Wild man
Francis loved animals.... pet, wild, human. He was pretty wild himself. Apparently he had a myna bird that he'd taught to speak. The vicar went round one day and leapt out of his dog collar when the bird said "My name's Fred, what's yours?" Francis giggled.
When I visited with my in-laws, I too got a shock when two puma cubs pounced on me playfully. Francis laughed.
His next African safari holiday would be alone. Wife Margaret drove him to the station, worrying that he would be lonely. But at the next stop, his girlfriend joined him. Francis pounced.
- Category: True Stories Told As Fiction
- Tags: All true.
7 comments add one below
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Neville Hunt over 6 years ago
When I think back to Frank all I can remember is a welcoming, smiling, warm human being. A lovely and always engaging man. But he wasn't always engaged with the same person!
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Christopher over 6 years ago
Apparently not! Another great one, Neville.
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Neville Hunt over 6 years ago
Thanks Christopher. Enjoy your holiday when it comes. I only hope it isn't marred by those dreadful hurricanes. Take care.
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Christopher over 6 years ago
Thanks. It's a week from Saturday. The hurricane was just east of where I'm going, so there wasn't much if any damage from it.
Texas (Harvey) and Florida (Irma) have a long road to go before they recover from these terrible storms. But we Americans are nothing if not resilient. We'll bounce back.
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Neville Hunt over 6 years ago
Glad to hear it, Christopher.
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Jamie Clapperton over 6 years ago
Enjoyed catching up with these a lot Neville. :-)Frances seems almost like a character from one of Roald Dahls' adult stories. Do we know what happened to the Pumas, are they fully grown now?
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Neville Hunt over 6 years ago
Thanks Jamie. I seem to remember the pumas grew a bit too big and clipped one of the sons and they moved on... not sure where though. I'm sure it wasn't puma heaven! They were cute(ish) but scared a scaredy cat like me! :-) Francis was a lovely bloke; you couldn't help but like him. An absolute charmer...and 'bounder' too! :-)
