Close your mouth, your catching flies.

Grandad tell us a story Grandad. Matthew my youngest grandson was forever asking me to tell him stories about my adventures in Africa. At the time he would have been about 4/5 years of age. He would sit for hours just to listen to my many stories, and knew most of them by heart. "Tell me about the one when the snake bit you, or the one about the shark attack" In fact if it involved danger of any kind, those were the stories he would want to hear about. This continued till he had started school.

Now like any Grandad, I used to love telling him my tales. But how much of a influence I had on a young and impressionable mind I had no way of knowing, that is until I get a call from Kathleen my daughter, his mum.

The phone rings and Kath says "Dad can you come down to our place to-night". "Yes, sure what's up" I'll tell you when you get here" says Kath. So now my mind is running riot, oh God she's not pregnant again is she? Oh no I know what it will be about, James the eldest grandson, will have got his entrance exam results to go to Bolton School. Proper clever dick is our James, Takes after his Grandad. No not me t'other one.

On arriving at Kath's we are greeted with the usual do you want a drink, yes we'll both have a coffee. So off trots Kath and Joyce to the kitchen. Well it's a certainty that for whatever reason we are here for, Joyce will know long before the coffee is served up. Within a few minutes there was howls of laughter coming from the kitchen. I knew what ever it was that we had be asked to call down for wasn't that serious, or was it?

Joyce comes into the living room with the coffee, and throws me a look "oh boy are you in trouble" said Joyce. "What the heck have I done now" "I'll let Kath tell you" says Joyce.

Right Dad, (said with attitude) I went to the open day at Matthews school this afternoon, I had only just stepped through the door when Matthews teacher, sought me out. Can I have a word with you about Matthew. To add to the intrigue she showed Kath to a ante room.

The teacher told Kath that she had no idea that Matthew was so well travelled for someone so young, and to be bitten by a snake at such a young age must have been traumatic.

Sorry, says Kath but apart from the normal family holidays we haven't travelled that widely, and as for being bitten by a snake is news to me. "Well I must admit you have surprised me"said the teacher. "During Story time we can always depend on Matthew to tell us about his time in Africa".

"AFRICA Oh the penny as dropped" says Kath, It's not Matt it's my Dad that lived in Africa.

Well again you have surprised me, because when Matt tells a story it is always "I did this" and I did that, and what's more he tells it with such conviction that he his totally believable.

So I think it would be fair to say that Matt is a chip off the old block, once removed. A born story teller, the best of it is we should have known. I always said he was vaccinated with a gramophone needle. When he stayed over at the weekend, as soon as he woke he would be off "Grandad or Grandma, (whoever was nearest at the time) "did I tell you about when"..........

But as we know kids grow up, and fortunately Matt grew out of using my stories. In fact now days with MP3s and Nintendo Wii game consuls it takes him all his time to string more then a couple of sentences together. However get Matthew going with the Jokes or Impressions at which he is brilliant at, and a true comic shines through, but I would say that wouldn't I.

Though I love him dearly I think I prefered the old chatter box Matthew.