my very impatient Dad

[RED-DOG]

Hi David.

Occasionally you will be reminded of some or other little story involving your dad. When that happens, I hope you share them on here.

 

[KarmaDope]

I only wish we could have reached a time when you were tired of hearing about him.

Never would have happened. I used to smile just seeing a new post in this thread.

RIP.

[david3103]

Saturday's Memorial Service was held at the Church to which Dad was attached from his birth.



My Paternal Grandparents were involved there from it's opening and although Grandpa died fairly young, Nan was a stalwart of the place for most of her life until she died just short of her 95th Birthday. Alice would have been 112 today, so Happy Birthday Nan.
We'd expected a fair few people to be present and asked that a pew be held for us on the side of the church which was good, because a combination of not wanting to be in place too early and my eldest daughter gettiing snarled up in traffic meant that we walked in pretty much spot on the 2 o'clock start time. We were sitting in the row that Dad always used, and adjacent to the small side area which is dedicated to the Boys' and Girls' Brigade. These two organisations formed a large part of both Mum and Dad's lives, and mine in my youth and early adulthood.

We sang the Boys' Brigade hymn, Underneath the Banner
heard memories of Dad collected by one Dad's friends, one of the local lay preachers.
The Mens Singing Group that Dad belonged to in Northampton sang Hand Me Down Your Silver Trumpet
more memories, mostly of his connection with Boys' Brigade and his involvement with them which started when he was 7yrs old and lasted for all his life.
This memory is from that moment in the service
In recent years he had been going away to camp with them and would take up his position on the sidelines of the daily sporting activity and lkeep score. One of the older lads had sat with him whilst waiting for his innings in rounders or whatever and been chatting with Dad and said to him
"Bill, you're the coolest old guy I know" pause
"No, Bill, you're just the coolest guy I know"

I'll write more about Boys' Brigade later maybe, it's sad to see it having diminished from it's strength when I was a teenager.

We continued with the hymn Great is Thy Faithfullness and concluded with another singing of Will Your Anchor Hold.

Prayers of thankfullness and appreciation were shared at various stages of the service and I know that Dad would have appreciated every moment of it. He had an unshakable faith in Christ and the manner of his parting was a reflection of his belief that death was not an ending. My own belief has been weakened by events and by people within a church (note lower case c), but seeing Dad over the last few weeks and months has changed me. It remains to be seen if that is for the better.

[david3103]

I brought home a selection of Dad's CDs and amongst them was a collection of songs by Phill Harris
including this one

enjoy

[david3103]

Today would have been Dad's 87th birthday.

sorting through the little brown cardboard suitcase that contained his will; various birth and death certificates and other old items of interest I found this cutting from the local paper

Click to see full-size image.

The headline is rather unnecessarily downbeat about the team which was known in our family as The Old Boys. Their survival itself was a success with loyalty to the club keeping many good local players who could have moved to winning teams.
The Boys' Brigade company played, indeed still plays, an annual Boxing Day game against The Old Boys. It's over 60 years now uninterrupted. Played whatever the weather the game attracts a small crowd of supporters and The Old Boys team has players aged up to 80+. Dad played when he was 81 and he and I have played in opposing teams and as team mates. The Old Boys generally have around 17 or 18 turning up to play and substitutions are imaginatively used to make it a competitive fixture against a team of obviously much younger players.
Although The Old Boys no longer feature in the Town League the fixture continues and I spoke with a number of those who will be playing this year at Dad's funeral. The game will live on for as long as there is a Boys' Brigade company in existence at Kingsley Park Methodist Church and will be a part of Dad's legacy.

[david3103]

Hi

I sorted a few Chelsea Pensioners out with a lift home from an event I've been involved with this week. As always they invited me back to the bar. I initially declined (knowing what usually happens when I go in there!), but performed a U turn on the look of disappointment on their faces.

Anyway, I feel bad that I've not kept abreast of this thread - and looked it up when in Chelsea only to see the last couple of pages...

The boys instantly knew who I was talking about and had alot of good words to say about your father; that in fact there was a ceremony this coming Monday for him.

I hope things are getting easier for you; also that the ceremony goes well. I'm sure it will, they're absolute top class gentlemen there and its a beautiful setting.

RIP Bill.

I can't fully put into words how much I appreciate this post.

[david3103]

Hi

I sorted a few Chelsea Pensioners out with a lift home from an event I've been involved with this week. As always they invited me back to the bar. I initially declined (knowing what usually happens when I go in there!), but performed a U turn on the look of disappointment on their faces.

Anyway, I feel bad that I've not kept abreast of this thread - and looked it up when in Chelsea only to see the last couple of pages...

The boys instantly knew who I was talking about and had alot of good words to say about your father; that in fact there was a ceremony this coming Monday for him.

I hope things are getting easier for you; also that the ceremony goes well. I'm sure it will, they're absolute top class gentlemen there and its a beautiful setting.

RIP Bill.

I can't fully put into words how much I appreciate this post.

Edit,
Added via iPad where I can type more easily.

Dad's ashes are to be interred in the Burial Ground in front of the MTI on Wednesday. He had a marvellous new life at the RHC and it feels fitting that that become his final resting place.
That the guys have good memories of Dad and know this is happening fills me with warmth. I had asked the guy whose time as an In-Pensioner began at much the same time as Dad's if he'd attend and I knew he was putting the word out.

I'm looking forward to it, in a strange kind of way. Is that at all 'wrong'?

[david3103]

In 1966 Dad bought a set of tickets to see England in their World Cup Group games, plus the Wembley quarter-final. He also went into a ballot for Final tickets and got two of them.
He took me and my cousin to see the Group game vs France, bought extra tickets, for cash, from a ticket office at the game against Uruguay.
The spare final ticket had to be given to a work colleague since Dad was on holiday at the time and it was the only way to get the tickets from home. It took a long time for me to accept the truth of that!
But he made it up to me over the next decade or so as we attended every England home match (bar those against Scotland) for around 12 years.
Always in section G68, standing, just to the side of the goal at the end furthest from the tunnel.
It was from that spot that we watched in disbelief on October 17, 1973.

32 years on I was able to take Dad to Old Trafford and sit, with the goal to our right, at the opposite end to the tunnel, and see Owen and Lampard take us through to the World Cup Finals.

Tonight, almost exactly 40 years from that night of Hunter's mistimed attempt at showing some flair, and Tomacevski's (sp?) acrobatics England again take on Poland and, as I have for every England game since the end of May, and every United game too, I will have a conversation with Dad before and after the game.

His views on that loss back then? "They played their hearts out and it wasn't their night".

If we fail tonight, I'm sure that he would find a way of expressing his support for the team and their Manager. But I think it more likely that come 10 o'clock tonight I'll be telling him that they did it just as they had at Old Trafford and would, on any other night, have done it in 1973.

[TightEnd]

do you feel the same about your support of the England team now as you did back then David?

football's much more commercial, the players often less lieable, the national team secondary to the interests of the Premier League..

or does the national team winning mean as much now as it did then to the averagesupporter?

[david3103]

do you feel the same about your support of the England team now as you did back then David?

football's much more commercial, the players often less lieable, the national team secondary to the interests of the Premier League..

or does the national team winning mean as much now as it did then to the averagesupporter?

I went through a phase, post italia 90 when the national team wasn't as important. That this coincided with MUFC's best years may have been coincidence, or not.
Dad never lost his love for the international game and latterly I have come back to the view that a successful England team is important for the country and for the game and happily my support can be part of my tribute and memorial to him.

[david3103]

It's been a while, but I came across this on the BBC website yesterday and wanted to share it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26886162

Sad that Dad won't see those new rooms, but so good that  they are being built.

I still miss him, especially on days like today with a big European game for his beloved United.

[BorntoBubble]

Hope he's with us tonight!

We need all the help we can get

[Pokerpops]

i just reread all the posts in this thread.

I was moved, again, by the way in which this community of very different people found time to reach out to me.

I am glad to be back.

[Pokerpops]

I was in London at the weekend.
Took a nostalgic trip to the RHC with the intention of eating in the cafe there. Sadly it was closed because  they are on covid amber alert but I got a stroll round Ranelagh Gardens and had a lovely chat with one of the current In-Pensioners in the Museum.

Dad would have loved Erik Ten Hag!