Stories for my Grandfather

27th March, 2014. The day we found my Grandfather's body.

[grumpygrampy]

Anniversary

So the two year anniversary has come and gone, what can I say? 

Auntie Joyce was buried almost 2 years to the day after you, we didn’t even know she was ill. Poor Uncle Ian, he was so sad and for the first time in my life, so very very clear.

After we buried Auntie Joyce, we visited you, you’ve got wild flowers on your patch <3

Mum’s gunna have a plaque put up with your name in the barn so Auntie Trisha can visit you and have a place to leave your flowers. 

Auntie Delma misses you more than I can express, she broke my heart when we saw her. She looked me straight in the eyes and said “I miss him, I miss him so much” she could barely get them out but it wasn’t the words that cut me, it was the look, I don’t think I’ve seen a truer statement in someone’s eyes. Both her and Ray have had their health declining rapidly since we last saw them, I don’t want theirs to be the next funeral I attend, I don’t want another funeral at all. 

[grumpygrampy]

Valentines

Happy Birthday Grampy, We’ll all have a drink for you today x

[grumpygrampy]

Happy New Year Grampy!

Woah it’s been a while and there’s a lot to say.

Everyone’s plodding along like always, Mum’s enjoying her job and her health’s probably the best it’s been in a really long time. Her diabetes is back to being almost normal!

Bron’s the same as always, although tensions between her and mum are often running high. I don’t mind being the referee between them.

& Me and Louis are great, he got me this gorgeous silver & welsh gold bracelet for Christmas, they’re like little harps and the harp strings are made of the welsh gold. 

This year I adopted a lizard, his name is George.

He’s lovely, got a really nice temperament...You wouldn’t have liked him but Uncle Peter thought he was awesome (until he saw the cockroaches I was feeding him) He climbs on the furniture and the other day he opened his own vivarium and got out whilst we weren’t at home, found him in the kitchen trying to crawl under the oven but At least he doesn’t beg at the dinner table!

Stitch has gotten a lot bigger

...Yeah, he’s sitting on your chair, I know you wouldn’t approve but he likes sitting on it by the fire, since the floor is too cold...He’s spoiled rotten, I know...

I’m still unemployed, hopefully that will change on Tuesday when I go back to my work experience situation.

Christmas was great, everyone ate too much and spent too much money on each other, it’s not the same without you though. Christmas seems shorter without you here, it lasts the same amount of time but I spend more of it alone than before. Maybe it’s a side effect of growing up and getting older but still, we used your fancy cutlery for Christmas dinner and Bron used the wrong knives and forks. Why did you have like 3 sets of cutlery just for fish? She’s never been more confused bless her.

Even though I’m unemployed and my life isn’t as fantastical as the stories I read or the shows I watch, I’m okay with living a mediocre life. I have people I love and people who love me and I’m happy not asking for more. (Although winning the lottery wouldn’t hurt!)

Miss you as always x

[grumpygrampy]

Damn those snails and their love of sweet peas!

I’ll be posting more now that we’ve got the beans and peas in, mum’s really gotton into the gardening since you’ve been gone. I think she likes it because she feels closer to you. 

[grumpygrampy]

[grumpygrampy]

This will be the pride and joy of the garden! A Victoria plum. The picture doesn’t show it here but as it’s got warmer the tree’s sprouted much more. it’s really getting on well. We wanted to plant you under a Victoria plum but unfortunately, we weren’t allowed. Hopefully this will grow as successfully as your own did. 

Love you x

[grumpygrampy]

We’re a bit confused about this tree, it’s kind of squiggly...don’t know what’s going on with it but it’s ugly as sin. Mum wants to see what it looks like when/if it blooms. I’ve stuck tealights in glass bowls hanging off the tree in an attempt to make it prettier but frankly, it’s a bit more sinister.

[grumpygrampy]

Curry leaf! Thought I’d try something new in the herb garden, this smells amazing when you run your hands through it.

[grumpygrampy]

Keeping my mint under control by having it in a pot! It’s already spread to the whole thing and that little sprout you see there is an onion that sprouted in the cupboard haha! It’s actually growing!

[grumpygrampy]

These are the upside down pots I got you for Christmas a few years ago, both pots have two strawberry plants in them and they’re doing great, they’re going great the flowers are starting to become fruit!

[grumpygrampy]

My Rosemary and Thyme are really threiving in this garden, much more than the old house, these pictures were taken a few weeks ago and in just that small time my thyme has almost fully flowered and spread through even more of the pot, I’ll have to separate them soon, I think my Rosemary is ready to become a fully fledged bush! (if I can keep the stray cats from breaking it’s branches!)

[grumpygrampy]

Strawberries in your plant pot holder thingy!

[grumpygrampy]

Vicious

Hey Grampy, long time no speak really.

I just wanted to say I’ve started watching a series called ‘Vicious’ - It’s fantastic. I know this doesn’t seem like much to talk about now but after watching a few episodes I couldn’t stop myself from thinking that you would have loved it. The humour is right up your alley.

Also, I passed this year in college so hopefully I’ll be using the remaining savings from my trust to put myself through the second year. Thank you for the opportunities your giving me even now. 

My flat is coming along, 4 more weeks and I should be moved in! Again, thank you so much for everything you’ve done for us, I hope you’re proud. Also you’d be pleased to see our garden, we’ve got some plants growing! I’ll post them soon x

Mum and Bron are well, although I’m worried about Bron and some of the choices she’s making.

Love you always x 

[grumpygrampy]

Almost a year now and what can I say?

Mum told me recently that when you were younger you were pulled over on your pushbike and received a warning for ‘drunk and in charge of a pushbike’ I couldn’t believe I’d never heard it. I’m sure you would have told me but maybe I wasn’t listening. 

I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of things I never knew about your life, I think that’s the biggest regret, if I could go back and do anything it would be to just listen to the stories you have to tell.

I had another dream about you last week, you were there with my old babysitter (the one who was partial to white lightning, from Cardiff) I can’t remember what you were saying but I woke up feeling relaxed.

I love you.

[grumpygrampy]

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Grampy, we were going to go out for a meal tonight in the Overlander, see how everyone was doing etc. but we'll have to wait until some money comes through. Facebook reminded me that it was today, as if I could forget. 

The internet is an insensitive place. I didn't need a reminder to let me know what I'm missing out on. I also didn't need a Google+ notification asking if I knew you. It's moments like those that shock me more than anything. 

The Glebe is almost sold by the way, mum's getting settled into the new house/ Over Christmas I almost scratched your table, I think it would have been the last straw for mum though.

We also found out that the house mum bought is the reason the town is a level 4 conservation area, so we're not allowed double glazing or anything...mum's getting someone in to restore the windows so there's less of a draft, but it is a beautiful house. You would have loved it.

Anyways, Happy Birthday, you're very much missed.

[grumpygrampy]

Sly as I like - One of my earliest memories

Three year old me, sly as I like, reaching from my chair to the work surface. My fingers fumble, short and fat, I grab the stick of carrot from nanny’s roasting bowl (brown and oval, my mother still has it) still raw and half covered in butter. Positive no-one notices as the chair bangs back to the ground two legs to four, nor as the back door groans, pulled open fully (not a subtle thing about me) not even when I run, giggling into the garden am I concerned you’ve heard me.

I’m not hungry, I just love the snap of the carrot in my mouth, the crunch, the fact that I stole it. As I turn to face the house convinced I’ve escaped punishment for my crime; the last of the carrot peeking out from my mouth chewing as clumsily as I can, I see you standing at the door to the kitchen, peering over your glasses at me. I’ve been caught, there’s no getting away from it now. As I swallow the last bit of evidence and you wave your arm to call me in, although your lips are stiff and your brow is stern you can’t squash the smile from your eyes.

I smile, I've gotten away with it, sly as I like.

[grumpygrampy]

All is well-ish

Long time no post. 

When you were alive, finding you a birthday or Christmas present seemed impossible but now that you're not here...I seem to only see things you'd like. Christmas is getting closer and closer and I'm not sure how we're going to survive through it. 

Love you x