Today would have been my Dad's 76th Birthday and I felt it fitting to dedicate today's blog to his memory.  He was born on the 10th of July 1932 and passed away on the 15th of April 2008.  I miss him, as do all of my family and I was reminded of that more this past weekend when I was up in Yorkshire at my family home with my Mum.  I cleared out the last of his clothes and we shredded the last of the paperwork and of course we uncovered lots of photographs, in fact I found a whole cupboard full of slides that date back to the 1960's.  There were many sets of slides from 1970 - 1971 when Dad spent a year in Sharjah - part of the UAE.  I remember that being a very long year.  He left on a cold grey and rainy November day in 1970.  I was eight years old and my brother was 12.  It was a hard year for Mum, looking after 2 boys on her own.  Time seems to drag its' heels when you are that young.  It was a jubilant day when he returned though, bearing gifts from the then mystical Middle East.  Then, just less than a year later, we left as a family for Cyprus for the next 3 years.

Memories fade, as do photographs and many just get put into boxes and cupboards, out of sight.  I invested in a slide scanner recently and have embarked upon a project to digitise all of these memories so that they are more accessible.  They form a wonderful pictorial representation of a life of adventure.  Amongst my Dad's photographs are some great testaments to the great friendships he formed over his lifetime.  He wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination but he was a loving Dad who had a wonderful sense of adventure in his early years.  He somehow lost that when he retired early in his mid 50's due to poor health.  It is so great to look back at your loved ones who have now gone and remember them in much happier and healthier years.  It is an unexpected gift.  A reminder of what they once stood for. 

The biggest compliment we can ever pay to anybody is to say 'Thank You' to them.  So today I would like to say a big THANK YOU to my Dad for showing me; unconditional love, curiosity, knowledge, wisdom, the difference between right and wrong, compassion, acceptance, the joy of travel and adventure and the importance of family.  Happy Birthday and thank you Dad.   

William Henry Smith - 10 July 1932 - 15 April 2008