Hi Wardy, yeah my father did meet his demise in a "troubles" related incident (very strong Republican family mine) just after our street was fired, but that's niether here nor there to the man he was. He was actually a very well read, intelligent man, very well thought of in his community and his abuse of me was not the be all and end of all of him by a long way. I let go of the anger and fear I felt towards him a few years back now and began to see him as merely a human being with some very big issues and not the almost supernatural monster I'd managed to create in my head. He was just a man who for his own reasons couldn't be a father to me ( he was fine with the other kids and my mother) and for all I now have a passable, under the circumstances, relationship with my mother, the whole situation was roundly her fault in my humble opinion, knowing what I now know of the situation at the time.
Crete you are of course right, I'm aware that my treatment was extreme, and possibly he is the reason I cringe whenever I see someone slap a kid. For all he wasnt a very good father I think I learned a great deal from him in the very brief time I knew him, but I learned how to be a father from his best friend who "adopted" me almost after his death. He was everything you could want in a man, and he listened, believed and understood me when I told him what had happened, and he never raised his hand to a child that I've ever seen.He's been my benchmark for fatherhood and, touch wood ,so far my kids are nice people.
Great tea Pink, I'll have another please :)