RIP Les, a very special man.

We are back! After a rather extended trip away.

We had a really nice time in York (I will blog on that with lots of photos soon), but while we were there my Grandad died, so we ended up going first to Southampton to my brother's, then travelling up to Northampton with him, his partner and my oldest nephew for the funeral. We then stayed with my brother and his family for a few days.

I felt quite sad that we didn't get to see Grandad - we had planned a trip down to visit him from York, as I knew he was very ill, but he went before we made that trip.

This was my Dad's Dad, and like my Dad he was a lovely and genuinely good man. He was a bit cheeky, and a bit of a geezer, but was also very wise, and sharp as ever at 95. He always made me laugh.

All my grandparents were a huge part of my childhood, and with my Dad's parents there was always a lot of laughter. They were married for 70 years - seems unbelievable - and when we lost my Nan a couple of years ago we all wondered how he would cope. He did ok, with a lot of help from my Aunt and Uncle who lived near him, but he did get lonely, especially in the evenings.

This picture really reflects the warmth I always felt from them
I love this one too, not sure when it was taken, 50s, or possibly early 60s.

I have some wonderful memories of my Grandad. I felt truly humble, and grateful, listening to the tribute at his funeral. I really did get lucky with my family.