Dizzojay's Dean Dreams

Something (someone) I'm proud of

yourself (disguised enough that you're comfortable sharing the photo)	your favorite book (we won't tell any of the others you picked a favorite)	merchandise from a fandom (pick your definition of fandom--sports 100% qualify)	your exercise equipment	the view out a window
something alive	a meal	a letter/postcard from someone (feel free to redact)	something that keeps you sane	your computer
a useful tool	memorabilia from an event outside	wild card	a game you've been playing	a musical instrument
something someone made for you	a gift you're planning to give	an outfit you've worn recently (with or without you inside it)	something that makes you smile	the kitchen sink
something unexpected	something funny	a bad habit	a good habit	something you're proud of

Tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day.

And that got me thinking of my Grandad.  Mr D and I dug out his old wartime photo albums and have been flicking through them.  Even though it's been almost 11 years since we lost Grandad, I'm actually quite overwhemed with how emotional I am looking through them. I've been tearful for nearly an hour now, and don't think that's wearing off anytime soon!

His name was Arthur Ludlow and he was born in 1922 in a part of East London called Forest Gate.

He was a Weapons Technician/Electrical Engineer in the Royal Air Force, and was stationed in Egypt for nearly five years.  One of the great prides of his life was that he worked on Spitfires, and a few months ago, around the 10th anniversary of his death, I bought a plushie spitfire beause it reminded me of him.




I only knew him as my lovely Grandad who I could wrap round my little finger; he doted on me and I doted on him.  He talked about Egypt a lot, but not in the context of the war.  He very rarely spoke about the actual fighting.

Needless to say, I'm very, very proud of him.

My cousin texted this great old picture that she found recently while she was sorting some papers out.


It's my 21st birthday party back in 1989, and the five lovely ladies with me are:
(L - R)
My Mum's Sister-in-Law, my Aunt Philomena
My Mum's best friend  from school, I knew her as Auntie Sue
My Mum
My Mum's older Sister, my Aunt Sylvie
My Mum's younger Sister, my Aunt Jackie




( Picture here! )



Gotta love those 80's clothes and hairstyes!

Whoops, going away for a few days over the weekend has thrown me all out of kilter on this ... sorry for the delay in updating!

( Chapter 11 )

Chapter 10

It's ages since I posted one of my multi-chapter stories here, and I don't think I've given this one an airing yet, so ...

AND BABY MAKES THREE

Rating: T for a few naughty words
Genre: gen, humour, case!fic
Characters: Sam, Dean, Impala
Spoilers/Warnings: None
Word Count: 14,000 (12 chapters)
Disclaimer: as if it actually needs repeating, I still don't own them






( Chapter 1 )



I'll post one chapter each day (more or less!)

Today was my Grandma's birthday.  If she were still with us, she would have been 95.  As it was, she passed away in on February 6th 2003.   She was my Dad's Mum, and I was very close to my Grandparents on that side of the family; I was their only grandchild, after all!

My Grandma, Lillian (although she rarely ever used her name, her nearest and dearest knew her as Beau), was a remarkable lady.    She was born in South London in 1922, and her mother is where my family gets its Jewish heritage.  She lived in London throughout the Second World War, and seemingly loved every minute of it! In 1938, she met my Grandad, they married in 1942 in St George the Martyr Church at the Borough.  62 years later, I was bridesmaid for my long-standing friend, Jane, in that very same church.

It's a family joke that my Grandma's Dad was a bit of a wheeler dealer; the King of the Local Black Market if you like, and my Grandad's Mum was the landlady of the local boozer where a lot of his shady deals took place.  It's been said within the family that theirs was as near to an arranged marriage as you can get in our culture!!!

Grandma was a truly remarkable lady.  She started her working life as a 'clippie' (a female conductor) on the London Buses, and later transferred into the admin section of London transport where she rose from being a Payroll Clerk to a Payroll Manager over a number of years.  Bearing in mind this was in the sixties and seventies, an era when women weren't expected to progress in the workplace, and in many ways, they were actively discouraged from doing so, this was no small achievement.  I guess you could say she was a forerunner to today's modern 'career women'.

Although her work wasn't a conscious factor in my own career choices, here I am, forty/fifty years later - a Payroll Manager.  I like to think that would make her proud!

When my Grandad passed away in 2009, while my Mum, Dad and I were sorting out their house, we came across these beautiful old photos from my Grandma's family which none of us had ever seen before, I can't remember if I've ever shared them here or not, but regardless, this seems like an ideal time to do it ...


( Pictures )