For those of you who don’t know me I’m Sarah, Len’s Granddaughter.
I wanted to say a few words today just to reflect on Grancha’slife, and share a few stories. I wanted to tell you all a little bit about the great man he was.
One of Len’s hobbies was racing pigeons. He was really passionate about this and secretly quite competitive! He won loads of races and I recently found a stash of certificates in one of his sock drawers. As children my sister Rachel and I spent a lot of time with our grandparents during the school holidays. We didn’t really understand back then why we had to sit quietly on a chair in the garden when the pigeons were circulating, and would often think that Grancha was having a grumpy moment! I remember one afternoon when we were told to be quiet as the pigeons were coming back and we decided to go inside. I thought it would be funny to get the dogs over excited and then let them loose into the garden!Rachel and I watched through the kitchen window as the dogs ran up and down the garden at full speed, happily barking away and Grancha shot out of his chair and chased them all around the garden. We were laughing hysterically. Granchastopped when he saw us in the window and he started laughing – luckily he saw the funny side too!
Grancha loved dogs and was never without one as a pet. His dogs absolutely adored him and would always follow him around all day. In the evenings they would always be sat under his legs or on his lap whilst he watched TV – something I was always jealous of when we stayed over as they never wanted to sit by me for long! He always took the dogs out for long walks early every morning. Whenever we stayed over we would always wake up really early to join him on the walk.
Half-asleep we would get ready – I can’t remember what time we went but I do remember that it was still dark outside. The walks were great, and I have a lot of fond memories of those times. As we set off the sun would often come up and Grancha would tell us stories from when he was younger and they would always make us laugh. We would often go and visit horses and you could guarantee that Grancha would have a packet of mints in his pocket for us to feed them.
On a Sunday morning after taking the dogs out we would often go swimming to Risca Leisure Centre. Nan would watch us from the viewing area and Grancha would take us in the pool. Rachel and I would get in the pool in the shallow end but Grancha would always insist on diving into the pool at the deep end! He would take ages getting into the perfect position which we found hysterically funny! And then he would dive in, swim a little distance under water and come up for air with the biggest grin on his face. After swimming we would always go home and Grancha would make us a bacon sandwich and Nan would make us a hot chocolate and put The Waltons on TV. Those were the best Sundays.
Another of Granchas hobbies that he was well known for was playing bowls. He was never very good according to him – but he loved it and that was the main thing. He would often come home after a match and we would ask him how it went “very good” he would say. We would then badger him for more details and ask him how well he did. “I came last” he would declare more often than not, while laughing loudly!
Now and again my Nan would take us to watch him playing in a match which we absolutely loved. We loved the atmosphere and how competitive everyone was. We didn’t know the rules of the game or find the game itself all that interesting. But it was my Grancha playing and we were very very proud.

I couldn’t write about my Grancha without mentioning my wonderful Nan. They were married for over 50 years and they were a strong and happy couple. It was always “Trixie & Len” or “Len & Trix”. You would never mention one without the other. Recently I’ve been looking through old photos of their holidays and bowls tours. They were always sat side by side in every photo with everyone laughing and looking in their direction – they really were the life and soul of the party.
They would always bicker and Nan would often wind him up which again we found hilarious. It was all a pantomime though and was only pretend. They absolutely adored each other and both loved life. Things were never the same again when Nan passed away 5 and a half years ago but how could they be. Grancha really did lose his other half.
He got on with life as best as he could manage and got a lot of happiness from taking the family out for meals - whether it be a birthday celebration or for no reason at all. Grancha would always insist on ordering the steak wherever we went, and would never let any of us pay. At some restaurants we knew from past experience that the steak wouldn’t be good and Mum would try to convince him to have something else but he refused. It was always steak with a side of mushrooms and onion rings. I would always ask him how his steak was and you can guarantee his response would either be “lovely kid” or “tough as old boots kid”.
It’s very true that it is the simple things in life you remember. Nan and Grancha never had much money but just spendingtime with them created so many happy childhood memories for both myself and Rachel. We are both so grateful for how they welcomed us with open arms and their door was always open. Nothing was too much trouble, and it always brought a smile to my face when I walked in and saw them together.
Grancha was a kind, caring man. A family man who loved us all so much. He may have put on a hard front but he was a real softy at heart. He was a great and loyal friend to many, a great Dad to my Mum and the very best Grancha to me and Rachel. You will be deeply missed by many Granch but we will always love you and will never forget you.
Goodbye Grancha.
You will always live on in our hearts.