An Ode to Eric....x

Bonsoir,

Today would have been my granddads birthday. Something like his 97th (correct me if I'm wrong mum, I'm estimating) had he made it this far. 

Eric Seach was a stand up gent, a true inspiration to me. I've touched on the pathetic attempt at fatherhood my dad made, details need not be forthcoming at this point, but safe to say Eric stepped up when Terence O'Neill laid down. 

When I was about 8 and he was over 60, he took my sister and I roller skating. He’d never been before, but he got involved anyway. At 8, I ran rings around him, twisted him in knots and left him flailing, on the deck more than once. Whilst I never saw him as an old man, I think this was the day he first realised he wasn’t a young, motorbike riding, ballroom dancing champion anymore.

Certain things he did stick in my mind. We grew up with little room for luxuries in the family budget. Make no mistake, mum is a seriously smart family chancellor of the exchequer, but with not a penny from Terence things were seriously tight at times. We had the village shop for the whole of my school years and maybe 10 years into out tenure, mum wanted to freshen up the offerings and change the décor. I remember granddad being there for the whole refit. I remember he built all the shelving, displays etc himself. I remember his toolkit in a sack, I remember how hard he worked for his family that couple of weeks the shop was shut. Totally selfless, pushing himself to his physical limits. I loved that guy for helping my mum.

Rachel (my sister) and I used to go on holiday with nanny and granddad to Southwold. He used to take us up to the top of Canon hill and let us play on the canon’s, watching out for lifeboats and buying us toffee apples and making us promise not to tell nanny. We went to the church where they were married there. I drew this church on their 50^th Wedding Anniversary tablecloth, I was really proud to have been bestowed with the centrepiece of their most precious present.

When nanny died, and granddad was in full health one of the first things he did was take a holiday abroad. He’d never been overseas on holiday because nanny would always say to him that they would only go once they’d seen all of this country. They never did of course.

Granddad died about a year after nanny. He’d developed a big tumour, undetected and inoperable. He knew his work was done, he’d seen nanny through Alzheimer’s, he’d stood by her for over 50 years. They say everyone has cancer in them and it can be set off by anything. I believe this, because Eric would be here today if nanny had still been alive. He was the most dedicated family man I’ve ever met and he completed his purpose in everyway. I really hope I can become 10% of the man he was, because if I am, I’ll be a great father and lover.

I’ll leave you with one of my all time favourite quotes from one of my favourite ever books;

“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.” ― Winnie the Pooh

One Love Eric

Jeremy

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