grandad kit

Thank you for reading my blog. If you have difficulty seeing your grandchildren, or have any views about my situation, I would welcome your messages by e-mail through this blog site. If you wish, just use a first name or a nickname and your identity will be protected, like mine – “Grandad Kit.”

Dear “Tom”

Have you been sailing?

I am you other grandfather, the one you have never met. You are three years old, and although I have never met you, I love you dearly and always will. You are my flesh and blood, and always will be. We will meet one day, I am sure. I am writing this daily "blog" to you to make up for the fact that I can't speak to you right now. I hope that one day you will be able to read this.

Somehow I don't think your Mam has taken you sailing yet, but I hope she has. The sooner you start, the better. My Grandad taught me to sail when I was a boy, a bit older than you I must admit, but what little sailing I've done since then, I've really enjoyed. (Apart, that is, the one time I took Nana Ann sailing in a near gale. We managed to get back to shore eventually, but Nana Ann has never come sailing with me since and I don't blame her!)

But there's lots of ways that you can sail, or row, in a safe place like a small lake. Rowing is fine. I remeber when I took your cousin Elaine out in a rowing boat (on a baoting lake) when she was quite samll, younger than you are now, and she insisted on taking an oar and try to rwo, even though it was far too big and heavy for her. So I had to row both ways, back and forth, as it were, otherwise we'd have been going round in circles.

The reason I'm thinking of sailing right now is beacuse Nana Ann and I have just been to the Isle of Wight for the first time and seen all the yachts like the ones your Mam sails, so naturally we think of her - and you - the more. So I guess if we ever get the chance, we'll have to take you rowing in the first instant. But there's nothing quite like being out in a sialing boat, zipping through the water with no noisy engine and no fumes. It's great!

I've more or less made up my mind that I'm going to send an email to your Mam. Like last time, I'll have to word ir very, very carefully so she takes it in the right way. Then, you never know....

Love from

Grandad Kit and Nana Ann