At Hawkins, we think dads are pretty awesome and with Fathers Day coming up we felt they deserved a post. We asked our colleagues here to say a word that described their dads and we got a fairly mixed response. From silly, funny, kind to embarrassing, loving and tough, along with some rude ones that we can't print. Dads are many different things to all of us and whatever we feel about them, whether you idolised yours when you were little (and still do now) love or hate them, we can't help but take inspiration from them. We learn from them, usually whether we want to or not.
The word itself 'Dad' has been around since the 16th Century but it's likely to have been around for longer. It's origins are believed to come from children's speech, as 'dadada' is one of the first sounds a baby will make (we love a bit of pub quiz trivia we do) Rewind all those years ago and a dads role was hunter, provider, head of household. Thankfully nowadays that role has softened a great deal and dads can, quite frankly, be whatever they like. They're a million and one things rolled together. And whatever they are or were good at, usually we end up picking up on some of those things. Maybe it's a love for sport like cricket, because they had you playing for hours in the garden, using your younger sister as wicket keeper. Maybe it was how to ride a bike or throw a rugby ball. Perhaps they had a knack for looking after money, a love for hoovering and cleaning the entire house using vinegar, or perhaps it was that first taste of beer or cooking that first BBQ. The list goes on.
Jamie Olivier cites his dad for teaching him all about hard graft, 'he's always expected a lot of graft from me. A lot of physical effort. And certainly enough obedience. I was just scared enough of him, which I think is important. A little bit of fear doesn’t hurt. But he was very loving.' Gwyneth Paltrow says that hers taught her about the value of money during her rise to fame, by refusing to give her any handouts. And Dawn French cites her father as giving her, her internal and external confidence. What has your dad taught you?
