Grandad
In the early hours of Thursday morning, my grandad died. He was in his 80s, and it wasn’t unexpected, and – thankfully – he was healthier than many others for much of his life. And yet, and yet… still a sad time.
It’s odd, to think about grandparents, given how much they shaped your life long before you were born and yet how removed they are – growing up in another time, another world. It wasn’t until today that I thought that, of course, in my full name I’m actually named after George. And it’s indirect, and fragmentary, but I do feel I can trace parts of me back to him – in who he was, and what he did.
Not in a literal sense, of course: as a working-class builder from Suffolk, he had both the practical skills to do what I still refer to as a ‘proper job’ and the countryside nous to grown his own food in the garden. (Reflect, sadly, that my version of this amounts to cooking my own packets of Dolmio pasta in the microwave.) As a father to my dad, though, he let him make his own decisions – encouraging and supportive – and never became a figure of fear. That’s an ethos that I grew up with, too.
So, goodbye, and thanks 
(The funeral’s on Friday – it’ll be good to see family.)
Sorry to hear it
And another thing…This is probably in one of your blog entries, but I can’t seem to find it, but: Whats with "Musings of a Red Dalek"?
Thanks
And it’s just the name of this blog, that’s all! More interesting than just ‘Dominic Self’s blog’ or something, after all…
Yes, my Dad was a very kind and gentle person. I think of him as ‘one of the good guys’.
Re ‘Red Dalek’ – have you ever be tempted to call him ‘Zeg’? I guess those old TV21 stories aren’t canon, though. Also, there were lots of different red daleks…..
Oh dear, sorry to hear that Dominic.
my grandfather is also in quite a bad state, in hospital with heart problems and diabetes, senile too, he doesn’t recognise me.
what year was your grandad born? mines was in 1929.
Sorry to hear about your grandfather Jacov
(I wasn’t entirely sure before, but he was 85 when he died – would have been 86 soon, so born in 1922 I guess.)