Blog Archives - FordeFables

September 30th, 2013

30/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Do you ever miss the Norman Tebbits of this world from the arena of politics; Maggie's ally cat who could tear apart the feeble arguments of his socialist opponents in mere moments by use of an appropriate phrase that better fitted the situation and the time? Of all the political slogans and phrases of the past fifty years (Some of which I agreed with and some I didn't), my most memorable would have to be 'Get on your bike and go out and look for work?' : 'Peace in our time' : 'The lady's not for turning' and 'We're all in this together!' I'll not forget any of these political-landmark statements, but shall never forget that of the Chingford skinhead who never forgot his roots." William Forde: September 30th, 2013.

September 29th, 2013

29/9/2013

Thought for today:
"We all have a secret past in some degree; things we did in our earlier life that we may not wish to be reminded of or for which we remain deeply ashamed or embarrassed. No one comes to a new relationship without a past and if your partner's drawer is neat and tidy when opened, leave it alone without seeking the need to rummage in all its corners. What you learn by unwilling contribution is often more likely to destroy your happiness and relationship than what you aren't aware of. Those things of the past which have been kept secret from you have usually been left undisclosed for good purpose. After all; take away a person's right to have a recess of their mind which only they have access to and you may as well take away their means of all peace and mental reconciliation, along with their potting shed at the bottom of the garden." William Forde : September 29th, 2013.

September 28th, 2013

28/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Nothing halts the pleasure of my senses more than the passing of a season. I love all four seasons of our green and pleasant land in equal measure, yet love them for different reasons.

I love the spring because of the new birth it represents, the summer for the pleasures of life it provides in abundance, the autumn for the true purpose of change it reveals and the winter for its timely reminder that hibernation and rest is good for the mind, body and soul

And yet to witness summer slowly die and know that flowers will fade, grasses wilt, leaves prepare to fall and creatures withdraw once more to their woodland bolt holes and hidden nests above and below ground, produces a time of personal reflection upon the gradual passing of one's own existence.

But behold the new life that awaits all; fear not the passing of yearly months and nature's seasons for they will never die. There is a great comfort in knowing that though our life within nature's woods is often confined to no more than three score years and ten, that we too will face rebirth in every child we ever parented and every family relation that bears our name. Rejoice for their springs to come, the summers of their dreams yet to be realised and the bountiful harvests of their heritage." William Forde: September 28th, 2013.

September 27th, 2013

27/9/2013

Thought for today:
"A life can truly be considered to have been well spent when one's children are rewarded with the starting impetus to do well. Forget lavishing money and material wealth upon them. Instead safeguard their good health, firmly establish good principles in them, fix their character and build their childhood in the foundation of good breeding, conviction, a love of truth and a desire to seek out justice. In general, dress them well in the 'full outfit' that enables them to fight the battle of life with success. If they can rejoice in coming first, second, third or merely competing in the race, they will never be considered 'a loser' or regarded as 'an also ran' when their lives are finally assessed by those they leave behind." William Forde: September 27th, 2013.

September 26th, 2013.

26/9/2013

Thought for today:"The long and short of it, and not to labour the point is this, daughter. If you really want to bag a man, you'll just have to stop dreaming about him and get out there and look. Next year you'll be 53 years old, and with no suitors beating a path to your door, if you want to meet your Prince Charming, he's not likely not pass this way with a glass slipper to fit you. Get off your backside and get back out there into the dating scene. You'll have no luck perched here like a kept kipper waiting to be picked up by some passing tom cat!"

I can well imagine how difficult it can be for older people who have never married, been long divorced or even widowed to stir themselves into having a social life again. Then there are those who have been badly hurt or let down by another who find it almost impossible to trust another individual and risk a broken-heart repeat. I also think that it must be more difficult for those of us who are physically challenged in our appearance and mannerisms; and yet, I fervently believe that there is someone out there for you and that fate waits in the wings for us all.

The happiness of being with someone you love can never be measured or surpassed. I was told months ago that I have a terminal illness and yesterday I learned that it had advanced yet, believe me when I tell you that I have never been happier in my life than I have been since I met my wife Sheila. Had anyone told me after my divorce that another woman would make me so happy, I simply would never have believed them. Once I met my new love, 'after getting out there' again, the feast of life which had invariably always been good to me provided me with untold treasure of the heart. Believe me when I say that had I been presented with the option of living another 30 years without ever having met Sheila or just a few years with her, there would simply have been no choice to make!

I tell you this, not to elicit your empathy and love which I know I have in abundance, but because there are so few occasions in a person's life when one is truly capable of influencing another. So my thought for today is simply the message, 'Never give up on self. Never give up on another and most of all, never ever give up on love. Love is the most enduring of all emotions and lasts beyond marriage and indeed life itself.' Believe me." William Forde: September 26th, 2013.

September 25th, 2013

25/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Here is daddy's girl, the apple of my eye. If you want them to be hard workers when they grow up, then start them climbing the ladder of opportunity when they are young. It's no use trying to get them out of bed before noon when they reach their teens if they've never had the practice of 'getting up early' or tasting the early fruits of their labours." William Forde: September 25th, 2013.

September 24th, 2013

24/9/2013

Thought for today:
"In the maelstrom and chaos of everyday life, don't be surprised when things just turn into a big mess. Yesterday after a marvellous wedding week in Poland where the weather was fine. Next, it started to rain on the way to the Krakow Airport. Then, five minutes after we were schedule to board, we were informed that the flight would be delayed three hours; making our return to Haworth coincide with the early morning milk delivery.

Doesn't it simply suck whenever anyone or anything 'rains on your parade?' If ever this happens to you, instead of sulking, take a leaf out of Eeyore's book and simply take the drenching, for it adds up to no more than water off a duck's back. Take the drenching and dry yourself off. Know that tomorrow is another day and that its sun will shine down on you and everyone else below in equal measure, especially if you live in good old Haworth." William Forde: September 24th, 2013.

September 23rd, 2013.

23/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Today we fly home from Krakow, Poland, after having attended the wedding celebrations of Mr and Mrs William Forde (the second).

It was lovely to see one of my children conclude his marriage union with a ceremony in a Polish Roman Catholic Church. I still recall the day of his Baptism at 'St Aidan's Catholic Church' in Mirfield, thirty years ago. His mother made his Christening gown from the material of her wedding dress.

Every parent likes to see their children follow in the footsteps of the faith in which they were brought up; a faith that has served me well over seventy years.

When William was a child, one of my favourite television programmes was, 'Kung Fu'. Each week after viewing the episode, I would place some tiny object in the open palm of my hand and say to William in a David Carradine voice,' Grasshopper, take the pebble from my hand. When you can take the pebble, then you will be a man and can go about your life's business.'

Alas, William was never quick enough to snatch the pebble before I closed my open palm, but that didn't stop him legging it to Australia when the fancy took him! I also used to tease him with the size of my leather jacket as I placed it around his small shoulders, telling him that he could also keep that garment when he was a man and when his shoulders were broad enough to support it. The jacket was so heavy that his mother used to have to prop up his childlike body in the event of him toppling over. If I still had the jacket, Will, I would now give you it, but as your brother Adam was the first one ever to snatch the pebble from my hand, he also snatched the jacket before legging it to London! Still, grasshopper, I can confirm that you are at last a man; nay, a 'good man'. William Forde Snr.": September 23rd, 2013.

September 22nd, 2013.

22/9/2013

Thought for today:
" Yesterday my son William and his beautiful bride got married in Poland. Today the party continues. Apparently, it is supposed to last three days or until the fat lady sings. The wedding was super, the food wonderful and the free-flowing supply of drinks copious in the extreme. Each time anyone filled one glass from a fresh bottle,the waiters would place another bottle in the ice bucket on the table. My son William and his bride looked lovely and presented as a perfect couple in the making. Once the Polish party began everyone joined in.

The bride and groom made it a perfect day for every guest and it was especially memorable for both sets of respective parents by a preprepared video tribute to them by the bride and groom. My son crowned my memorable day by remembering something my mother used to tell me as she said, 'Give me my flowers today when I can smell them instead of putting them on my grave' as he presented me with a magnificent bunch of blooms fit for a Polish princess.

Thank you Will and Eve and their lovely parents Danuta Janusz Kwiatkowski. We love you all.
William Forde:September, 22nd, 2013

September 21st, 2013.

21/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Today, my son William and Eve get married in Poland. I wish my son and my new daughter-in-law a happy and enriching union over the years ahead.

As for marital advice Son, having tied the knot on three occasions, I am not the most appropriate of persons to give you the best pointers on 'How best to make it work out.' However, I have learned so much from my many mistakes that it would be remiss of me not to pass on that knowledge to you and thereby hopefully avoid repetition.

If ever I was tempted to advise you Son, I would confine my pointers to five aspects of life in general that can impact upon the quality of a marriage:

(1) I know that you are now 30 years old, but don't ever grow up; it's a trap!
(2)Whatever your wife cooks for you, eat with a smile and with the full knowledge that what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger!
(3)The moment you've placed that ring upon her finger, however much she loves you, she will still try to change you. She will expect you to change this and change that, etc. etc. In this, you must forever remain stronger in resistance than she is in persuasion. Simply tell her that if isn't from Yorkshire, then it's crap. Being born in Poland, she will have no answer to that!
(4)Be prepared after the first seven years of marriage when comfort eating will set in. It's called comfort eating for a very good reason; the mouth cannot be filled with both food and venom at the same time or else it will spit one out. You will also notice a distinct difference in both your waistlines. That once-flat stomach you each possessed rippling with ab madness and muscular invitation every time you hit the beach, will have gradually taken on a new life of its own. All future skinny dipping will be forgotten and in will come chunky dunking!
(5) As you grow older together, you will have many disagreements as all humans naturally do. Whenever things get too soiled to handle gently, always remember that there is only one place for dirty laundry; in the washer and not on face book!

I give you these few thoughts Son on one of the most important days of your life. It is our fervent wish that as a couple, you and Eve are never found stinting in the giving and receiving of each other's love. Love is the most enduring of all emotions, and true love lasts; even beyond marriage and the final breath of life itself. I love you both. Dad Forde: September 21st, 2013.

September 20th, 2013

21/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Today is the day before my son William's wedding in Poland. He had his Stag Night the previous week in Amsterdam with some friends.

I remember my Bachelor's Night when I first married; well, I remember going out that evening, but have no recollection of when or how I got back. In those days when men were men; a chap would no sooner have had his Bachelor Night one week before his wedding than Billy Bunter would have declined a big, fat cream bun after having endured a week's forced fast!

No the rules of life's calendar were simple in those good old days and everyone understood them. A man's Bachelor's Night always fell on the night before his wedding; and the marriage ceremony followed the day after; and only then if he'd managed to free himself from the lamp post that his good pals had tied him to in his birthday suit before the wedding march was played at the bride's entrance into church." William Forde : September 20th, 2013.

September 19th,2013

19/9/2013

Thought for today:
"When I was growing up and television programmes were on for a few hours a day, this sign meant something very important to all of those children who saw it. It reminded you that it was past your bedtime and that the staff from the BBC had left the building and had gone home for the day. Finally, for those few brave ones who didn't switch off and looked into the eyes of the doll, it meant instant death!" William Forde: September 19th, 2013.

September 18th, 2013

18/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Marriage is not unlike a pathway through an avenue of Louisana oak trees. Stay as true to the course you first set yourself and your compass bearings should always be in a position to indicate both right and wrong ways to follow. Keep to the straight and narrow path if at all possible, but in the event that you are known to stray, conceal not the deviance from your fellow traveller upon your return and forgiveness may be granted. If you stray however and you return to find that you now walk alone, then all the more reason to stick to the true path in the future, unless you intend always to walk it alone." William Forde: September 18th, 2013.

September 17th, 2013.

17/9/2013

Thought for today:
"This week we fly out to Poland to celebrate the coming marriage of my son William and his bride-to-be, Eve Kwiatkowska. The couple have lived together for five years now and have spent the past three years living in Australia where they are domiciled. Eve's parents and family are Polish and so a full Roman Catholic wedding and the traditional three-day party that follows is the natural order of things. William, who recently obtained a Masters Degree in Economics at Perth works on the corporate ladder of accountancy by day suited and booted, and during the evenings he works upon the composure of his music and songs. Each weekend sees the transformation from accountant to rap artist as he tours the Australian nightlife spots under his artistic name of Will Scarlet. He is a talented man who has inherited his mother's good looks and his father's love of word construction and I feel sure that someday, one of the many songs he has and will record shall make it big. I saw William last week when he came across to Haworth prior to attending his 'stag do' in Amsterdam . It is lovely to be able to reciprocate the gesture this week. I will never let him forget that I built his very first house for him when he was a child in the playroom which I fitted out for himself and sister Becky. That's little William without the trousers and popping his head out of the upstair's window, with Becky stood in the doorway." William Forde: September 17th, 2013.

September 16th, 2013

16/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Though you no longer love me, you are still in my heart. Though you no longer phone me, I will never delete your number from my mobile. Though I know longer see you, I will never stop carrying your photograph around with me and placing it beneath my pillow as I cry myself to sleep. Even though you have found happiness with another woman, know that she will never love you as much as I did, still do and always will. Each time I cry, I cry for the loss of your presence by my side and in my life. You are always to be found in each of my heart's desires; you are forever present in every tear drop that falls. Oh cry hard my soul, for my heart breaks without ever means of mend." William Forde: September 16th, 2013.

September 15th, 2013

16/9/2013

Thought for today:
"When one looks at these gorgeous creatures who are at the very start of their lives, it's incomprehensible that their owner could be intent on drowning them, isn't it? Kittens and pups that are unwanted by their owners are routinely drowned all over the world and more often than not, their killer is never discovered or escapes Scott free." William Forde: September 15th, 2013.

September 14th, 2013

14/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Goodbye my love until we meet again. I'll wait for your return and will not do a thing to shame our young family in your absence. You are my one true love, the one that I adore. They could never be another like you; never could be another who touched me, kissed me, moved me as you did during our years together. When our son grows into manhood, I hope that there will be no war around the globe for him to fight in. I'll tell him of your bravery, of how you gave up your life in Afghanistan so that life there could be better for its peoples; a people who never wanted us there in the first place. I'll tell him of your many worthy traits, but most of all I'll tell him about that side of you that even your own brothers and sisters never discovered while you lived; those most private of things that only a wife and lover could ever know. I'll tell him how we used to laugh in bed on a night when other bed mates were probably preoccupied with important yet lesser things. I'll tell of how you used to let me win occasionally at the games we played whenever you noticed that look of steely determination on my face. I'll tell him how big a hole that your absence has made in my life ,but I'll also tell him that I wouldn't have had a life half as good with any other man. And I'll tell him that brave though you undoubtedly were, you were never foolish enough to believe that men don't cry when they emotionally hurt. Farewell my love. I will never forget you or let your child grow up without a father image of which to be proud." William Forde: September 14th, 2013.

September 13th, 2014.

13/9/2013

Thought for today:
"'Stand tall and pick up those shoulders, Boy,' the headmaster would say, 'or we'll never make a soldier out of you!' The year was 1948 and despite the Second World War having been over since 1945, school discipline in all of the country's schools remained strictly regimented; none more than in the Roman Catholic schools where soldiers of Christ were being permanently moulded. The headmaster (you never heard of headmistresses in those days),was called Mr Armitage and I don't think I ever saw him with shoulders slumped even on the day of his wife's funeral. He stood as straight as any pencil and expected children aged as young as six to be able to do in a matter of days what had taken the army six years of war to instill into him.

Mr Armitage believed in true Catholic values. If something extraordinary happened and the recipient was Protestant, then it was sheer good fortune, but if the same thing happened to a Catholic pupil of his in similar circumstances, then that was nothing less than a miracle! He managed to infect his staff and teaching colleagues with the same degree of belief in themselves, their pupils and their God.

I recall that the school sports teacher was Mr McNamara, whom after five years at St. Patrick's School left to become a missionary. One football season, the school had a poor football team; having had all its best players leave school at the end of the previous term. Our team managed to get to half time a mere eleven goals down to nil and were on the road to an inglorious defeat. As we came out for the second half, Mr McNamara could be heard to shout from the touchline, 'Come on lads, you can still win!' And do you know, all the team ended up 'winners' that day. The other school team beat us 21 to nil and still we were made to feel proud by our coach as the team walked back to the dressing room for having given it our best shot.

I know that times were different then, but in some ways it didn't seem too psychologically destructive to the losers then as it would today, after seeing one's side sorely routed. We knew that we'd be around to play another day and were encouraged to believe that the next time 'we might win.' I'm willing to bet that the looks on our faces weren't too different than those looks on the faces of 'The Jarrow Marchers' after they'd walked all the way to London to petition the Government in 1936 and then had to walk back without having even been seen; or the looks upon the faces of the defeated miners returning to work after a disastrous year's strike in 1985.

Had Mr McNamara and Mr Armitage seen such looks on an army of British soldiers returning after the end of The Second World War instead of faces of cheer and relief by the victors, they too may have accepted on that football day in 1954 that our 21-0 scoreline represented an inglorious defeat instead of a moral victory.

But you see, they didn't really give two hoots for that particular scoreline because they knew that it represented one battle only and not a war. They believed that only true character would win out in the end and that character was formed by how a person responded to defeat and not victory. They strongly believed that strong characters of the future would only evolve by the beaten being taught to get back up on their feet after a knockdown and going into battle again. That is the lesson that Mr McNamara and Mr Armitage taught us that day; how to become a winner! God rest their souls." William Forde: September 13th, 2013.

September 12th, 2013

12/9/2013

Thought for today:
"You eat all your breakfast up, Domino and you'll grow up big and smart like me. Mum says that you should always be rubbed down at the start and at the end of the day. She's always rubbing dad down when she thinks I'm not looking. Here's your morning rub down, Domino. I'll also make sure to rub behind your mucky ears. You're a lovely horse. You're my horse and in a few years when you are cleaner, I will be able to ride you and we will eat the wind together. Mum says that you would be allowed to live inside our house if only you didn't do big poos all over the ground!" William Forde: September 12th, 2013.

September 11th, 2013.

11/9/2013

Thought for today:
"When I met my Sheila, my life changed so much for the better that I didn't know if I'd fallen from a great height into the arms of an angel or whether a falling angel had landed in my lucky lap. Either way, I'm happy and am not complaining.

Then she got into something more comfortable to wear, got out the flour and made her hands all sticky. I wasn't sure what she intended to do with those delicate fingers as I'd heard all kinds of weird stories about the kinky habits of Haworth Heath women. I waited with baited breath and anticipated pleasure.

She was simply stunning to see in full flow as she moved backwards and forwards, pushing and prodding as she writhed her slim body all over the kitchen table. For almost ninety minutes, Sheila showed me all she had learned over the years. 'That's enough! Enough I cried out.' I couldn't endure the experience for a minute longer. 'For God's sake woman, get that baking out of the oven and cut up that soda and malt bread this minute before I blow my top!

After I'd tasted all of her delicious wares that Sheila eventually introduced me to, I just knew that that I had indeed found my angel of delight." William Forde: September 11th, 2013.

September 10th,2013

11/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Today, is my son Matt's birthday (the big-hearted one on the extreme left of the photo). Technically he is my step son, but as most of his formative years between six and twenty five was spent living with me and his mother, I regard and love him as my son and on as equal a footing as my four blood children, James, Adam, William and Becky.

Indeed, it used to annoy me enormously whenever anyone referred to him in his youth as being, 'half-brother' to William and Becky (who have the same birth mum) and step-brother to James and Adam (born to my first marriage). If ever I heard any of my children refer to Matt in this way, I would quickly remind them that the Forde family is a wholesome entity and that we refuse to be intimidated, suffer injurious feelings to one of our own or be divided through the careless use of fractions.

While I have always regarded myself as a fatherly figure to Matt, I have always discouraged any notion or suggestion in his mind of downgrading his real father or having him airbrushed out of his life. Matt's dad is one of the nicest men I know and even though I never knew of him until three years after he and Matt's mum separated, I instantly liked him when we eventually met. I always told Matt not to call me 'dad' because to give to me was merely to take away from his real dad who is every bit as good a man as I am or ever will be. Hence Matt grew up, never confused about his identity, whilst forever feeling as though he had the benefit of two father figures.

Matt is giant-sized man who is now 39 years old. Matt is a gentle giant who is loved and greatly admired by most people who meet him. He may be the one without the degree behind his name and with the most humble of employment prospects from all my children, but he is the one of which I am most proud, because everything he has ever achieved has been attained through sheer guts and industrious effort. Happy birthday, Matt. I love you, Son. Bill xxx" William Forde: September 10th, 2013.

September 9th, 2013

9/9/2013

Thought for today:
" For F.......ido's sake, slow down will you? Either that or you'd better cover my .... or harness that randy red setter in the boot, Buster!" William Forde: September 9th, 2013.

September 8th,13

9/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Dispute neither depth nor true devotion of a mother's love towards her only child. See how tenderly her grasp upon her precious charge is as she nestles her ever closer to the maternal folds of her breasts as if too squeeze the last breath of love out of her young and fragile form.

Doubt not the lengths to which this loving mother will go in order to protect and make her child the happiest of all children. She will travel to the ends of the earth for her, and would, if needs ever necessitated, give up her last breath and die for her.

However, in her fountain of maternal wisdom, she will never live for her; knowing that such degree of love is selfishly suffocating. For it is only through a loving mother willing to 'let go' and allow her precious charge to cut the umbilical cord and develop their own independence and identity, that the wings of her butterfly affections can be free to fly elsewhere. Only through such maternal wisdom, will the love between the two never lessen and their mutual respect forever grow.

Oh mixed age of time and wisdom, let me not forget that youth is never wasted on the young." William Forde: September 8th, 2013.

September 7th, 2013.

7/9/2013

Thought for today:
"Today is my son, Adam's 37th birthday. The past year has been a difficult year for Adam with the break up of his marriage and the unexpected changing of life's circumstances, occupation and accommodation.

All of my children are special to me in their own individual way. Each respond differently to pressure, failure and success and reflect significantly different characteristics and mannerisms than their siblings in doing so. Adam was a poorly child at birth and we nearly lost him, but he pulled through. In fact, he pulled through then and has successfully pulled through every other life crisis experience that has beset him since. I have not the slightest doubt that he will display the strength required to pull through this time too. His personal strength is his 'staying power,' his ability to endure and his capacity to express his emotions at the moment of their birth. It is this capacity to love, feel, be angry and cry that is his lifelong safety valve, but it is his capacity to care for others selflessly that places him apart from the successful ambitious in his sphere of work.

You will fare well in your life, Adam, of that I've not the slightest doubt, and I believe that your intrinsic characteristics of goodness and concern for others will not allow you to pass by unrewarded. It is my deepest hope that you shall one day find the kind of happiness with a woman that I have been so lucky to discover with my Sheila. I am ever so proud of you son and I wish you a happy birthday with your family and friends. We will meet again soon at your brother William's wedding in Poland. I love you, Adam. Dad xxx" William Forde: September 7th, 2013.

September 6th, 2013

6/9/2013

Thought for today:
"I have often been party to a discussion where pet owners have spoken about seeing and sensing the presence of a much-loved creature many years after it has died.

During the 1990's, when I lived in Mirfield, I researched a true story about the birth of twin foals to a mare which was stabled near the golf course up Sands Lane, Hopton. One foal had died at birth and the other lived on lame for a year or two, and after many operations and much cost to its owner, had to be put down. I wrote a children's story about the horse called, 'Midnight Fighter' of which an audio version accompanied by music, can be freely downloaded from my website. Whenever I have cause to visit close to the farm where Midnight Fighter was born or pass the nearby fields where I saw him during his first year of life, I shed a tear for the courage and indomitable spirit that he displayed in his fight for life. I'd like to think that animals do have spirits that live on. His memory certainly lives on in my heart. Click at the end to hear the story." William Forde: September 6th, 2013. 01_midnight_fighter.mp3File Size: 35696 kbFile Type: mp3Download File