Carraghs Gem 1,675 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 In no particular order... My grandad... RIP. He fought in WW2, was a builder by trade and a very keen gardener, grew all his own veg for many years. Influenced me greatly as i learnt at a young age it was possible to be self sufficient or at least partly self sufficient My mother... Never has there been a women so good at making a small bit of money go far... If i hadnt had it drilled into me never to borrow money, never to owe anyone i would most likely be morgaged up to the hilt like everyone else and be in dept up to my eyeballs, she also put the money together for holidays to africa/greece amongst other places nearly every year even tjough we lived in virtual poverty so i got to experience a great deal at a very young age... My dad is also a massive influence he is ex army, has worked with lions out in africa, he fought against the mau mau and has taught me a great deal... I can possibly blame my interest in food to him... He encouraged me to try a lot of exotic foods when i was young. My brother in law... Cultivated my interest in hunting when all i had was a ferret and a pet russel, amused the hell out of him that a girl... And an english one at that was so keen especially since my upbringing was with show dogs, rescue dogs and amongst folk who were predominantly anti hunting. My neighbour.. Mick higgins... RIP he helped me out with grazing for the pony i rescued in exchange for a bit of company and help around his land, he was 79 and still did everything the old way, the only technology he had was an electric kettle and he taufht me many old country ways from setting snares to breaking a donkey to cart to using a scythe to grafting apple tree branches onto other trees and he did try to teach me how to catch eels with a piece of wool and some worms Another neighbour p.j donnelen... Last of the old dodges.. Taught me everything has a value... Had me out riding part broken horses so he could sell them as quiet riding horses at fairs, i often jumped up bareback onto an animal with only his word for it that it was broken lol... He taught me how to bullshit lmao he had me selling all kinds of livestock from chickens to goats to horses... turned me into a bit of a horse dealer Charles hanley... Thanks to him i can handle any horse... He threw me in the deep end when i barely knew one end of a horse from the other.. Put me in with sports horse stallions and i had to learn very fast how to handle them or id have got badly hurt Jeezo gem, that's like an Oscar speech good post Thats the short version baw but if it wasnt for me moving to ireland when i did id probably be a homeless alcoholic by now. You must be the only person who goes to Ireland to get away from alcohol Its hard to explain baw... i didnt have much of a life outside work and the pub in england, my mates were sad little lowlifes and i didnt even know it, when i moved to ireland i was stuck in the middle of nowhere and had to adapt... i have got problems with drink but ive more important things to be doing than drinking 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NEWKID 27,432 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Dave My dads best friend/labourer and a constant in our house, during my funny childhood he was my weekend escape... From about 6 years old as soon as I arrived back for the weekend I'd be with Dave, he took me nesting, fishing, ferreting, lamping any out door pursuit... They only thing I couldn't go on was his and Ivor's nighttime salmon poaching sessions ( too dangerous for a kid lol) but I'd regularly go poaching rabbits and hares at night. He never had any money as such but he gave me, what I think is the biggest thing, time, lots of it... He sadly passed away far too young Both my parents have had huge impacts in my life in lots of ways good and bad.. But all ok now And my younger brother, we've never been apart.. We've lived together and still work together, we're as close as inseparable as you can get... We saw a lot as kids and I naturally took a fatherly role, a closer bond you wouldn't get.... 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
whippet 99 2,613 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 margret thatcher.................lol Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lab 10,979 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Well apart from obviously my Mum and Dad who i think brought me up really well then the next biggest figure in my life would be my Grandad on my Mums side. He's the one that got me interested in the job i do now...pheasants was his passion and he passed that down to me..(although now i'm beginning to doubt that). Spending most of my Sundays and most of my school holidays working on the rearing field i think it installed a decent work ethic in me, not to be lazy for one and go out and graft. All my interest in dogs, guns and general countryside activities stems from my time spent where i am lucky to stay now. I wouldn't change much, maybe some people aye....but in general am happy enough.... This is him winning another yearly clay pigeon shoot.......he could knock them down.... Miss him lots.. 11 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malt 379 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Probably my nan and grandad. In the days before the Internet, if I ever needed to know anything my grandad would be the first port of call. I lived at my grandparents house off and on for a large part of my early life and my grandad was at home recovering from a serious work injury in which he fractured his skull. He taught me to read and write at a very early age, I could read the newspaper before I even went to school. He fuelled the quest for knowledge that all young kids have got and then some.. He was also responsible for my love of rugby. Every international day his brother used to come round and they used to sit in the front room shouting at the TV! They were old fashioned in a way, only used to drink shandy because they didn't believe in drinking properly round us kids who were always there. I miss him a lot, he died when the whole family was away in the canaries back in '03. My nan has always been there for me, more so than my own mother. Even to this day with her 81 and me 35 she phones up a few times a week to enquire after us all if she hasn't seen or heard from us for a few days! Going to be a sad day when she's gone.. Every Saturday we all used to go round to my nan and grandad's for dinner, even when there were about 12 or more of us grand kids, all growing fast. Because of this, all us cousins grew up more like siblings than anything else, close bonds that remain until this day.. My grandad (centre) with his brother to the right and his brother in law to the left, all dressed in their local club gear after coming back from watching the local team they all used to play for My grandad with a load of us piled all over him! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mushroom 13,252 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Actually feel quite sad reading this. Maybe my best friends dad taught me Judo and really put in a lot of time trying to straighten me out, just didn't realise it back then and was still a wee cnut Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paulus 26 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Tommy cooper, the young ones, bottom, jim will fix it.........................no wonder i turned out how i did Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lab 10,979 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Tommy cooper, the young ones, bottom, jim will fix it.........................no wonder i turned out how i did Jim'll fix it, the young ones, bottom................ Too f***ing true... 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NEWKID 27,432 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Tommy cooper, the young ones, bottom, jim will fix it.........................no wonder i turned out how i did Jim'll fix it, the young ones, bottom................ Too f*****g true... Haha.... Nice one Quote Link to post Share on other sites
NEWKID 27,432 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Good stories lads and lasses.... Surprising how much Grandparents play such a role in People's lives... I'm glad my kids have a lot of time with their grandparents, I've got to hand it to my parents they are great grandparents, they don't spoil them with money but spend loads of time with them... I never knew one set of Grandparents, but enjoyed getting to know my dads dad in later years. He was back in Ireland and had lived a life of excess, he was still poaching salmon at 70 and done time for it rather than pay his fines lol.. He was mad, the first time I met him properly I was about 14, he was a roofer by trade, owned a bit if property inc a snooker hall with amusements, he would sell cigs and tobacco from his house which he got off of ships in the channel smuggled back in his Orkney salmon netting boat lol, he also pulled a small hut on wheels onto the promenade to sale ice creams to the holiday makers on weekends... It was whilst he was doing this I walked over and met him ( I'd not seen him since I could remember).. I said hello, he jumped out of the hut window and started shadow boxing around me... I didn't know wether to shake his hand or chin him lol... He was a funny man, but I had limited time with him unfortunately.. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RubyTex 1,957 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 For me the biggest influences on my life were my grandma and grandad. Growing up my parents worked all hours to put a roof over our heads so we were at my grand parents house every week day, and sometimes on a weekend. My grandad is why i love the countryside so much. He never hunted, he did a bit when he was younger but didn't really get into it, but my love of walking, photography, camping, making sticks into spears, pissing about in rivers etc stems from him. We would walk for miles down by the river, messing about, making dams and generally having a good time. We'd always say "right let's go this way today and explore" of course he'd explored everywhere already in his youth, but still loved showing me places. He also passed on his love of gardening, growing up he'd get me digging over his garden, planting, watering etc, and helping round the house. They taught me a good work ethic and manners. My grandma is just a legend. Very strict growing up but if mum said no to something, she'd say yes always kept us well fed, not really active due to arthritis/dodgy hip/dodgy back even when younger but always up for a short walk and good to chat to. I lived with them for a couple of months when i was 18, parents chucked me out and my grandma took me straight in. I've got a mint relationship with them both, i live 25 miles away now but get down to see them at least once a week, and i'm always phoning. They're getting on, and that's what scares me. I lost my great granny last year, 97 years old. I was f***ing devastated, as i was very close to her too and she was another influence. She was always visiting and having banter and just generally being a stern old school granny but at the same time easy going and always quick to comment if any of them "bloody blacks" were in the news When i went abroad last year I hadn't seen her for about 2 months then the next thing she's in hospital and on her last legs. When we got to the hospital she could barely talk, in fact all she said was "home", she was too weak to talk to. She passed on the Sunday and i felt like i'd been hit with a sledgehammer. Had some great times though. Me, my great granny, bro and cousin These are my grandparents, with my uncle not me 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LaraCroft 863 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 My Grandad - my beliefs, manners, love of the countryside, and ethics. And some books - Vera Brittain "Testament of Youth" made me want to be a nurse - something I love. "Black Beauty" - for making me be the sort of horse owner that does right by the animal. You can laugh at the books, but never under estimate the power that an idea read, can have over someone. 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gnasher16 30,456 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Id say the biggest influence over me was probably my old boxing manager......he saw good in me where nobody else did and left a lasting impression on me in my understanding of competetive spirit and dedication. A slightly less influential but equally important person was a Welsh prison officer i met in Wandsworth nick......he was a man of great strength and stature who made me believe in myself....he put faith and trust in me and i couldnt let him down at one of those junctions in life we all have where you could go one way or the other.........i havent seen him for a long time but i,ll always be grateful. The last person is the brother of a good friend of mine..........he is downs syndrome but i never leave his company without feeling lifted and influenced by him in one way or another he is a beautiful young man who i just cant say no to .....he always wants to arm wrestle me for money and i just havent got the heart to beat him.....i say to him " you beat me last time ".......he says " no ive never PLAYED you before " ...............I still wonder if he,s more clever than i give him credit for !! Nice thread this......some nice stories 11 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
derbylad1 293 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Rylan....he was such an inspiration on last years X factor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tommy pepper 222 Posted April 11, 2013 Report Share Posted April 11, 2013 Me grandad and me dad Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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