Old Spice and Winfield Blue

They had a clean out at the farm and found an old football photo
I'd seen it before, and knew two of them
Dad and his brother Kevin
But it turns out there's a third, the older brother Rex
It was the Young Christian Workers
Christ look at the hair
And the boots! The old ankle high, hard capped drop kickers
He was thin then, my Dad, and thin again now
In between he was bandy legged and beer bellied
Chimney smoking and not minding a drink,
"If your gunna have a drink - have a drink" he'd say,
and he would

He loved weddings
Lucky he had five daughters
Father of the bride suited him, so did the camera
Aleays smiling and tanned (that was okay then)
My favourite smell of him is a wedding smell
After a bath and a shave, the smell of Old Spice and Winfield Blue
Smelt it a few weeks ago, a man walked by my stall, the same smell
It took me back twenty years, two thirds of my life
Almost a quarter of his

He liked singing and had a good voice
Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Frank Ifield
Christmas morning and they'd all come out
And every few years a night at the pianola with the football brothers
They's call him Bollivar - after some boxer
and he'd sing and whistle, a good whistler
I'd fetch the beer, long necks then, more sociable than stubbies - a shared beer
The youngest, I never seemed old enough to drink with Dad
I guess I don't have an, 'I'd like a beer' look about me
We didn't get on for a lot of years
but that's okay now
Now it means we get on better, I think

There's another photo I'm looking for - no two more
One is Dad as a goal umpire
And one is Dad in the only white shorts in the line
He could stand out my Dad




Written behind my stall at Salamanca Market, and some time later read for Dad's eulogy - but not by me (very soft, me) It's more of a read aloud poem, but I like the sort of 'swelling' of emotion followed by a trivial fact, then emotion again - a bit like a boat ride.

For the same idea done much better look for Les Murray's 'The Last Hellos'. I sought it out at the library just after Dad died and cried all the walk home while reading it. Beautiful.