Relax with Sherrie time

Take a trip down memory lane with Sherrie as she recalls her bittersweet memories of childhood and her wonderful dad

Hello readers,

I’ve got a nostalgic column for you this week. I want you to think of all the things that bring back fond memories and give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside, so I shall try to evoke as many pleasant memories for you as I can, from when I was young.

Let’s start at the beginning. For me it’s a sherbet dip; you know, the one with the stick of liquorice sticking out of the top. Then Wagon Wheels, honeycomb, popping candy, Fry’s Chocolate Cream and ice-cream with a 99! Jam sandwiches were always a treat when I got home from school, but if I went to my nana’s house, it was posh cucumber sandwiches. It’s funny isn’t it when we look back, it always seemed to be sunny, and we were always so happy. My dad was a wonderful man and I miss him every day. He used to make the most enormous Yorkshire puddings with jam or gravy, which are still my comfort food to this day. He also said he often put Newcastle Brown Ale in my bottle when I was a baby. I think that could have been one of his tales, except I’m still a bit partial to a pint of Newkie, so it could be true!

Dad used to say the wars years were the best times of his life. I never understood it, and I always queried this.

“It was the camaraderie,” he would say. “But what about the bombing, the homes destroyed and the loss of life?” I would ask.

He always responded with, “People were always there for each other, no-one went hungry, no-one was left alone.” I always thought Dad was looking at those war years through rose-tinted glasses, but now in these difficult times when we need each other more and more, I can understand exactly what he meant.

Not long before he died, I was sitting with him by his bed in the nursing home. He had emphysema and was struggling to breathe. He was asleep and I held his hand. Then his eyes opened and he looked at me. My daughter Keeley was eight at this time and before he became ill, Dad had looked after her from the day she was born so they were very close. He held my hand and said, “I’ve just seen Keeley.”

I knew he hadn’t as she was at school. “She was standing in front of me, she was 21, she’s the most beautiful girl,” he said with tears rolling down his cheeks. “Oh Sherrie, she is stunning and she said she will never forget me. Then she hugged me tight and waved goodbye. It made me so happy.”

We both laughed and cried together. Within a few days he was gone and I sat with him in the funeral parlour as he was laid to rest, reminding him of the joy he’d brought to all our lives and still does.

I love you Dad.

‘People were always there for each other. No-one went hungry, no-one was left alone’