The Consolation of Custard

I had grown up around grown-ups – either my parents or the crew on the ships we sailed in – and so by the time we settled down in one place, I was wiser and older than my years. Mummy taught me to appreciate different flavours, and Daddy was always around to teach me some maths or point me towards interesting books to read. But what I loved the most about my father was his storytelling. He told me stories of his days as a naval officer, how they used to wake up at 4.30 in the morning, play football and then have a massive breakfast; how he’d once made a ‘curry’ at the request of his cadet friends and blown their heads off with the amount of chilli he’d put in it. Daddy wasn’t much of a cook, but his stories were what fuelled my imagination as a child.