navy years locked up
in one small room
Checking all the instruments, in case the
ship went BOOM!
But despite being a Navy man – he saved
his rum (or wallop)
And swapped it with the chef – so he
could get an extra dollop
Politically a turn-coat – a labour man
before
The unions, he reckoned, became rotten to
the core
So he fell in love with Maggie or, ‘his
blond’ as he would say
And Granny, ever Liberal, would just tut
(as was her way!)
But it’s not this fickle nature that sums
him up the best
But his routines and consistency that
outshines all the rest
For example, every working day he’d go
with Mr Bower
For a swim, then home for lunch – soup –
and be back within the hour
It’s his love of all things technical -
from his Austin to his Rover
And his last car, nicknamed ‘Mrs Mop’ was
known the County over
It’s his passion for photography – he
self-developed lots
Mastering the chemicals (if never quite
the shots!)
|
|
Methodically minded - he’d have
everything to hand
Gadgets, tools, and labels, sticky tape
and rubber-bands
First-class stamps and scissors – his
need to make and mend
His Telegraph – read daily – right until
the end
The fact he saw the funny side of every
situation
I’ll remember all his silly songs with
loving adoration
And one favourite little story, about a
friend of Sue’s
Who was partial to her puddings (which
mirrored his own views)
Patiently she sat - as around the table
passed
The custard or the cream – then say ‘oh
goody, am I last?’
Then, deaf as a doorpost – with the telly
on full blast
Happy as a pig-in-muck with programmes
from the past
Quincy, Morse and Minder – deafening St
Kew
With lovely caring neighbours (thank you
all of you!)
So I’ll miss the shouty phonecalls and
his terrible word-playing
And wherever he has gone to, I’m hoping
that he’s saying
‘Don’t ever get old dear’ and ‘could you
pass the cow?’
And ‘Just pull up the ladder Jack, I’m
alright now’
|
