|
What is Dad Rules?
I’ve compiled my Sunday Times columns into a book called Dad Rules, which Penguin publish on May 29th 2008. Don’t get me wrong. I like the columns, but the book will be far more fun. It restores all the jokes and naughty bits the paper cuts out. And it’s got cartoons and pictures. And it tells the complete story as I change from a bloke who’s terrified of kids to a dad who’s contented and fulfilled - though still somewhat on the edge. Out to lunch but on the case. Put together, the columns make a mad kind of sense, since, in each one, I learn another Dad Rule: I learn something new about how to be happy.
The idea is that Dad Rules takes in family stuff that applies to everyone, not just parents e.g. “What did you hate about your own parenting?” and “What makes you happy?” So The Forum is for anyone: parents, teenagers, anyone who wants to have a laugh. The idea is that this will grow and grow, as people start adding stuff. I shall be checking in, with a zeal that will border on cretinism, so if you want to contact me, this is the place to do it.
In the meantime I’m getting things started by setting a few topics. I will put up part of a Dad Rules chapter. Then at the end I will set you a couple of questions. So at first it will all look like a slightly insane exam paper, but it’ll be better because
- There are no scores, and no right answers. And you can use a false name.
- You are allowed to cheat, by using dictionaries, personal experience, or drugs.
I shall be like a weird teacher, who’s invigilating the exam. Think of me as a slightly unhinged English teacher, who is going to put in a couple of inspired years, before he gets kicked out, as a result of a misunderstanding involving me and another Staff Member.
|
