Daddy FM

I think my husband is one of the last people in the world making mix tapes. No Spotify or iTunes playlists for him, he peruses the CD cabinets (yes, plural, you try hiding more than 3000 CDs in a small terraced house), makes his selection of songs from albums and those old-fashioned CD single things and combines them in one place. I think if we still had a cassette player in the car he'd insist on his tape actually being on tape, if that makes sense.

You're never too young to start your musical education Daddy style. We lived apart whilst I was pregnant last time, with my husband working Monday to Friday first in Newcastle and then in Luton. I spent much of my weekdays on the M62, willing the traffic to let me through to work, and he on the M1, fighting the Friday afternoon and Monday morning rush hours as he travelled to and from our home. He made two mix tapes for 'Baby Bean', my growing bump, in this time. Well, I say two, he actually made four (two copies of each) so he could listen to the songs he'd chosen, thinking about his son as I was directing the in-car speakers towards my bump.

Now T is grown and on the outside, his musical tastes need a bit of honing, at least before we're forced to listen to 'Music from In the Night Garden' on repeat on every car journey we take. The tunes themselves don't actually offend me, but they do have a worrying soporific effect which probably isn't particularly safe whilst travelling at speed on the motorway.

Thus a double mix tape, two full CDs, a massive 42 tracks, have been produced, featuring some of Daddy's favourite songs.

There are educational songs - '12 Reasons Why I Love Her' by My Life Story (for counting) and 'Yellow Submarine' (for colours. Is it any wonder that 'ellow is the only colour T reliably gets right?)

There are silly songs - 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport' by Rolf Harris, which makes him howl with laughter.

There are songs for singing along to - 'Song 2' by Blur and 'Wake Up Boo' by the Boo Radleys.

and songs to wind the windows down to - 'The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count' by the Divine Comedy.

It's a diverse CD, including 'Hare Krishna' by Boy George, 'because I thought he'd like it' and my favourite, track one on CD one, 'After All' by the Frank and Walters. Well yes, it's about a girl, but who could argue with a father saying the following about his son:

'There are times I get distracted girl
By the ways and workings of this world
Yet I think of you as my life's shrine
And I'm glad that I'm yours
and you're mine

When I'm far from home and lonely
And I think about my life
I think about you
All the little things that you do
And I'm glad you're mine'