Who's The Daddy: A very polished performance even if it was 'fudged'

There weren’t too many chuckles in Wolfie, Ross Willis’ play about the horrible things kids in the care system suffer, and what laughter there was, was gallows humour at its very darkest.But daughter #2 was magnificent in it, even when she dropped a few loud and clear f-bombs that were all in the script. First time I’ve ever heard her use a class A profanity, or any profanity at all, come to think of it. I nearly fell out of my seat.

Having worked in newsrooms and on sports desks for 30 years, an often heated and febrile environment when a deadline is looming where at moments of unbearable tension The Thick Of It’s Malcolm Tucker might suggest we tone it down a bit, swearing is used as punctuation.

Nothing is off limits, although one boss did once send round a three-line whip that the sweariest of all swear words was not to be used anymore before the watershed. Yeah, that one. Often bellowed by the Mancunians on staff when Liverpool score a late winner in front of The Kop. And vice versa from our Scouse colleagues when City or, less often these days, United return the favour.

Some of the cast in last week’s LIPA performance literally fudged it though by saying “fudge” where they could’ve said “f***” but daughter #2 and quite a few of her fellow cast members didn’t, even in the hallowed inner sanctum of the Paul McCartney Auditorium.

It looked, sounded and felt like a well-polished, professional performance. Which it was. If some of the youngsters on that stage aren’t household names in a few years I’ll be fudgin’ amazed.

Talking of household names, daughter #2 left her flat in Liverpool city centre last Sunday afternoon to be met by the unexpected sight and sound of tens of thousands of Liverpool fans hailing their team’s incredible achievement of winning the League Cup and FA Cup on penalties at the team’s open-top bus parade through the city.

A silly game, played by silly men in silly shorts pretty much sums up her feelings on a sport that’s ruled/ruined my life for 45 years. The team bus passed about the width of the pitch at Anfield from her front door but she lives quite high up and a few streets back from the route. The home of the only person in Liverpool with absolutely no opinion on football.