Uncle Keith

I had an uncle, I say had as he passed away a few years back. To me, he was an amazing man his smile lit up a room and his ears could block the sun, poor bugger, big ears are a family thing though his were the biggest. I suppose lots of folk have a favourite uncle or aunt and Keith (Keiko) was mine. Funny thing is though, I was a teenager before I really got to know him, he had always worked away and never really attended family gatherings, then one day he turned up at my nans, his Mums for a short holiday and stayed with her until she passed away.

He was an identical twin, he and his brother were third in line of 11, 10 survived into childhood and beyond. All 10 have some kind of nick name, mostly it was about how younger siblings pronounced the names of older siblings when they began to talk, or how tall or short they may have been. Anyway, however ever it happened Keith was Keiko, a fastidious man who always looked and smelt clean, in pressed trousers and shirts with the sleeves rolled up his arms usually held up with a silver sleeve garter used by men back in the day.

Keiko loved a flutter, horses, cards two flies crawling up a wall anything. Particularly if he was competing with his brothers and other family members at family gatherings, Christmas, Easter and the like. Though it had to be kept quiet from Nan as gambling on Sundays and any religious festival was frowned upon. Many times, we would be playing cards on a Sunday while she was having a nap, if she called from the bedroom you are not playing cards are you, Keiko would always say no Mum, with a silly grin.

One of Keiko’s other loves was a cold beer or several if he had the chance, he wasn’t a stubbie or can man he poured his beer out of a king brown, something we don’t see these days. A large brown bottle which held approximately two stubbies.

Like all my uncles he was a good cook, kept a very clean house and could sew if he needed to, skills learnt from his mother.

Keiko had a language all of his own be it physical or spoken! If you said is the sky blue he would say “correct weight” meaning yes, if something was good he would rub his hands together grin and wink or show the ok sign with a quirky little bend in his fingers. He didn’t really speak in decimal terms something would cost a quid or a shilling. Everything else had a nickname or shortened name that also applied to us, almost like cockney slang meets old Australian. Once you had the hang of all of this you were in business, I could spend hours with him listening and asking questions.

There was also a soft side to this tall thin man with big ears, I could talk to him about what was going on in my life and loves, there was inevitably feedback, can't say it was advice just feedback that I could take in or cast off. He loved his mum and his numerous brothers and sisters; he especially loved the times they were all together laughing, having a drink and a good feed. Never married he loved his many nieces and nephews whom he usually called by both their names Andrew Charles or Jillian Paula something I picked up from him when I refer to my nieces and nephews. There was always a birthday card in the post and a few bob too spend when you visited.

I took him for a spin on my motor bike one day he was tickled pink, smiled for hours afterwards.

I can’t really say why I loved him so much just did I was heartbroken when he died and will always miss him, I can still hear him saying how about one for the road Jilly Ann, Jilly Ann, Jilly Ann, Ann, Ann.