Capt. Paul James Harrowing, deceased. My dad.
He was born in Eastbourne into a large working class family - five sisters and a brother; we all have skeletons in our family closets but it seems my family is crammmmmed with them. My father was actually born to my 'Aunty Jimmy' during a time where unmarried women & pregnancy brought shame upon the entire family. He was brought up alongside his mother as siblings and his 'Mother' therefore was his grandmother, in real life. (Has it really changed much in 2010 I wonder)
My father's driving passion to learn how to fly pushed him to join the airforce and in time he was posted to Kenya, East Africa.
His love of flying was only matched by his love for sports cars. He had many in his lifetime; I just remember bright shiny people carriers that my dad washed and polished on his days off and being told to be careful with my shoes on the leather seats and the piles of shammy leather that he saved and lovingly used. I do, however remember one in particular, the amazing navy blue E-type he had, with Snoopy on the dashboard.
Anne Maive Edwina Harrowing (nee Critchell), living. Mommie Dearest. My mother too has kept much close to her chest. Born in Burma, my Grandfather from Delhi and my Grandmother, half Burmese and half from Hull, UK - she kept her 'colourful' history very much hidden from me until my sister and I found an old photo album which was filled with some of the photos of her below. An amazing collection of images that she had fought so hard to keep hidden from us. I remember sitting with my sister and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over each of the photos we found of our mother. In a panic we didn't however put the photo album exactly how we found it as we heard her car pull into the driveway. I was summoned to her bedroom late that night and was beaten for looking at it.
During the war, my mother escaped Burma with her family as the Japanese invaded moving to Delhi to wait for my grandfather, who joined them 9 months later after his own adventures walking across the boarders. Soon after the war her family moved to Kenya, East Africa as did a large number of Indian families at that time.
My mother became an air hostess and met my father, who was a pilot with East African Airways and.....
Then came me.... and then they married.
While playing with my dad, I fell off the bed banging my head quite badly but nobody thought much of it so was put to bed. In the morning, woke to find that my right eye was now squint. Operation and glasses to follow.
HOW?
Not too sure how it happened but it did. Glasses.
My Darling Aunty Jimmy & I
My parents separated when I was 5yrs and I was sent to boarding school in Hastings. Being close to Eastbourne, my Aunt became my parent - my mother had no real interest in me at all and my father lived in Kenya so only saw him when my mother permitted and in the school holidays.
Jimmy bought me my first bra, took me to my first porn film and talked openly about love & relationships. I loved her to the max.
Our Great African Adventure.
