The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart. (Mencius, Chinese philosopher 372-289 BC)

Sunday 29 April 2012

The Weekend Picture No.3

Baking in the Rain - our cake sale

Our friend, Fiona, ran the London Marathon last Sunday for a charity called AbleChildAfrica. The charity works with disabled children in Eastern and Southern Africa. As part of her fundraising pledge she organised a cake and book sale for yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, we were not blessed with the best weather ever - with swirling gales and persistent rain. This weekend's picture shows a low point in the afternoon. E is manning the stall.

Friday 27 April 2012

What's in a nickname?

One of my duties as a father is creator of nicknames.

I have always enjoyed making names up for my kids. Not for me the boring christian name which my wife and I agonised over all through that long long nine months. No, much more fun to make up a random moniker for your patient progeny.

Sunday 22 April 2012

The Weekend Picture No.2

Cheetah Birthday Cake

It was my daughter E's 7th birthday party today. 11 excited little girls, 4 nuclear reactors worth of additives consumed, 2 tons of discarded wrapping paper on the sitting room floor and 1 extraordinary birthday cake.

My lovely wife has many remarkable gifts but among the most prominent of them is her ability with birthday cakes. This year E asked for a Cheetah birthday cake, and what a little girl wants, a little girl gets.

Cheetah Birthday cake.
Chocolate Buttons for spots, liquorice for lines, eyes and tongue,
candles for whiskers, marshmallows used too.

It tasted as good as it looks!

Happy to give the recipe to anyone who asks.

More reasons why Mum knows best coming later this week.

Speak soon
JH

Friday 20 April 2012

The Heroism of Fathers on the Titanic 2


The sinking of the RMS Titanic is an event that still touches us all.

There can't be many of us who have not asked themselves what they would have done had they been on board on the 14th-15th April 1912.

It is an event that I have found particularly poignant since I became a father. Would I have been able to let women and children go first. Could I have stood on the deck and watched my wife and family being led away from me to safety, knowing that I would never see them again? Could I have been a hero?

Hopefully that is not a question that I will ever have to answer - but it is one that the Reverend John Harper was faced with.

Wednesday 18 April 2012

The Heroism of Fathers on The Titanic 1

RMS Titanic sank 100 years and 3 days ago today. It is an event that still touches us all. It is not just the fact that over 1500 souls perished on that freezing night in the North Atlantic but the human stories that it tells of the heroism, cowardice and individual tragedies of that fateful night.

There can't be many of us who have not asked themselves what they would have done had they been on board on the 14th-15th April 1912.


It is an event that I have found particularly poignant since I have become a father. Would I have been able to let women and children go first. Could I have stood on the deck and watched my wife and family being led away from me to safety, knowing that I would never see them again? Could I have been a hero?



Hopefully that is not a question that I will ever have to answer - but it is one that two fathers, Arthur West and the Reverend John Harper were faced with.


This is Arthur West's story. Come back on Friday to read the story of John Harper.


Sunday 15 April 2012

The Weekend Picture (The Voice)

Welcome to a new feature - THE WEEKEND PICTURE.

So called, because every weekend I will publish a picture with it's own take on an item from the week's news. (Have you worked out how I came up with the title of this feature yet?) This week my youngest, 7 year old E, has created a tableau about the new breed of talent show which is sweeping this family and the nation - The Voice.

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Boys Bedrooms

Sometimes a picture paints a thousand words!
I was once a boy so I kind of understand.

The picture above is our washing basket NOW just after my lovely wife has spent most of the morning helping W to tidy up his room. He has developed a very clever technique of avoiding having clothes on the floor. This basically involves stuffing them into his drawers and muddling them up with his "so-called" clean clothes in the hope that the cleanness of the latter would rub off on them.

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Welcome to my world


My grandfather was a very wise and special man. 

He died (aged 97) in 2007. He used to love watching me play with my children (his great grandchildren). He always used to comment on what a different relationship I had with W, M and E and how he wished he had been able to spend more time with his 5 children.

A father's role today is an immensely rich, important and special one, as it always has been. However, a dad today plays a completely different role from that played by our fathers and grandfathers.

In fact it would be more accurate to say that a dad today is expected to play far more roles than the generations that have gone before.

Work/ home life balance, often a long commute, possibly an active role in the local community/ church, more often than not caring for elderly parents, winning the bread (or at least a large part of it), husband/ partner all compete with the role of being dad.

Thats why I have named this blog "Dad etc" - because I am going to try to reflect the broad reach of the 21st century dad's role through the posts of this blog.

First, a disclaimer. My oldest is 12 so I have 12 years experience as a dad and I have boys and girls BUT I am no childcare expert - these are merely my musings on my life as a Dad etc. They can obviously only reflect my experiences - as limited as they are.

Juggling


I have always wanted to learn how to juggle. A friend of mine once taught me how but I have never got beyond juggling 3 balls for a few seconds before they all crash to the floor.

Life for a Dad in the 21st century is like that isnt it. 

No wonder I wanted to learn to juggle.

No wonder I keep dropping balls.

Speak again soon.

JH





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