My Old Man

Down to Sussex today to see the family, but especially my Dad, who lives on his own since looking after my mother, who has dementia, became too much for him.
He is lucky because I'm the only one who flew the coop - my siblings all live within a couple of miles of where we were born.
Although they are around, he gets lonely as they have work and family commitments. We have tried to get him to go to the local day club but he isn't interested. He's a stubborn old so-and-so.

M and I come down for Christmas. He is invited to spend it with other members of the family but he has a track record of changing his mind at the last minute and we don't want him to be alone.

He was born in Jersey and escaped to France in February 1945, aged just 20, with four others, where they were picked up by the Americans, shipped to the UK and found themselves in the army. He was posted to France where he met my mum (He was brought up with French as his first language so it gave him an advantage over the other British soldiers - especially when it came to dealing with Mum's father!)

M and I took him back to Jersey last year on a nostalgic trip. He found the beach that they had escaped from and the son of the man who used to help those who wanted to escape, who was still living in what had been his dad's house so it was an incredibly rewarding return home.

It was interesting for me too, as I traced part of the family. Dad's family have never told us about the Jersey relatives but I managed to trace one of my Granddad's four siblings (we were told that there was only one) up to a lady who would be around 71 if she is still alive. I want to go and do more digging when I get the chance.

I don't know where that all came from - I just wanted to blip my dad and there it was.