A smile returned today when I thought what Ken would have to say, about me wearing bright orange top, especially out in public. But Ken wore pink shirts! His sister and brothers, and I daresay few friends, would tease him about it, but he took all in good humour and was not deterred. I remember him arriving at my parents Ruby (I think) wedding anniversary do. He looked very smart with not only pink shirt, but he also had a tie on. He barely got in the door before realising he was the only one with a tie on so quickly undid his. Then whispered to me ‘How come Gramps isn’t wearing a tie?’ He had been sure Dad would be and that was a fair assumption.
When I think about Ken seeing what I am doing I can imagine him being quite proud of me, but more importantly he would like the fact his photo is out there for all to see. 😊 Ken would jump at any chance for a ‘claim to fame’. Such as when he worked at The Hilton Hotel in Cardiff and one of the guys in the group ‘Blue’ shared a lift with him. Then during his last 6 months he was given a ticket to go to a Top Gear show. There was a split second when the camera was on Jeremy Clarkson and Ken was standing behind him, so he sent link to me and said how many minutes etc in and I could see him. Knowing Ken he probably would have sent link to everyone he knew. lol I remember one day he said with a cheeky grin, ‘Why couldn’t it be somewhere other than my face’. As soon as he knew he would be having chemotherapy he shaved all his hair off. Ken was considerate and he didn’t want his sons to see it gradually falling out as they were too young to understand. Ken was determined to live his life as normal as possible for as long as possible. Insisted on making me a cuppa when I popped round to see him only days before he went into the hospice for the last time.
Certainly not what he would have wanted to be known for, but hopefully his smile on the photographs and notices and business cards I am giving out, will help prompt people to find out more about BCRT and donate to Kens Tribute Fund.