Our Dad - SCRIPT:

INTRO

- Opening clips of scenery + me walking up to grave as music plays

Title Card Appears – Our Dad, Dealing with grief and loss

Lexie: Dad was born July 2nd 1969 and he passed away on the 31st March 2023. My mum and Dad
met in the year 2000 through both working at the University of West London... they fell in love and
by the year 2004, their first daughter Stephanie was born and exactly thirteen months and eight
days later, they had me. They decided to try for one more child and by May 2008, welcomed their
third and final daughter, Alisha. Forever making us a family of five.

Lexie: As a person Dad was someone who was so outgoing and happy, he didn't let anything faze
him, he was never worried... he was never one to worry. He loved the idea of life and he just was
unapologetically himself.

Stephanie: Dad was a fun person who always saw the best of every situation and he didn't take life
too seriously.

Alisha: When I think of the person dad was, I think he was very light-hearted, he was very fun to be
around and he was a naturally calm person... very egotistical though. He was really lovely.

*Tape Playing

Question 1: What was your favourite memory of Dad?

Stephanie: Favourite memory would be going on road trips to Bognor Regis and going to the market.
Yeah, it was something that he did when he was little

so yeah, I'd day that is my favourite memory.

Lexie: Favourite memory of dad is quite hard as there is a lot, but I think for me personally it was
definitely riding our bikes around the park when we were younger. He would instantly start chasing
us and he'd make us go in all different directions and then he'd speed up and slow down on purpose
to be annoying.
Lexie: Going back to where we grew up and seeing that park again and being in it, it made me feel a
lot more connected to Dad because in my mind I can just see him riding his bike around here like he
always used to do and it was nice because it's someplace that was just me and him, and my siblings
so it was really nice to go back there and see the park now compared to like how it was, still the
same so it's nice that there's that one place that will always remain the same and always will be a
constant reminder of Dad and a happy reminder of Dad.

Alisha: Growing up Dad would always take us to fun fairs and beaches and stuff, and it was quite a
fun experience because he loved the sea. He was always such a big kid and stuff, felt like I was the
adult... no not really.

*Tape 2 playing

Title Card: It is estimated that there are around 150,000 deaths per day... Every day, somebody in
the world will lose a family member and be struck with grief... The grieving process is so different for
each and every individual and no one's grief can be compared.

Lexie: A main message as well is to just do what you want to do, don't hold off doing something out
of fear or because someone has said something because it's not promised, you have to do what you
want to do in life as everyone is always going to have an opinion and a comment and that was
something that my dad definitely stuck by himself, he always did what he wanted to do, he always
said that life was too short.

*Tape 2 continues

Lexie: Growing up from what I've heard, my dad was a very cheeky, outgoing and happy person and
that kind of hearing that how he was when he was younger makes me realize he always stayed the
same. I know my dad to be very cheeky, very sarcastic, very funny, very happy. So, hearing other
memories that other people have of him when he was younger compared to the memories, I have of
him it just shows that nothing in his life changed who he was, having kids didn't change him as a
person, he has always been that same happy and fun person throughout his entire life.

*Tape 3 playing...

Lexie: Dad absolutely loved being a girl, Dad. He'd always make jokes about being the odd one out
and being outweighed by girls and girl power so it was really funny growing up to like, to have that,
to be sassy with him and to be bossy because he would just be so amazed by it, and he found it so
funny and he loved it.
*Title Card - Alum Chine, Bournemouth

Lexie: Back in the 90's my dad and his brother stayed in a hotel in Bournemouth, so my sister and I
made it our mission to find the exact same hotel that they stayed in, and we actually managed to
find it. (Tape plays) ... It certainly was a surreal feeling kind of knowing that my dad was once stood
here. (Tape plays) ... And now here I am in the exact same location. We also managed to find the
walkway that my dad had visited on his tapes. We spent ages kind of looking for this exact location
and we was really, really surprised that we did manage to find it. It was something that we had set
out for a long time to do.

And now here is us in the exact same place over twenty years later, once again, I think it was so
surreal kind of being here, it gave me that feeling inside it was like my dad was once here and now
here I am filming in the exact same places that he once stood. We also came across the exact same
bridge. And even though I had never visited this place with my dad, knowing that he was once here
and now I was here, made me feel that much closer to him.

*Title Card - Blackpool Trip, April 4th, 2022 - April 8th, 2023

Alisha: In April of 2022, we went to see our dad and it was a trip that at the time I really enjoyed but
looking back on it, I feel quite guilty because I had only thought of my own problems and my own
mental health back then, I didn't appreciate the time.

Lexie: My Dad actually lost his dad when we were twenty-one years old, so with me being
seventeen, being younger than he was, it's really strange. My dad lost his dad young too and he
went to go visit his dad, his dad is buried back in Italy, so he didn't get to go see his dad very often
and I'm so thankful that I live so close to the cemetery where my dad is buried because I can go see
him whenever I want and it's a place that is just dedicated to him and anything I want to say I can go
and sit with him and just tell him everything and I always do.

*Title Card: How losing Dad affected / changed your life?

Stephanie: I'd say my perception on things have changed, that things that I would probably get
upset about back then, don't upset me as such now because I've realized that life's too short to be
worrying and getting upset about little things when there's worse things that could happen to you.

Lexie: It's definitely changed my life, as it would anyone and it made me realize that life is so tough
and challenging that you shouldn’t waste a single day because tomorrow is not promised.

*Title Card: How did you feel when you'd found out?

Alisha: It just didn't really feel real, it felt like I was still in a dream because I didn't think I would lose
my dad at fourteen, it hurts knowing that I won't get any more time really with him.
*Title Card: The Funeral

Alisha: Well, watching the hearse obviously come down the hill felt like a very, world stopping kind
of feeling. It felt like it wasn't really real.

*Title Card: What advice would you give to someone who has / hasn't lost a parent?

Alisha: Well really, I don't know what to give, it's more of something that you can only deal with in
your own experience.

Stephanie: Tell your family members that you love them regularly. Don't leave things on a bad note
even if like you've got in an argument with someone, try and fix things before it's too late to fix
them.

Alisha: But yeah, I don't think I could ever move on, I mean I've learnt to accept it, that's really all
you can do because you can't stay in denial forever.

*Montage of tape clips (music will play)

Lexie: Something Dad taught me as well is to just take videos and photos of everything that you do
because one day that's all you're going to have, memories are all you're going to have of somebody
and of things to look back on and I'm really appreciate that my dad did film tapes when he was in his
twenties because now I still have a piece of him, I still get to see him on the screen anytime I want
and it helps me feel closer to him so having that I think is really important and something I've also
started doing, me and my family have now started filming little things we've done, we filmed
Christmas day and little things that we do so that one day we can look back on it and future children
can look back on it and I think that's really important to do.

*Title Card: If there is anyone you know, that is struggling with grief and the loss of a loved one ...
Make sure to check up on them as you never know what someone is going through... Tell family
members and friends that you love them while you still have the chance as tomorrow is never
promised.

*Title Card: In Loving Memory of Our Dad

Photo: Adrian Robert Pelosi... July 2nd 1969 - March 31st 2023