MY GREAT DAD...

It's my dad's birthday today. I had my parents round for a birthday meal yesterday and made a bit of a fuss of my great dad who often gets overlooked in the 'making a fuss of' stakes. My dad is absolutely impossible to buy birthday presents for. He has no usual dad hobbies like golf, fishing or DIY. We've bought him numerous shirts, pullovers, pj's in the past which usually end up in the back of dad's wardrobe never to see the light of day again. This year, my dad was treated to some pretty snazzy and trendy leather slippers which when opened, dad made all the right 'ooh and aah noises. They were tried on and admired from the vantage point looking down towards his size 9's resting dad-like on the footstool. As we both get older, I realise how many of my dad's genes I've inherited. Our sense of humour is identical. When I was a kid, my mum worked evening shifts in an off-license which meant my dad used to let me stay up and watch either comedy (Taxi, MASH, Rhoda) or scary programmes (Armchair Thriller, Tales of the Unexpected). I recently bought my dad dvd sets of Little Britain and Phoenix Nights which reduces both dad and I to tears of laughter much to my mum consternation at the sheer silliness of it. Put a meal in front of my dad and he'll be happy. He loves food and likes nothing more than a good Sunday roast and a great big pudding afterwards for no-one has a sweeter tooth than my dad. He also loves his house and garden and works tirelessly in maintaining both in tidiness and good order. He loves his RAF past and tells us all (with our usual glazed expression) about his time on Anglesey and Lincolnshire. Each year we take him to Blackpool Air Show and he'll tell us about Lancaster bombers and Spitfires but goes very quiet and wipes an embarrassed tear away when he sees his personal favourites - the Red Arrows. He also loves sport and in particular football and golf. He's a Manchester lad originally hailing from Gorton and politely refuses to nail his true colours towards the blue half of Manchester in case it upsets the red half of his sons, daughter and grandchildren. Give my dad a book and it will be cast aside to the nearest bookcase. Give him a newspaper containing crossword or a sudoku puzzle and he'll be in raptures. 
I shall call in to see my dad today in his new slippers and leave him in peace to watch the British Open Golf whilst I take his lovely wife and my gorgeous mum out shopping to her favourite shop- TK Maxx. Happy days!