I haven't had a lot happen today so as promised vaguely a few posts back here's the full eulogy I gave my dad at his funeral, it's a bit long but hopefully worth a read.
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"First of all, my mother and I would like to thank you all for coming, we really appreciated the cards sent and the offers of support received. Although my father wasn't a great fan of leaving his armchair for gatherings I'm sure he'd have enjoyed seeing you all here today.
Where to start is a hard one.....after all, I never expected a month or so ago I'd be standing here having to do this...... but If you ask me for one abiding memory that would sum up my dad, it's this old thing
(hold up his hammer)
Many of you that worked with him may recognise it, if I had a pound for every nail he ever hammered in with this we'd all be sitting on a tropical beach somewhere. It got used so much, if you were closer, you may notice that the end has completely worn round. At some point I seem to remember he decided he'd had his money's worth out of it and after a bit of grumbling at how much they'd gone up in price, he bought another, which ended up looking pretty much the same.
I'm keeping this to remind me of how hard he worked outdoors all his life, every day, in all weathers, to make sure I never went without anything, especially the blue and yellow BMX bike I was so desperate for and he bought me around my 10th birthday, which without doubt made me the happiest kid in the UK. However, I regret to inform that sadly the carpentry gene appears to be missing from my DNA so this'll have to be purely ornamental.
I remember as a child I was his shadow, a real daddy's girl, he was my hero, wherever he was I was 3 steps behind. Particularly on a Saturday, wedged into the cab of his pick up truck like a sardine between him, Sally the dog and his friend Jack getting ready to enjoy an afternoon of pigeon shooting. When other kids were out with their friends I was happiest sitting quietly in hides, in hedges and ditches, playing with spent shotgun cartridges, which I guess gives me the love of the countryside I still have to this day.
Being allowed to shoot the airgun was another treat I realished, even though the old thing probably weighed nearly as much as me and I could barely lift the barrel off the floor! I remember the weekends we spent driving around country lanes together looking for good places for him to shoot, and him teaching me things like what different birds looked like in flight and what crops were growing in each field.
As I got older he taught me to drive over those fields in the summer when they'd been combined, not exactly straight from the handbook of the british school of motoring but I bet I'd make a great rally driver. Then there was all the weekends I got roped in as free labour collecting logs for the fire in the winter, long hot summer days and light nights with the radio blaring out in the truck as I loaded it up, there's so many songs I remember that still catapult me back to those carefree times.
I only ever saw my father scared once in his life, he was chainsawing a tree trunk when an adder slid out and I turned my head to see him charging off down the field at a pace Usain Bolt would have been proud of, it was then I discovered he wasn't a great fan of snakes.
He loved his vegetable garden, and whilst in the hospital he seemed more concerned about why his tomatoes weren't doing so great rather than losing a leg. He was always busy in the garden doing something, and unfortuately one of the hazards of that was if you stood still too long in one place you were likely to get a coat of creosote, I'll never forget the vile smell of that stuff as long as I live.
(he may well have given this a coat - points to coffin)
The very fact I'm standing here at all is somewhat of a marvel in itself I understand, when my parents married and mum expressed a wish for a family he was of the opinion an MGB sports car would be the preferable option, but we can clearly see who had the better persuasion skills out of the two of them. He did get his wish when he retired though and got his MGB, he loved it, and funnily enough that was a 1973 vintage like myself, fate almost.
In some ways my father and I were very alike, in other ways extremely different, and to be honest it didn't always make for plain sailing between us. As you can imagine, if he thought I'd done something daft he let me know about it with his typical frankness and then I'd have to stand there until he'd put me right. People often tell me I look like him (aside and wink- so at least we know it wasn't the milkman mum) and people say I have his mannerisms and slightly "explosive" disposition towards people who attempt to take liberties.
He certainly never suffered fools gladly and often I remember him storming through the back door, blowing off a few expletives whilst enlightening my mother on how he'd told so and so to stick their job where the sun didn't shine. He always seemed to have a plan B though, knew his worth as a tradesman was never out of work for long.
I suppose I could ramble on forever, if we were charging most of you would probably want a refund by now, but I'll wrap it up with a few memories of the last moments we shared together. He asked me if I'd get him a pack of polos when I next came up to see him, I always try to keep my promises so here they are dad.
(hold up polo mints)
His last words to me were "see you later mate"
And I'm sure I will. If I'd have known it would be the last time we spoke I may have thought of something more profound to say, but probably not, neither of us were much for soppy stuff and he's probably up there rolling his eyes at my words today.
But watch out dad, I'm breaking new ground here, here comes my best very sentimental parting shot.... you'll never be gone to me because I see you looking back at me every day in the mirror when I brush my hair, and sometimes when I open my mouth, without warning, I catch myself talking just like you did.
You were many things to many people, but to me you were just dad, and I'll miss you forever"