Conningsby, Lincolnshire circa 1974 (accurately dated by the bell bottoms)! This is my Dad at the tender age of 30 building our first real family home. Quite an achievement considering his background was completely unrelated to the building trade. I remember it well, it was state of the art modern bungalow with a fashionably cool sunken tile bath, purple and green walls as well as shag pile carpets to boot.
A few years later, he built me a doll's house which I still treasure. The walls are painted with the same colours as our bungalow. The floor in the kitchen is made up of the linoluem tiles that were in our real kitchen. Such great attention to detail.
With a career in the Royal Air Force, we left the house he built in 1980 and my parents have since moved too many times to count. But I still have fond memories of the vegetable garden, shelling beans on the back doorstep and my parents working 2 jobs each to make ends meet. As I get older I have nothing but admiration for them both for their resourcefulness and creativity, especially when we were little.
Our family don't do compliments very well. We're much more likely to insult or poke fun at each other but the bottom line is I'm very proud of my Dad. He's really quite a remarkable person. Completely self-taught, he seems able to turn his hand to just about anything...maybe his grandchildren will be the same?
We love you Grandad.
The doll house that my dad made me is still in England, but I'm hoping that he might disassemble it and bring it over, like he sometimes mentions...
The compliments thing sounds similar to my family (I have a terrible job findng greeting cards here, as Americans like to send long gushy messages in their cards, it seems), but with a post like that, I'm sure your dad knows how proud you are.
Posted by: Lil' d | June 14, 2008 at 06:24 PM
My dad used to build us things as well. He built us a go cart and put bus stickers all over it and we had a reel of bus tickets to hand out. I love the dolls house, you obviously have so many great memories.
Posted by: Thimbleina | June 15, 2008 at 01:54 AM
What a lovely tribute to your dad. That doll's house is gorgeous! Lucy x
Posted by: Lucy Locket-Pocket | June 15, 2008 at 05:44 AM
Awwwww. We used to have the doll's house that my Grandpop made - my sister has it now and is very proud of it still!
Posted by: dottycookie | June 15, 2008 at 05:55 PM
I have to agree with everyone else, this is a perfect tribute.
Posted by: Anne | June 16, 2008 at 01:19 AM
I love a girl not afraid to wield a power tool!! Even though I love them, I'm not sure I'd be confident enough to build my own house! Way to go Dad.
Posted by: Ali | June 16, 2008 at 08:37 AM
I love this post - the thought of having a dolls house which is a replica of your own house is a wonderful idea for any little girl.
Posted by: Alice C | June 18, 2008 at 01:46 PM