Yesterday I was in London for an IAM5 planning meeting when I had the bright idea of ringing my Dad to see if by chance he was in the city. I was delighted to find, when I interrupted him in a government meeting (woops!), that he was, and met him at 5.30 in Trafalgar square...
Trafalgar was buzzing with winter anticipation, the Christmas tree is up, people were bundled up warm and Big Ben was chiming the hours away as people made their way home from the office. I felt like I was having a rare treat.
I'm a very lucky young lady, I have a really fantastic Dad who I respect and love very much. My Dad has a rather glamorous job (I've joked about him being a spook, but what he actually does has a lot more integrity) but I respect most the way he loves and accepts people. My Dad's been a really faithful man in my life and I know he'd never turn me away if I needed him. He'll even meet me on a chilly evening after a seven hour meeting to take me to dinner when he really should be getting a train home.
We had a lovely Mexican meal, just the two of us, in Leicester Square and chatted about life and family. We left just in time to see some guy called Al Pacino pass us to go into some premiere for some film of his called The Merchant of Venice. I had a mild moment of feeling like I should scream or something but then I realised, "he's just a man". I watched him walk around a bit and then Dad and I went for an ice cream. It was a lovely stolen evening. I look forward to more. Love you Dad.