My Father was a true Eccentric...(Part I)

 (All photos of eccentrics except the one of my father in this post by Tim Walker)

His... himself - (My Father), here in his late Seventies.

Here is a photo of Alexander Thynne, Marquis of Bath, with crocodile, at his estate, in Longleat, Wiltshire.

Charlie the Penguin stands among portraits of Marquis of Bath at Longleat, his Wiltshire estate.

Sitting here this evening in Arabia - reflecting over my father and his life, I come to think about and search for the characteristics of an eccentric.

That my father was an eccentric - was no doubt about it, a man from the old school, a man with a definitely nonconforming attitude. 

My father brilliant, handsome and charming belonged to a different world - an eccentric world of thoughts and behavior. He did not ever conform to society.

You will ask - How do I really know he was an eccentric?

Very simple answer indeed - he had no idea that his behavior was anything but absolutely normal...

Others were different.

So, I read as follow; "according to studies, there are fifteen distinctive characteristics that differentiate a healthy eccentric person from a regular person (although some may not always apply). The first five are in most people regarded as eccentric:" The outcome? 


My father had thirteen of the fifteen characteristics.  The two characteristics he did not have - he was not a bad speller or single. 

Nomadic Jaguars in the Cheviot Walk, Northumberland.

Lady Isabella Cawdor with three of her four children, Eleanor, Jean, and James, at Carnoch, Invernesshire, in the Scottish Highlands.

The Characteristics are:

1 - Nonconforming attitude

2 - Creative

3 - Strongly motivated by curiosity

4 - Idealistic

5 - Happy obsession with a hobby or hobbies

Snowfall in the summer at Eglingham Hall, in Northumberland, owned by the Bewicke family.

6 - Known very early in his or her childhood they were different from others

7 - Highly Intelligent

8 - Opinionated and outspoken

9 -Noncompetitive

10 - Not in need of reassurance or reinforcement from society

Dame Vivienne Westwood, unconventional fashion designer, in the old Camden Palace, in London.

 11 - Unusual living or eating habits

12 - Not interested in the opinions or company of others

Three Guinness heirs.

13 - Mischievous sense of humor
14 - Usually the eldest or an only child
15 - Bad spellers

Guinness heir Garech Browne at Luggala, the family estate in County Wicklow, Ireland, where he has put white sand around his black lake so that it resembles a glass of Guinness.


To be continued 
click here for Part II