Good things come to he who waits...

My father has always loved trains, planes and automobiles. Trains and planes especially. He spent his childhood logging numbers of steam trains as they were gradually phased out and replaced with much more boring dirty diesels, and Farnham Airshow featured more than once in our summer holiday schedule.

Sadly - for him - he was something of a voice crying in the wilderness. My sister and I, though we tried to show willing, weren't really bothered, and whilst my brother showed interest, he was always more of a car guy. And whilst young, a CHiP's guy. (I think Brother's best Christmas present ever was the toy children's police helmet that my father bought and resprayed in Highway patrol colours so that he could pretend to be Jon to his heart's content...).

So you can imagine my dad's reaction when he took his two younger grandsons into a newsagent last week and told them each to pick a comic to take home. Boy #1, true to form, went immediately for a C-beebies publication featuring bright colours and stories about animals.

Boy #2, however, caused me a moment's concern when he pointed out a publication on the top shelf. Surely not, not already? But I needn't have been bothered. To Dad's delight, Boy #2 was desperate to get his hands on a magazine called 'Air Forces' ('Number One for World Wide Military Aviation News' - if you're interested...), featuring lead stories like 'F16 Fight! US Close Combat Tactics', 'JSF & Aircraft Carriers - The UK's Big Debate', and 'On Patrol With France's Securite Civile'...

They managed to contain themselves until they got home, and then Dad and Boy #2 screwed their bottoms into the sofa and enjoyed leafing through and commenting on each and every page.

I could almost read my father's mind. 'Finally, after all these years.'

Like I said - good things come to he who waits...