The Ship

I don’t really know much about how he made this apart from the fact that you have to push the boat in with the sails lying down and then you pull the strings and lift the sails up. It makes me think that there are many details I don’t know about his life, particularly the life he had before I was born. Luckily there’s lots that I do know about him but this reminds me how important it is to talk to people and get the stories out of them while you can.

My dad was a war hero. He figured out how to angle his helicopter in way that allowed him to blow the life rafts away from the burning ship that they were being sucked towards during the Falklands War. I was born while he was away.

Considering the fact that every year on my birthday my dad, my mum and my grandma would relay the story about him getting a special message on his ship about my arrival, I don’t really know much about his time in the Falklands.

I’m lucky because he kept a log and I have it now so I know a bit more, but it’s another reminder to talk and ask questions and get the stories out of people while you can.

C.M. from London