Aidan as he was always known to us was my stepdad but was more of father than my “real” dad ever was.

Irascible is one way of describing  him – a right grumpy bastard would be a more accurate description. He did not suffer fools gladly or at all, but once you got to know him and he accepted you as a good person he would do anything for you and could be really funny in his own way.

He was a lifelong gambler on the horses and was so good at it wins of many thousands were not unusual so it was never a problem. If he didn’t have the money, he didn’t bet and when he won we all won. He would just hand you £1000 with a wink and say he’d had a result.

He had a rough upbringing running away from his rural Irish village at 13 to come to London. He worked as a bouncer and barman in Soho for many years and did a few prison stretches before meeting mum, who saw something in him that no one else did. He learned the shoe repair trade in prison and together they ran a successful  business for many years.

He and mum were cheated out of what should have been their easy years travelling  and spending  all the money they had saved.

He contracted cancer and dementia not long after retirement and I miss the grumpy bastard.