Laura, my daughter; sent me a “Happy Father’s Day” greeting on Whatsapp; all the way from the U.S. of A. She will be calling up later this evening.

I vividly remember my feelings of becoming “DAD”; the knowledge that it is one of two highest honours that can be bestowed on anyone. The other of the two highest honours is becoming “MUM” for ladies. I remembered shortly after 9.15am, Wednesday June 27th, 2001; when the nurse brought Laura Kristen Atkinson to me and asked if I would like to carry her. I was absolutely elated.

It has been an honour of the highest order to be Laura’s dad. I made lots of slipups along the last about 21 years. For example, I was recently reminded of a booboo I did a few years ago: Jeannie was away, overseas; for work. On one of those days, I cooked up a whole lot of hashbrowns and burgers for us to eat the whole day long. As I had completed the big pile of food; Laura came into the kitchen and grabbed one of the hashbrowns to eat.

“Why does this smell like soap?”, she asked. She replaced it with another one which also smelt like soap. I told her it must be her imagination. I bit into one of the burgers. “Yuck! It does taste like soap”, I said. Then, I realised why.

The cooking oil and soap bottle containers were near each other. The cooking oil had a similar colour to the soap. Both the bottle containers were about the same shape and size, too.

So, I must have grabbed the soap container by mistake, without reading the label which had the word “soap” and a picture of glistening dishes printed on it, and poured the oil (soap) into the pan to fry the burgers and hashbrowns.

While I was frying this food, I kept wondering why the “oil” dried up so fast in the hot pan. Not checking the container, I poured more “oil”. This shows how much of time I spend in the kitchen. Haha!😂😂

It’s fun being dad!

When I was three years old; my father used to have recoding sessions with us kids – my sister Jennifer and I. Nigel was about a year old and Terence was a few months. These “recording sessions” were recorded using an open reel tape deck. He also used to play records (as they were called those days with 16, 33, 45 and 78 R.P.M. speeds. Today, they are known as “vinyls”). So, he played records of our favourite songs and tape our conversations and singing, too. My favourite songs he used to play for me was, “Me And My Teddy Bear” by Roy Rogers and “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic” by Henry Hall & His Orchestra. This was in 1962. Turn table record players with radios, open reel deck tape recorders – gadgets. Hmmm. I just realised that I’m a chip of the old block due to my interest in gadgets, too.

My dad has played this tape several times over the years to us, his children; and to relatives and friends, too. While he did this, he recorded us in the various stages of us growing up. By then, Malcolm, the youngest; was on the scene (included in the recordings😁).

Today, that open reel tape still sounds very good when played back. It is about 50 years old. On it, we hear dad’s and mum’s voices when they were younger. I am not sure whether my memories were influenced by these recordings or they are sheer memory power. All the same, lots of great memories.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to dad and all the dads!

I managed to find the “Me And My Teddy Bear” by Roy Rogers and “The Teddy Bear’s Picnic” by Henry Hall & His Orchestra songs which I am so familiar with.

Lyrics

Me And My Teddy Bear
In the house next door right next to mine
A little boy lives there
At Xmas time dear Santa Claus
Brought him a teddy bear

He loves his little teddy bear
He’s with it all day long
And the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard
Is to hear him sing this song

Me and my teddy bear
Have no worries, have no cares
Me and my teddy bear
Just play and play all day

I love my teddy bear
He has one eye and has no hair
But I love my teddy bear
We play and play all day

Every night he’s with me
When I climb up the stairs
And by my bed he listens
Until I say my prayers

Oh, me and my teddy bear
Have no worries, have no cares
Me and my teddy bear
Just play and play all day

Every night he’s with me
When I climb up the stairs
And by my bed he listens
Until I say my prayers

Oh, me and my teddy bear
Have no worries, have no cares
Me and my teddy bear
Just play and play all day
Just play and play all day

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: J. Fred Coots / Jack Winters

The Teddy Bear’s Picnic
If you go down in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise
If you go down in the woods today, you’d better go in disguise
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain because
Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic

Every teddy bear who’s been good is sure of a treat today
There’s lots of marvelous things to eat and wonderful games to play
Beneath the trees where nobody sees
They’ll hide and seek as long as they please
That’s the way the teddy bears have their picnic

Picnic time for teddy bears
The little teddy bears are having a lovely time today
Watch them, catch them unawares
And see them picnic on their holiday

See them gaily gad about
They love to play and shout
They never have any cares
At six o’clock their mummies and daddies
Will take them back home to bed
‘Cause they’re tired little teddy bears

If you go down in the woods today, you’d better not go alone
It’s lovely down in the woods today, but safer to stay at home
For every bear that ever there was
Will gather there for certain because
Today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jimmy Kennedy / John W. Bratton