Celebrating Nat Temple

by Mandy Temple

Daddy was, quite simply, The Best.

The best father, the best friend. He was our rock, our sanctuary, and our hero. A safe place to share the ups and downs of life.

We, his four girls, grew up in an atmosphere of unconditional love and support, laughter and wonderful music (which is probably why it took us so long to actually leave home!) I still miss his presence every single day, even after all these years but feel eternally grateful that I shared my life with him for so long, and that Benjamin (my son) had the privilege to know him albeit briefly.

I have so many personal stories about Dad, so what follows is a mere drop in the ocean from my memory bank.

As a young child, I remember Dad's wonderful stories at bedtime, including tales from "Willy the Worm", "Katie Caterpillar" and "Merlin the Magician." And his "Surprise Cupboard" where he would keep little gifts that he collected from the gigs he played at, and which he would find any excuse to give us. How he had a multiple supply of jokes and pearls of wisdom, and how he pretended to be the voice of the fairies when we crossed a certain magic bridge on the Isle of Mann where they were supposed to live.

He would let us plait his hair, wrap it up in elastic bands, perform somersaults on his tummy, and let us cheat in egg and spoon races.

But he also taught us respect, integrity, and the value of money: he also taught us the power of saving our pocket money for what we wanted, rather than having whatever we wanted, bought for us. Having grown up in abject poverty and leaving school at 14 to support his family, he never lost his fear of not having enough money nor the habit of turning off lights and turning down the heating!

Dad never judged us, always praised our achievements (however small or insignificant), and consistently made us feel valued and purposeful. He had a very easy-going nature, hated any form of confrontation or rows, and had a rare ability to play "dumb" for a quiet life.

One story that illustrates this so well is when Mum asked Dad if she could change the roses in the front garden to Orange, as she was bored with all the pink ones. When he queried the cost, she managed to convince him that she hadn't bought new ones, just merely had the roots dunked in

orange "sheep dip". I don't for one minute think he believed her!

Dad was absolutely rubbish at anything domestic - leaving Mum to rule the roost, and us girls to practice our mothering skills.

I took Dad to Israel for a birthday treat and feel blessed to have shared the joy and emotion he felt when we landed at Tel Aviv airport and when we were taken around Jerusalem by Prof Martin Gilbert (Churchill's Biographer and Holocaust Expert) who I had been working with.

Another personal thrill for me was when I asked Dad to write some music for a series of films I was working on about the aftermath of Chernobyl. He wrote all the stings and background music, and bizarrely, he never expected to be paid for "helping his daughter out" as he put it - so to see the surprise on his face when he received a rather nice cheque from the production company will be with me forever - as will his shock at being part of the team who did so well on the awards circuit. He was unbelievably modest, and never realized just how brilliant a musician he was or how respected he was.

Dad never stopped cracking jokes - even at my wedding, when he was "giving me away", he asked the Registrar for a receipt! There were also phrases that have remained with me that he used to say, and which I find myself now saying: these include "Trust no-one", "Remember you're a Temple", and "Don't Upset Your Mother".

I'll finish as I started - Dad, you were simply the best and I love you with all of my heart.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nat_Temple