The Jigsaw Man

'I'd rather be doing a jigsaw' Gordon Medd (right) c.1953 

Dad's coming up to see us for a few days. It'll do him good. He's hitting the Great North Road just after lunch and should be with us by mid-afternoon. It'll be a first - with no backseat driver to point out the shortcomings of his driving skills, 'You're too close Gordon', he should be able to set a new PB.

I call him the Jigsaw Man because he's always got a jigsaw on the go: 500 pieces, 1000 pieces, solid colour ones, ones with no pictures on the box, double sided ones - you name it, he'll fix it.

We've got a full itinerary lined up for him. I rang him last night to confirm his booking: 'I'm just packing', he said, 'are we going anywhere with a dress code?'

'Dad, believe me, the places I'm taking you definitely don't have a dress code.'

My dad mustn't be confused with former Everton striker Stuart Barlow who was also, rather cruelly, known as Jigsaw because he always went to pieces in the box.