Librarian Girl's Dapper Dad!

I can't resist posting this photo of my legend of a dad, Dennis. There's a lovely story behind the photo. A short while ago a friend added me to a new group she thought I'd be interested in on Facebook, where members post historic photos of our hometown and its inhabitants. I think it was set up by a local historian. Photos that were once seen only by a few people are now being dug out, dusted down, scanned and uploaded to Facebook for all to see.

So I thought I'd check in to make sure there were no hideous photos of myself as a teenager; thankfully I was a shy kid (I like to think I had an air of mystery about me), stayed away from the limelight and as a result only one newspaper clipping featuring yours truly at an '80s school charity event has seen the light of the social networking day. And fortunately I was sporting my shoulder length bob and not my first unsupervised trip to the hairdressers hairdo that resulted in my lovely locks being shorn off. And I mean completed shorn off. It was a Friday after school in 1985, I wanted a spiky top with long back and sides (I know, I know), I was 12 and had a school disco to attend in the evening. Clearly I didn't explain my dream do very well and remember feeling a twinge of panic when the stylist asked me a couple of times if I was sure it was what I wanted before she proceeded to hack away at my barnet. I was too shy and it was too late to say STOP! once half of my head had been stripped of hair. I sat in muted horror as she cropped it close to the skull. After showing me the back of my skinhead new hairstyle in the mirror and pretending to like it, I fled to my older sister who laughed, albeit nervously, as tears streamed down my cheeks and I bemoaned the fact I looked like a boy. She attempted to style, or rather salvage, what remained of my hair with a dollop of fluorescent green gel and, fair play to me, I held my head high as I entered that disco hall. Whilst a shy kid I certainly had balls: I was wearing a classic beige mac over my flecked disco outfit and was used to my peers humming do do do do do Inspector Gadget whenever they were in my mackintoshed vicinity. God, I got some flack for wearing a mac. Yet just a few months later absolutely everyone was sporting one, with a scarf that was secured through the shoulder loops and HAD to be draped in a triangle shape at the back, by which time I was getting stick for donning some other outlandish garment (moon boots). So taunts of 'hahaha you look like a boy', 'hahaha look at your hair' simply bounced off of me. Hi five to my younger self! And now I keep it long (my hair, that is) although to this day I am plagued by the odd dream where I relive the shock of having my locks shorn off and wake up yelling. (Post traumatic 'tress' disorder).

Anyway, yes, whilst browsing photos on the Facebook group my friend invited me to join I logged off thinking 'I bet I see a photo of someone I know on there before long'.

And what happened a few days later?

I get a text from my sister telling me there is a rather retro photo of our dad, Den the Don (he is the head of a very vast family), on the group!

I couldn't wait to see it. There aren't many photos of my parents from days of yore so I scrambled onto the site to see our dad. He was mid 40s when I came along so I love to see photos of a younger him. He is pictured in a pub called the Grotto (which incidentally is no longer in existence) with his work colleagues, and he is the dashing fellow on the far left. It was taken circa 1970 - 42 years ago when he was, in fact, 42.

Check out the full head of hair! Check out the skinny tie and dapper suit! Check out the crafty fag cupped in hand! He reminds me of the chap in The Prisoner! To think he has a brood of six children waiting for him at home with me a mere twinkle in his eye; he doesn't look old enough.

It was lovely showing him the photo on the laptop and I think he enjoyed the trip down memory lane. We all had a joke about him being on Facebook and I think my sisters and I shed an inward tear as we love our dad to pieces and wish he didn't have to age. He's still a handsome, impeccably turned out chap.

And he is always there for us, no matter what. He's always put his family before himself. That's why he's a legend.

Dad, I salute you.


Pin It