it is quite peculiar, look you see, what the occasional off the cuff request can see you being exposed to. no, hang on, this isn't anywhere near as dramatic or as overbearing as that rather pompous opening sentence might suggest.
there is a school project underway in New Zealand. one of the participants in this project is, unless i have not been told something, my first niece, Katie. it's a project that relates to World War 2, and as such her Grandad has been helping her with some tales of her (let me get this right) great-great grandad, who served in this conflict.
i was asked if i could see if i could find some pictures of Sgt Robert Chapman, for that is who Katie's great-great grandfather is, to go with the project. off i went, then, to Katie's great-grandmother to see if she had some pictures of her father in uniform. the answer was, well, as you can see, yes.
quite a smart, handsome gentleman, i trust you agree. i can but assume that any redeeming looks or features of me stem from here somewhere. i doubt, however, i was ever fit enough to serve my country in the armed forces. is that to my shame? perhaps, but i would like to think that if you were able to quiz my great-grandfather on the subject, he would suggest that it would be best if the child of no one ever had to fight in the way he did ever again.
as the ability to travel time via photographs has proven to be quite popular here on this blog (and probably on others that have nothing to do with me), i have borrowed a couple of other pictures off Gran and Gramps. here we go, then, family, friends and random strangers kindly reading, enjoy.....
that is indeed i towards the back, with my siblings Richard and Gillian at the forefront. i have every confidence that you can work out which is which.
this might be going out on a limb, somewhat, but i will suggest that the above was taken prior to or on a celebration of Halloween, probably in the late 70s or maybe as recently as 1980. no after, though, for we would all look a good deal more Australian. what's interesting about this is that every Halloween for the last 2 or so years i've heard that England "has never" celebrated Halloween, and it's an American thing which we have only imported in the last decade or so. not so, as you can see, for as far as my memory stretches back it very much always was a "thing" here. so shut up, boring fuddy duddies.
not much i can say about the above, other than smart. as in that's a most smart shirt i had on, that's a smart tv set and someone obviously thought the wallpaper was tres smart as there seems to be more of that than us in the actual photograph.
oooooooh! i have a "Dad Rock" CD on that i got for father's day today, right, and, Glory Of Love off of Peter Cetera off of Karate Kid II is on. boss, that film was, where he went off and knacked all them people in Okinawa with some smart kung fu.
Richard enthusiasts who were excited about the picture above will, i suspect, be all the more impressed with this very next one of him, ostensibly in action.
yes, that is Gramps holding him, and indeed yes that is Gramps assisting Richard down a pint of beer. in a proper style pint pot, not that straight glass rubbish they serve you down in London. although, in fairness, i believe this picture is in Torquay.
no, it was not too long after this picture that Richard worked out all by himself how to down pints. as far as i am aware he is very much still able to do this, as and when the situation calls for it.
Warren Zevon's Lawyers, Guns & Money is on the CD now. this record is boss, to be sure.
that is indeed Gramps, dressed for and celebrating something quite formal. could be a christening (mine, even), could be a wedding, or just a general happy event at which people, rightly, paid their respects to Gramps. as you can see, Gramps is also doing that smoking that he never did in the picture.
this picture is included here as my (considerably) better half reckons Gramps is in an "incredibly lee" pose in it. ha! i wish i looked that smart and stylish, but what a wonderful compliment.
what's that, you want another picture of me that you might not mind having to put up with looking at me in? that's pretty much doable, for no one looks bad in baby form
indeed that is me with Mum & Dad, presumably at one of my first ever homes. i have kind of moved around a lot, so there are a few to try and remember. i can't imagine the above picture was taken at any stage other than my first days or weeks of life, perhaps it's even from when i was christened. so, yeah. i would be now somewhere just slightly north of 20 years older now that my Dad was when this was taken.
one more picture of Sgt Robert Chapman in uniform to finish of? surely. there are probably more pictures of him in uniform, but none that we could find right now....
right, that's that for now. hopefully Katie's school project goes well, and that the two pictures from here that were asked for helps out with it all!
indeed i have built a second bike this weekend, and pictures shall follow. for now, though, rest i must.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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