Averil and me with eldest grandson Jason and his wife Raksha, Jasmine and Roisin their daughters (great grand daughters) in Tower Gardens, London. This is just one small part of my lovely family.
QUESTION 11 I recall you saying that another great grandchild is expected. How many grandchildren and great grandchildren do you have and how do you possibly keep up to date with them all? Would you advise any of them to become a marine surveyor?
Norma, my wife of fifty-three years, two months and sixteen days, gave me three sons and two daughters. My eldest son, Alan, died five years after my wife.
I
have ten grandsons and six grand daughters and, to date, twenty- two great grandchildren. Daisy, unfortunately, was still born. All being well, my granddaughter Janine will deliver my twenty third great grandchild (a boy) at the end of September. As far as keeping up to date is concerned, fortunately, I have a very dear friend called Averil, who keeps a diary with all their names, addresses and dates of birth and regularly updates me on such important matters as birthdays. They cost me a fortune at Christmastide. Anastasia, my eldest great granddaughter is eighteen. Give me another few years and perhaps I shall see my great-great-grandchild. My daughter with whom I live has said that I shouldn’t advise any of them to go into my profession – you have to love ships and boats and ignore everything else! Not strictly true but well on the way.
QUESTION 12 Apart from drinking tea and completing the newspaper crossword every day, what other hobbies do you have?
I have often said that, D. V., I shall die of too much blood in my tea stream. I like to play Scrabble with Averil and to do the ‘Tory Dailygraph’ cryptic crossword every day as it keeps my brain working. As for other hobbies, for many years I played the double B flat contrabass tuba and/or the G bass trombone in a Salvation Army brass band. I had to give that up some fifteen years ago as it became physically too difficult.
I
love classical music and particularly enjoy listening to Schubert,
Photograph of Barking Citadel YP Band in 1941. Middle row, third from the left: me on 2nd
horn.
Sibelius, Mozart and Beethoven but, when I am alone, I still love to listen to a good brass band march; but my favourite pleasure is listening to Myfanwy or Cwm Rhondda sung by a good Welsh Male Voice Choir – the most beautiful sound on Earth. I am an Anglo-Welsh-Italian-east London Cockney mongrel and it stirs the Welsh-Italian part of my soul like nothing else. I loved singing Hen Wlad fy Nhadau when Wales played England in the Rugby (Union of course) matches but, as I have a voice like a crow with a sore throat, it used to annoy my poor wife (and the neighbours) no end. Happy days.
110 | The Report • September 2020 • Issue 93
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