Many moons ago I took Ben to meet my Dad for the first time, at the same airfield. He was given a similar gift for his 40th birthday and as we made our way there I prepared Ben once again about the man he was about to meet. About how it was very likely he'd be dressed as a World War II serviceman, would be likely to speak to him in a plummy English accent and would most definitely be pretending to smoke a pipe. I'm not sure how seriously Ben took me, but he soon realised that I was not exaggerating.
At our wedding two years ago my Dad, in his Father of the Bride speech, recalled the meeting. No joke, at that first encounter, when we were just 17, my Dad asked Ben what his prospects were and his intentions for his daughter. It's crazy to think that it was nearly 11 years ago...
