A sailor and love

Today is a very special one as I am honoring someone who was and always will be near and dear to my heart. Over the last few years my mom and I have been putting together little things for memories about her father, my grandfather and the reason why I called this post by the title is because in his early days before he met my grandmother, he was a sailor, serving in the British Merchant Navy.

He joined the Navy in 1938 at the age of around 14 years old and he served in the Navy for about 17 years until 1955 when he met my grandmother while she was on a cruise with her best friend, his last commission and posting. After that cruise he returned to Southampton in England, packed all his belongings and moved to South Africa. Their story was truly a love at first sight scenario.

This is just a portion of some of his awards and documents that he had:

That is his photo on one of his trips, he was a very handsome man in his day and maintained that until his passing in July 2007. This is a man who was always very well groomed and very well dressed. He loved to wear his braces with all his clothes and was a great storyteller. My brother and my father could sit for hours listening to his stories and memories from the old days. Even I enjoyed hearing all his stories. He really enjoyed his time serving his country.

So over a period of 2.5 years, my mother and I compiled his memoirs and his story of this time: This was the final product which was given to my grandmother as a Christmas gift in 2016

It made her really emotional when it was given to her but it was something she really appreciated because she knows that it is what he would have wanted us to do for him. This is one story that made me believe that true love really does exist.

My grandfather sailed all over the world and got many awards. There was one medal which he was entitled to but never received and that was the "Polar Star" because he did two postings to the poles during his time of service. It is a real shame that he never got it but it would have been nice to add to his collection.

I have been feeling very nostalgic over these last few moths while telling my own story and with my mother's permission, I am paying tribute to him today.

It also reminds me of the journey I have gone on and how far I have come over the years. I would never have previously spoken about all I have been through but with all this happening lately, I felt strong enough to do so.

My wardrobe choices speak volumes because as many know. I was not a very confident person back then and now I have practically full confidence to tell a story that has been burning to come out. Having been the one that completed what my mother started when we started writing his memoirs. It made me contemplate doing what we did with my own story and the blog is just the starting point.

This was done in 2017 to mark the ten years of his passing. He has no grave site so I pay tribute to those I have lost or have overcome major battles through art on my body. My grandmother never understood why I choose this method but she accepted that this is how I do things. This very piece took me 2.5 years of planning to get the right style of the cross and wings. It hurt like hell but was well worth it when it was done. This photo was taken about four days after it got done.

I do plan to add to it for my grandmother, just need to find the right attachment. I have an idea so looking at options for that. More than two years down the line, it still looks really good. No fading at all.

They call today #throwbackthursday for a reason and this is a major throwback in my life for me as it is very near and dear to my heart

So, until next time. See y'all soon.

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