I was very close to my brother as a young girl. He always looked after me and would play in the garden and house with me even though there was a nine year gap between the two of us.
I love all of my brothers but our Pete is my closest brother. He has always been a caring person he loves his family very much and is not afraid to show his feelings and give you a big hug when you need it.
in our back garden we had quite a good size lawn and he would spend hours playing bat and ball with me and keeping me occupied as I didn’t have a sibling that was close to my age.
Bonfire night he always went out and bought some fireworks and my favorite a Catherine wheel. Which he pinned to our little shed outside.
Christmas
At Christmas he would buy me some amazing toys, the one above tip it was a great little game where you had to balance the little man by his nose and then take turns to remove the counters without letting him fall.
Beano And The Dandy annual book where another gift
I have always been a fan of disco music so I was pleased as punch when he got me the best disco album in the world.
Saving My Life
Pete and his friend Chris used to go swimming at Mountfields school where our mum worked as a cleaner.
I was walking around the edge of the pool and fell in. Pete and Chris saw a mass of black hair floating in the pool and realised I had fallen in and was face down and got me out. I don’t remember falling in, but do remember sitting on a chair with a towel around me. He will be able to tell you more.
Saturday Morning Shopping
While we were still in bed our mum used to head out and go in town and then come home with all the shopping. No sooner had she put the stuff in the cupboards and some times before she had even finished Pete would be in them rooting around in them, no wonder our mother hid things in the washing machine because the lads ate them.
The Longest Time Getting Ready
So people say that women take along time getting ready, well you’ve not met my brother. I always wondered why he bought albums like Jean Michel Jarre’s “Oxygen” and Donna Summer’s “Once Upon A Time.” They were great albums and still are, so when you take as long as our Pete in the bathroom you need a very long album to listen to because he is going to be a while.
The Indian Takeaway
After a night out on the booze Pete would often get a takeaway and bring it home. I loved the poppadoms and he would let me have a few bits. He ate it all up and then went to bed which was fine except when he had tandoori chicken. In the morning I would wake up and you could smell it coming from under the door. Dad used to go mad as the smell was terrible. As I walked past I would start to wretch and was nearly sick most of the time. It was vile and really turned your stomach.
Watching Horror Movies
So some times when mam and dad went out Pete would babysit. We watched telly and then later on the horror movies were on. I used to hide behind the cushions and not look because they scared me to death and I didn’t sleep well anyway. I still remember this old carriage arriving at a ball and a woman and man got out. The woman had a silk scarf on and later on in the even someone pulled it and her head fell off and rolled on the floor. I needed the loo and wouldn’t go until me mam came back.
Saturday Night Fever
He had this album in his record collection, but its the dancing i am going to talk about. He was a good dancer our Pete. Later as the years went by I saw him dancing at Sammy’s nite club in Loughborough. It was like watching Bryan Ferry and David Bowie all mixed together.
Saving Me Until Last
When Pete and Elaine got married at the end of the evening they were saying goodbye to everyone and he kept leaving me out until eventually I was the last one. He had saved me until last to say goodbye. I was very happy that he was happy because it broke his heart when our mam died and Pete was very close to her. This was one of the hardest goodbyes as he had been there for me all my life and even when mam died he was there for me. We would no longer be together anymore and it was quite upsetting. We all leave home at some point but I suppose I thought he would always be around. He still was but it wasn’t quite the same.
I’ll Always Love you
Over the years our lives have changed and we don’t see each other that much anymore. Lots of families are like that and we live in different towns as well. Ive been ill for many years now and going out is a struggle for me even now. We talk on the phone and catch up about our life’s and what we are doing.
I may not see you as much as I would like to but I still love you and Always will
Happy 60th birthday and thank you for taking care of me and being the best bro ever
Love Ann or Annabelle as you call me xx
