Not our choir but you get the gist
Even he was knackered....so as you may expect I was practically ready to be sedated and ventilated.
He was impressed that I aim to get fitter by bike riding from this Thursday!
He offered his son's Cycle stabilisers as a support!
The rest of the 25 minutes on court , we sat and chatted about this and that.
I enjoy the talk as much as our game
" You look happier" he told me
" I am" I told him back.
Earlier this evening nearly a full complement turned up for choir.
Jamie, his 1940s RAF moustache and his husband had been away on a much deserved holiday and we all had missed our rehearsals much more than we had expected.
One of my fellow bases had a paper crown on his head for some reason and I was quite amused no one asked him why....I love the British way of ignoring the obvious !!
We grappled with the Croatian folk song Zbogom Moja which turned out quite beautifully then learned Ali Burns' When Love Had No Road ( see the above version ) and ended up singing to Jamie our own version of happy anniversary as he has been our choirmaster for 5 years.
I have seldom seen so much genuine affection shown by a group of middle class, mostly middle aged old pongos to one person since I watched the cast of the movie Cocoon moon over Steve Guttenburg
I felt my mobile phone vibrate that a message had come through just as I sort of mastered a tricky bit of Croatian , and I knew what it meant
My former father-in-law had died peacefully after a very short medical crisis .
I'd known him almost twenty years!
I got home after 10pm and found a couple jiggers of my holiday gin left in the fridge, and pouring a large one... with a smile I raised a glass to him
You were a gentle, sweet man, Richard Burton
You always treated me with kindness
But your joke telling was fucking shite!
My father in law and I circa 2007
I am glad you raised a glass to him. And equally glad that despite his woeful joke telling, he was always kind to you.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was kind to him too x
DeleteSending my sympathies, how lovely to be remembered fondly and as a kind man.
ReplyDeleteYes.......I hope the same for myself
DeleteAnd you will be!
DeleteA nice tribute to your father-in-law. Being treated kindly is a wonderful thing.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right my friend x
DeleteI am sorry that the world has lost a kind man even if he couldn't tell a joke.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am happy that YOU are happier.
My mother-in-law died soon after I was divorced from my first husband. It was an extremely uncomfortable, sad, and awkward situation as I had loved her very much and she had loved me too but my ex wanted to shut me out of the whole situation. He didn't even tell me she had died. I had to find out from my own mother who had been a hospice volunteer who had been one of her care-takers.
I sound bitter. I am not. Those were hard and confusing times for all of us. I understand that better now. But I was so very sad and grieved for her and also for the marriage. Those two things got entangled in my mind and- well- it was just hard.
Indeed , hindsight is a wonderful thing.
DeleteHe was kind to me and I was rather sweet and kind to him
I can hold my head up high today.....and my words are genuine xxx
Is that a picture of Richard Burton with Elizabeth Taylor? She has rather more facial hair than I remember.
ReplyDeleteBut just as fat as the tabloids mentioned xx
DeleteLiz Taylor had million dollar bra straps
ReplyDeleteSorry about your former father-in-law but about that photo. Were the two of you attempting to recreate the 1930 American Gothic painting by Grant Wood, but without the pitchfork?
ReplyDeleteMy in-laws were special and kind people. I remain thankful I had a chance encounter with my father-in-law, years after both his wife and my former husband had died, and we exchanged a long and heartfelt hug.
ReplyDeleteHappy that you had a fun day before the sad news came about your Father in Law. Friendship crosses all.
ReplyDeleteAnd Yes ! your sound so much happier !
parsnip x
I think that you had once posted a picture of him when he was visiting you and he wore bright purple socks!
ReplyDeleteMy sympathies to you, John.
ReplyDeleteSorry for your loss but cherish the memories.
ReplyDeleteMy exMIL was a lovely woman. Apologized for raising a crap son when our marriage bit the dust. Sent presents for my babies by my new husband and left me a necklace in her will (I didn't accept, thought the ex might want it for future children).
Treasure those memories.
Gentle, sweet and kind - sounds like a good fellow.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you are feeling happier. And maybe soon you'll be WINNING those badminton games :)
Love how you weave the threads of your life into such touching stories. Your ex father in law was a good man and it shows in your tribute. May he Rest In Peace. Between badminton with Gorgeous Dave and bike riding ... You will get that “ revenge body “ look that’s all the rage. Lol
ReplyDeleteAww glad you have such good memories of him! He seemed to be a kind man. Sorry for your loss.
ReplyDeleteAnd it seems you had a day full of adventure, didn’t you? Croatian, now?
XoXo
I am sorry for your loss. This world needs more kind and gentle people.
ReplyDeleteOne of my grandsons always wears a gold cardboard CROWN when he flies. No-one asks him why either!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear your sad news John, be kind to yourself this week.
ReplyDeleteChoir is good for the soul, last night the energy was high, I asked about the crown .... He had been practicing acting out stories from the Bible for schools!! He was King Amos I think!!!
A happy / sad post. Good to have known such a kind man. You sound so busy doing nice things and much happier which is lovely to hear xx
ReplyDelete‘As we’re close let’s call in for me to pay my staff lottery dues!’ I said to my man. We went it to the grand household and caught up with all the news. After we left he said ‘Why was the housekeeper wearing a tiara?’ ‘No idea, never gave it a thought!’ Like you I love the British way of effecting not to notice and perish the thought actually enquiring as to why?
ReplyDeleteThe main family were the ones to wear tiaras, not the housekeeper.
LX
A very good way to go, if your time has come, to leave this world after a short illness, remembered fondly as a kind and gentle person. Bad joke telling recalled probably raises more smiles in the long term than perfect comic timing!
ReplyDeleteBritish Gothic (the photo)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I remember that many years ago it was your Father-in-Law who changed the colour of your blog to its current lovely blue.
ReplyDeleteWendy (Wales)
Mr. Burton looks like a kind soul standing there with you, John. Good that you both crossed paths.
ReplyDeleteThis warmed me up . ..
ReplyDelete“I enjoy the talk as much as our game
" You look happier" he told me
" I am" I told him back.”
Liking the picture of you and your former FIL . ..
“Kind” certainly wins the lot . . .
I remember when he used to comment on here. It is such a shock when a person dies unexpectedly isn't it?
ReplyDeleteMy condolences on the loss of your father-in-law, former or not.
ReplyDeleteYour choir is certainly adventurous in the songs you sing! Thanks to Jamie with his 1940s moustache, no doubt. Lovely harmony.
ReplyDeleteAm glad your plans are working out and you're happier.
My sympathy in the loss of your former FIL. To be remembered as a kind, gentle, and sweet man is high tribute indeed.
Hugs!
Father-in-laws can often be more precious than mother-in-laws! Fortunately I had both and miss them a lot, and they were lovely to me, a fairly new to America daughter-in-law way back then.
ReplyDeleteMay your ex-FIL rest in peace and find someone who will appreciate his jokes.
Always had a soft spot for him..he was kind and reminded me so much of our dad ..rest in peace Richard
ReplyDeleteThe passing of an old friend is always sad.
ReplyDeleteSorry for his passing. A person who crosses paths with such a man is a lucky person.
ReplyDeleteThey say kindness is it's own reward and you deserve to be treated as such by all the kindnesses you have shown, glad that your ex father in law was that kind of person.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear that you have lost someone you cared so much about, even if his jokes were shite, the world is always a poorer place for a loss.
ReplyDeleteI love that he was called Richard Burton ... I can now just imagine that rich Welsh drawl telling shite jokes!
He was from Kent x
Delete