grandpa made this weathervane 30 years ago

fridays are tie days -grandpa

My English grandfather was a bit of an enigma to me have to say... A true company man in the 60's mold (double-tanked British racing green JaguarXJ6 included -fantastic) who was first a salesman (white gloves/ketchup popsicle type) then hard nosed union busting manager, and definitely not PC. Easy to make him laugh though, that felt good... First read Jaws and Dr. No from his bookshelf. His barber was the first to buzz the back of my neck as a short/back/sides; running your hand over that was a milestone.

Love the picture above as it showed him in entertain the children mode which consisted of getting out a Mamod engine (which ran on methylated spirits, the toy actually produced in nearby Birmingham) whose flywheel could be hooked up to various attachments like a polishing wheel. Other activities with gramps were; watch Tom&Jerry, mow the lawn, or eat unconstituted jelly cubes.

I could only find 1 photo of him NOT wearing a tie; and in later years a tie, shirt, v-neck sweater and tweed jacket were the uniform. Gramps rocked the brylcreem/braces/armband combo for as long as I remember; you can just peek the nickel armbands in the picture. Actually coming around on these; allows one to get dressed properly but then zoom your sleeves up a bit if you need to tackle say, a greasy oilcan for your grandchildren...

In the evening we could pour him a glass of sherry or he would make a G&T, soon to be followed by the mock-bellowing of someone has finished my drink! meaning can someone please refill my glass. Good stuff. He mellowed alot as the years went by and got to meet both of his grandchildren. Passed away a year ago, at Pops' house, about as perfectly as you could ask for.

The below photo was also at his West Midlands house about 25 years after the above, just next door to that yellow kitchen. Vermont map over my shoulder and granny's thimble collection on the wall. Grandpa probably wearing that same black tie...

grandpa's quelrayn

Material of the future 1970s style. Muji has something modern/similar.

union oyster house

Atwood Oyster House, 1826-ish. The circular oyster bar installed.

Photo from Sneaker Dog's flickr.
Jimmy, pre-shuck. Photo from 庶民小文's flickr.

Photo from Riacale's flickr.
One of grandpa's great lines was about a meal he had at the Union Oyster House in Boston. It was his first time visiting Pops in the US, (197?) so his first introduction to clam chowder.

"Excellent. Not a single clam."

I don't believe for a second there were no clams... Gramps had never had clam chowder before so probably ate the clams along with the potato, none the wiser. Just a great example of the "carry on" attitude of an older Englishman.

Sidenote: every March, Redbones in Somerville hosts a pop-up raw bar on Fridays. Jimmy (above) is on duty for that. Mark the calendar. Anyway, is UOH good times or just a tourist trap... will tell you after lunch. Haven't been in years...

[Update; total success. bowl of chowder and 1/2 doz. littlenecks. No mignionette (generally my fave) but not needed. Squeeze of lemon does it. The wooden bar of the raw bar is half caved in so it leans towards you, you think the soup will all slide into your lap but ingeniously they stick a wedge of coasters on the low side to even out the bowl. Warm cornbread a plus. In and out in 15 minutes. It is wicked crowded around Quincy Market but beat the rush before 1:30. Bosh.]

bookshelf -fup

This one for dad, not the wee boys. Just refound (yes it is a word) this. Short, sharp, cheeky book for anyone that dreams of being a grandpa one day. Thx to sis-in-law for this one.

By Jim Dodge, Fup tells the story of Grandpa, Tiny (he ain't), Fup the duck, and Lockjaw the boar. Add some ol' death whisper whiskey.

grandpa

Heading up to see grandpa this weekend. He used Brylcreem when he lived in Britain, i think he has given up that part of morning regime now. That's one look that hasn't really come back. The rockabilly types at school used black&white instead. You had to warm the stuff up with a hairdryer first to make the wax managable. Per their advertising; "This heavy-duty product is waterproof so it builds up in the hair until you get to the desired effect."

they dont build 'em like that anymore

Even extreme makeover shows don't remember to include the "ash tray" tiles. This was from the aged GP's house in England.