A Voyage Around My Father

Mum is probably a huge star of the blog, as she is the co-star of my life. We are undoubtedly a hilarious double act. But today I want to talk about my Dad.
You probably think of him as a quiet, bumbling presence – often asleep. An older Mr Bennett perhaps. And yet there’s far more to him than that.
Dad is my biggest fan – not in the way that he’s always writing enthusiastic reviews of my stuff, of course. He rarely criticises me, always defends me against everyone. He will drive countless miles at any time of night to rescue me. There hasn’t been much call for that recently, but last year, when my hump Engelbert was almost the size of a football, Dad drove me to the office Christmas party, dropped me off there and then took himself out to dinner in the local area for hours whilst he waited for me to finish my festivities.

When assessing these random chaps, it’s difficult as of course none of them could match up to my Dad. This is probably a common problem. I remember once reading an interview with Alex Best (George Best’s wife) where she said that she got involved with undesirable men partly because she was so secure in her father’s affections. Maybe there’s a bit of that going on. My Dad adores me, and so I just assume I can replicate that with some random chap, and of course I can’t.
Nothing ruffles my Dad’s feathers. He is as calm, patient and unlikely to react as an inert gas. He is never cross. The only thing that irritates him is Wasting Money: lights being left on and suchlike. He has passed that on to me, I’m glad to say. The lights and heating are always off in the flat.
Dad lets everything else wash over him. He never explodes or shouts or storms off. He is a lifeboat for all of us in the turbulent ocean of life.

I love you Dad!