Eastern Daily Press: Father’s Day Column

As Father’s Day arrives, too many of us are worrying about the superficial: “What can I buy for the man who has everything?” Let’s face it, it’s usually socks. Such clutter is placed in ‘that’ drawer with a multitude of similar gifts from down the years.
Instead of token items for dad, wouldn’t it be great if this year we could talk more openly about the role of fathers within our society?
The day of the distant dad has passed – so let’s celebrate the 21st century father.

The Scotsman: Fatherhood

“Wait until your father gets home!”
That’s what they used to say, wasn’t it? Except in my house it was always wait until ‘your dad’ gets home – ‘father’ was a word more associated, to my young mind, with priests and Star Wars baddies.