it was my dad who ...

it was my dad who …

when I was little the gearbox broke on our Bedford Dormobile
it was my dad who rigged up a piece of string which I pulled when he wanted to change gear … we got home

when my Primary school football team needed transport
it was my dad who provided the van and packed 12 boys in the back

when the toilet bunged up in the yacht we’d borrowed
it was my dad who got down there to unblock it … and then offered to make the sandwiches

when the main bearings on my bulldozer seized up
it was my dad who travelled up from Kent to lay under the machine in the cold, polishing the bearings

when it was cold and wet during the rugby season at school
it was my dad who came to stand on the touchline …wearing mum’s tights to keep his legs warm

when having a lie in on a Sunday morning
it was my dad who knocked on the front door … “Have you got a piece of wood, metal or stone about this big … I just want to fix … yet another project

it was my dad who

built us a sledge that went exceedingly fast

trusted us to learn quickly, but sometimes not quick enough
given our frequent visits to Sevenoaks A&E

filled the lawnmower with petrol so I could start my first
business … at 10

let us race minis around the electricity board works
… at 13

bought us an old Comer Van so we could travel up and beyond
the Arctic Circle … at 18

my dad was a great fixer of things and I’m proud that some of this has rubbed off on me …. it’s a pity that he couldn’t fix it to be with us for a bit longer

my dad 31 Aug 1925 - 23 May 2007