Today would have been my Na’s 87th birthday.
I can’t believe that 6 months have passed already since he sadly passed away last December. But then life goes on and although he is not forgotten, for me, at least, I don’t think about his passing as much as I did. I am reminded of him everytime I drive my car, however, which was once his, and it makes me smile when I find something inside it which was his, as I did only last Saturday a pair of paper overalls from Woolworth’s – bought in the sale of course for 99p!! Never used but a bargain nevertheless and now they are mine !!
I have a wealth of special memories growing up with Na in my life. He was such a big kid himself and therefore when my brother and I were younger he was the best Grandad to have because we had so much fun with him and he totally understood what children found funny and how to wind them up too! It was my brother Nick who Na wound up the easiest and most often, being two years younger than me he was an easier target I guess. When he was a little boy my brother was very hyperactive and also had a bad temper on him and it was my Na who could sort him out and he would soon make my brother tow the line! However, being the joker he was sometimes Na would forget how impressionable a child can be and none of my family will ever forget the time one Saturday when my Nanny had returned from Waitrose having bought a huge watermelon. It was on the floor – I guess waiting to be put away – when Na said to my brother that it was a big football. Well, Nick kicked it – and of course his foot went through the melon and Na spent the rest of the day in my Nanny’s bad books!
During the school summer holidays my brother and I spent quite a bit of time with Na at his home because working at a school himself he also had the time off and he would look after us. Every summer he had to cut back the fir tree hedge which surrounded the front garden and he would rope Nick and I into ‘helping’ him. Na would climb up the ladder to start cutting the trees and my brother would ask him what he could see over the hedge, and Na told him he could see Timbuktu which was in Africa. Nick fell for it every time even though the other side of the hedge was the road in the avenue in which Nanny and Na’s bungalow was!! Funny – makes me smile now thinking back.
When I was very young I thought Na was a magician because he would perform magic tricks on me. Back then I used to like those flavoured toffees you could buy in a pack – banana, strawberry and chocolate flavoured toffees I cant remember the name now but it was a red outer wrapper. Anyway, I would get down to my last one or two toffees when Na would tell me to give them to him to look at. The he would put them in his hand and say some magic words and then ‘magically’ a brand new tube of toffees would appear and I had more to eat!!! I still don’t know how he did that without me seeing – it was quick!
I will never forget the trip we took to Seaton as Nanny had told Nick and I that the stone riddled shingle beach was a place to find lots of fossils (my brother was into dinosaurs in a BIG way when he was younger). We spent ages scouring that beach and didn’t find a single stone dating back from prehistoric times. Na, who had grumbled about going in the first place saying it would be a waste of time, spent the time sat down waiting for Nanny and Nick and I to return and of course was proved right!
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| Na looking ‘happy’ to be on Seaton beach, 1984 |
As I got older as much as I loved my Na I found it harder to talk to him as I once had in my younger years. Being the big kid inside that he was I guess and me becoming a young woman and growing up, I no longer wanted to play silly games and well be treated like a kid anymore. That sounds bad I guess, but its inevitable maybe as grandchildren grow up and spend more time with their friends/boyfriends going off to university etc..
He was a brilliant great grandad and the boys also called him Na something which was and is still important to me as it was me who named him that. I saw a few glimpses again of the Na I recalled from my childhood with the silly rhymes and stories that Nick and I had also when we were young. I am sad that I don’t have any photos of him with both the boys together – separate ones yes but not a recent one with him, Burton and Jenson. I think you just assume that there is still time to capture such moments. I am even more sad to discover having looked through the photos not to even find one of just Jenson and Na, there must be one somewhere but I was unable to find it to use in this post. But he was a proud Na of us all and he was always taking photos of my boys every time we saw him which was about once every 8 weeks or so.
Today in his memory I am meeting with my Mum, Step Dad, Nanny, Uncle and brother at Martinsell Hill which was his favourite place to go for a walk. We will be scattering his ashes here too from the top overlooking beautiful views over Wiltshire. He would have liked this I think – maybe it was what he asked for (I will find out).
So happy birthday Na – we still miss you and love you but your memory lives on.
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| Na and I, June 2007 |
This post was brought to you as part of Flashback Friday
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Such a lovely post. A walk in his memory sounds lovely. I hope the rain holds off for you going. x
Oh Jenny, this is just beautiful. Your Na sounds like a wonderful Grandpa and I’m sure he’d be extremely proud of your post. I think it’s lovely to have such wonderful memories of Grandparents. My Granny is 90 and I have great memories of when I was young with her, staying over at her house for a few nights and her then husband, my step grandfather, looking in on me saying, the wee girls awake and getting breakfast in bed! It’s lovely Na got to see your beautiful children and hopefully they will remember him when they are older too. I think it’s one of those things that when you are in your teenage years you don’t have the same relationship with them and don’t appreciate them probably as much, I was the same with mine. The walk sounds lovely and hope you enjoy talking about your favourite memories of him together. He’ll be there watching over all of you in spirit. Beautiful picture of the two of you together and one to cherish forever. x
Oh Jenny, I hope to God someone doesn’t walk into this empty classroom now and find me, as I’m in floods of tears. This is such a beautiful memory, so loving and tender. He sounds like my Bampi was (although he died when I was three, so I live through my siblings and mum’s memories), such a kind and gentle family man. I hope that today is peaceful and beautiful, and that you smile through the day. Big hug for you.
Aww Jenny this is so beautiful and so many amazing memories you have shared. Grandad’s are very special people and I still miss mine even though it has been 10 years since he died. It is so nice that you have all these great stories to still share about him and to make you smile xx
Sorry I missed this on Friday – they are such wonderful fond memories. Great pictures. Hope you had a lovely walk xx
that is ok thank you for popping by. it was a lovely walk and a great chance to remember x
thanks Hayley. i am sorry you lost your grandad such a long time ago (hugs) but as you say we have some great memories of these special people xx
so sorry i made you cry but thank you for reading and i so enjoyed reading the post about your lovely aunty x x
thank you so much Karen. i treasure the memories of all my grandparents because we had such happy times with them. special memories to treasure forever. xx
thanks Laura, it did hold off, but it was ruddy freezing xx
This is such a beautiful post. I followed the link from TBaM’s post and the pair of you have reduced me to a wreck! Your Na sounds like a very special man who loved you all very much. I hope you have a wonderful family day on his birthday and that you could remember the happiness he gave you xxx