Thursday, June 26, 2014

Tales from the Trunk # 9

A Surfer Dude

While chatting to my cousin Graeme recently, he showed me a photo (the one below) of my grandfather.
Now, Granddad, was born in 1880 and died in 1965. At his death he was living in Gisborne.
It seems he was many things:  a bible-ridden Christian, a narrow-minded, somewhat intolerant and proud man, fiercely independent, son of an Orange Lodge-supporting Ulsterman, musical (see his flute), a storeman/warehouseman, a public servant; as he aged, he was crippled by arthritis and diabetes.
What I hadn't counted on was that he was also a 'surfer dude'! See what I mean for yourself:
Uh, oh - major revision of family stories required!

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