Brothers

I have on my paternal side two Uncles , Norman & Jimmy. My Dad was the eldest of the three brothers, but they were all characters. Jimmy the youngest was deaf & dumb, though it did not stop him from having numerous wives & girlfriends. He died in his sleep after a trip to Spain with his latest conquest, aged in his seventies. What a way to go. His infrequent visits were always great events for me, he would bring the latest girl he had met in London with him & have us all laughing at his adventures. He was the first to pass on & I still think about him with a smile on my face.

Norman was the middle brother, he fought & argued as siblings do with my father for most of their lives. My favourite story of Norman was his appearance in court, aged 65 for assault. The victim was his thirty year old neighbour, who had threatened Norman in an argument over a boundary fence tree. In my uncles world, if you made a threat you had better back it up, so this five foot six pensioner punched a thirty year old taller than himself once, in order to as he perceived it " Defend " himself. It was his one & only court appearance & when he stood up in the dock for everyone to see him, the moment was priceless.

I write this now because Norman is very ill & soon I will be left with none of my paternal uncles. I know it is an inevitability of the passage of time but that does not make it any easier.