You’ve heard of sleeping policeman. Well my dad was the cooking policeman. Growing up I was so proud to have a dad that was a policeman. His job always sounded so cool and exciting.
Then there was his ability to follow a recipe (the same one time and time again). He made an amazing macaroni cheese (the best), shepherds pie, lamb curry (from scratch) and oh my goodness the Devil’s food cake - four storeys of ultimate chocolate cake!
I loved to be able to talk about the fact that he was born in India. That he was brought up in South Africa. That he had a three-legged cheetah as a pet. Stories of sat on a wall eating mangoes with monkeys
Dad was also a knitter - having learnt from his grandma. And I can remember our loop cardigans and the waistcoats he knitted. Duchess, our dog, brought home after night shift. The fish tanks and trips to all of those aquatic centres
Being a South African, he loved his tech. He always had the newest gadget (oh that satellite dish) and a cool car - remember the two tone Capri? Dad bought me my first (and second) car and I became a very good mechanic - being able to tell what the problem was from a change in the way the car drove or how it sounded.
Dad could turn his hand to absolutely anything and he loved to garden - even using our climbing frame for his beans when we were kids. Having the house with a swimming pool and the biggest BBQ - summer pool parties. Cooking in a chef’s hat - or turban.
It was Dad that gave me my love of photography - Rachel do you remember having to stand still for AGES whilst he got the perfect shot? Visits to the park, afternoons at the scrap yard - climbing into the towering cars!
Saturday night visits to the video store and the age it took to chose a film. Sundays at Granny’s. With a roast (or a curry) and then the Grand Prix or the pools on the telly. Dad would fall asleep with his hands behind his head but we couldn’t turn over as “he was watching that”.
Learning to ride a bike and my BMX. School shoe shopping in Bromley. The holiday to France and the inflatable boat in the waves. The fact that everything used to taste or smell lemony. Coffee two sugars.
The stories of all the sporting injuries and the fact that Dex plays rugby are because of Dad. The way he would tickle you until you cried. Vodka and coke in the evening - we could all pour a mean one. Fried banana for breakfast - and peeling fruit for wine.
Midnight snacks of sugar puffs, rolls of fruit pastilles, the acceptance of ties as presents from me and bars of fruit and nut. Giving the grandkids money “don’t tell Mummy” - and Eliza coming away from Ashwater with pocketfuls of change “to buy sweets”.
Oh my his ability to perfectly wrap a present in a way that would take you ages to get into it. Our giant crackers rather than stockings at Christmas.
That tiny kitchen he and Tess had. And the visiting squirrel, the hedgehogs, birds, foxes. Oh and Christmas 1991 - the one where we ALL came together. I have so many memories to thank you for Dad. No longer in pain, may you rest in peace.
They are all lovely memories girls, all to cherish. I hope he’s taken them with him. He certainly was a man of many skills and enjoyed it all I’m sure x
ReplyDelete