GREAT UNCLE FRANK

The mind works in mysterious ways - invariably when I see grapes my great uncle Frank pops into my head. (see him in the extra - he's the one with a great dome of a skull!)

Frank was a bon viveur - you could always tell when he was around by the perfume of fine Havana cigars. He had a huge vine in his greenhouse & in autumn he would arrive bearing bunches of the most delicious Muscat grapes I could ever hope to taste. Thanks to him I almost never buy grapes, knowing I'd be bound for disappointment.

There was a huge fireplace in his house where he burned seasoned apple wood & about head height he used to hang hams - mmmm!
His wife Nellie ( standing on his right in the photo) made meringues in her Aga - mmmm again!

The last time I saw Frank & Nellie I was in a clinic in Colombo Ceylon, recuperating from a knee operation - Frank & Nellie just happened to be passing by on their posh P&O liner - (Port Outward Starboard Home). Just before they returned to the ship Frank shook hands & folded in his palm was a £5 note - nearly a month's salary for me - Merchant Navy apprentices were pretty low on the food chain...

Loved that pair!