Yesterday I wrote about the tough circumstances that my grandfather endured during the early stages of his life. Today, I would like to write about what came next.
Arriving back to the UK at 21, Bob was what you would call a catch. His time in Malaya might have been brutal, but thanks to the hot sun and double wages, paid by the British and Malay government, Mr Taylor returned back to the capital tanned, toned, and cashed up. In fact, he was able at that age to own a CAR, a rarity even somewhat today in London. It was during this time he met my Grandmother, Maureen, and began a life long love.
As someone with an interest in economics, it’s interesting to see the charts that paint the post war boom with a dotted line. Far more fascinating is hearing what that looked like from the view of someone living through it. As we discussed yesterday, Bob had grown up with a single pair of clothes and borderline malnutrition. Those days were soon to be banished to the memory bin.
After the war, with plenty of work needed to rebuild a broken nation, the UK flourished. For Bob and his young family, that could be evidenced in how their holidays evolved. From camping by the Thames, to visiting the coast, and then eventually family trips to France and then Yugoslavia (forever known as Jug o’ Saliva in the Taylor household). 15 years earlier, the only working class people going to France would expect barbed wire, trenches, and machine gun fire, but here was Bob, driving around the Fourth Republic with a smile and a certain joie de vivre.
Bob was part of a generation that was exposed to the concept of leisure activities. It is wild to consider, but apart from a small sliver of society, the concept of spending one’s time purely for enjoyment, rather than work, family, or recovering from exhaustion, was relatively foreign beyond drinking at pubs. As the concept democratized, Bob grabbed the opportunity with both hands, and enrolled in almost every course imaginable. No Cap.
It started with guitar playing, but it didn’t end there. He learned how to play golf, and after playing a very long round with some of his friends, he realised that the club house he had borrowed his clubs from had given up and gone home. Rather than doing the common sense thing and leaving the clubs by the door, Bob just took them home. From then on, he would proudly show off his clubs to friends and family alike, including work colleagues. All this despite the clubs clearly stating “Property of Battersea Council”, although Bob would just say he got them for a bargain. He sure did.
Golf and guitar weren’t the only things that Grandad decided to educate himself in. He took up horse back riding for a few terms, eventually riding alongside a future British acting star. He took up flying lessons as well, despite being highly susceptible to motion sickness. Another classic hobby was him getting into yoga, which in the 80’s bordered between the fringe and the heretic. And my favourite was his intention to smoke a pipe. Now, smoking a pipe isn’t what many people would consider a hobby, but for whatever reason, Bob thought it would be rather sophisticated if he could smoke his pipe every Sunday. Unfortunately, or probably fortunately, this task is surprisingly difficult, and after countless weeks trying, and failing, to get the pip going, he ultimately confined it to the dustbin of history. I often think that he is one of the only people who ever quit nicotine due to incompetence!
When it comes to hobbies that made an impact though, it was the serendipitous decision that Bob made to take up rowing that probably had the biggest impact. It was through rowing that my parents met, and my uncle spent much of his young time, ultimately racing at Henley. Many decades later, my sister and cousins all spent many happy hours pulling stick, rowing for our high school, college, and club, everywhere from small regattas to national championships. Not many medals came our way, but we all had bucket loads of fun.
Yesterday I discussed how much of Bob’s early life was difficult, but that didn’t stop him from grabbing hold of his future with both hands. He was always someone highly engaged, interesting and interested, and full of life. He will be very much missed
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