The word character gets thrown around a lot, but I can safely say my Dad was a real character.

He would often go into fits of giggles that he couldn't control or stop and none of us would usually have any idea what he was laughing about. But it was contagious and before you knew it everybody would be laughing uncontrollably. My Dad liked the simple things in life. He loved Aston Villa He was claret and blue and as far as Villa were concerned he was ever the optimist. Relegation battle? No chance! One of the last times we saw him, I asked if he was feeling ok he told us thats he was good and ready to play for Villa. He loved Radio 5 in fact if there was a news story that he hadnt heard on Radio 5 he'd swear blind it hadnt happened. This often led to arguments... He loved popping for a pint... I had this theory that my Dad could walk into any pub in the country and walk out 5 minutes later with a new best friend. In fact when he and my Mom first moved to their new bungalow in Wigmore my Dad popped across the road for a pint. 30 minutes later he came home and he had got car parking spaces for us all, someone to buy me tobacco, someone to walk the dog and someone to walk a pint over the road too him when he wasnt well enough to walk across himself....

But the thing my Dad loved the most was his family and it was the most important thing in the world to him. There was never anything he wouldn't do for any of us. His favourite times of the year was our summer holiday and Christmas Day. It wasn't because he loved the beach or loved getting presents, its because he was there surrounded by his family and thats when he was at his happiest. Years ago when I found out I was going to become a Father my first reaction was can I be as good as my Dad - because you see he was the measuring stick. When we were kids he was playful and strong, firm but fair and as we got older he was always there for us side by side with my Mom because they were always a pair... I stand here today and I can honestly say that we couldn't have had a better Dad and his grandchildren couldn't have had a better Grandad. He was and is my hero. I'm proud of his family values and I'm so proud that he was my Dad. He was a husband, father, Grandad and a Joker right to the very end and there will never be anyone like him the mould was well and truly broken. Our family will never be the same again - But if a legacy of a mans life is measured by the lives he has touched and how much he is loved then a big part of my Dad will live on in all of us. With a really heavy heart today I will do what he would of wanted me to do. I will raise a pint of beer to him and say thank you Dad and goodbye