Fantastic fathers gear up to celebrate special day
YOU can be cynical about Father's Day if you want, but behind all the marketing schmaltz it's a chance to spend some quality time with the people you love most.
That's the message from some of Cheltenham's great and good, who will celebrate the occasion tomorrow with their children.
Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood said he was looking forward to enjoying a day with his two youngsters – Sam, eight, and Maya, 10.
He said: "I am going to watch my daughter perform in a dance competition, then in the evening I have promised to watch the European football with my son.
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"Unfortunately my father died several years ago, just before I was elected as an MP, but we used to spend the day together when he was alive.
"It's a good chance to enjoy some quality family time. I used to be a bit sceptical aboutFather's Day – viewing it as a bit of a ploy to sell more cards – but I must say it has really grown on me."
For Matt Grove, whose daughter Faye was born three months premature in December 2010 - weighing little more than a bag of sugar - the day is a chance to reflect on how far she has come since then.
"I just love being a father," said the 32-year-old from Prestbury. "It's the best thing that has happened to me.
"To think that Faye might not have made it at one point and now she is happy and healthy, running around the house, is amazing."
Father's Day was originally founded in America in 1910 but did not take off in the UK until the 1970s.
"Dancing" Ken Hanks, 76, Cheltenham's distinctively dressed charity fundraiser, said it was important to celebrate the role of fathers.
The dad-of-three, whose children Melvin, 52, Kelly, 27, and Bradley, 25, have left home, is looking forward to opening cards from the trio tomorrow.
"I like the idea of Father's Day because it's a chance to recognise the important role we play," he said.
He added that strong family values had been instilled in him by his own father, Frank Hanks, who died in 1984.
"My dad was a real good'un," he added.
"He lived for his family and was a great role model for me – just as a father should be."
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