1 July

Today is the anniversary of my dad's death. Here he is with mum many years ago. He'd have been 92 today. I'm like him in many ways, and not in others. He only rarely ever tried to deliberately teach me anything or impart any life wisdom. That in itself was a lesson, because I learned so much from him, not least to not sentimentalise life or parenthood. He left us alone, to develop into who we were, without trying to steer it much. That's not as common nowadays. A brilliant, quiet and understated man. Most who knew him knew almost nothing about him, and that was deliberate I think. He taught me that the ultimate strength is gentleness, only the truly strong can be truly gentle. Miss you old fart.