The last grandparent I had died this morning.
He was such a great guy. Was in the RAF in WWII and went to Iraq and other places but didn't really talk much about the war. He was always interested in us kids and what we were up to and our lives.
He had his own way of doing everything and was a bit of a rebel, certainly unconventional.
I used to love going to visit as he had a workshop and taught me how to make things. He used to make wooden toys and all sorts of contraptions. He was a bit of a mad inventor. I remember in his garage was one project he'd started years before as part of a peddle powered flying machine ... not a plane like everyone else built but a helicopter! (told you he was unconventional!)
When I was little, I worried about him not "being in the truth". Now I realise that he was too smart for that, even if he never objected to anyone else doing it.
Such a nice, mild-mannered guy - I can't ever recall hearing him raise his voice in my entire life and he was always there helping other people.
Goodbye grandad. I will miss you.