Fix drinks on Father’s Day... not sinks! (From Preston and Leyland Citizen)

Fix drinks on Father’s Day... not sinks!

10:57am Monday 15th June 2009

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By Helen Mead »

Do men REALLY love power tools? Husbands and boyfriends are forever being lectured not to buy women anything connected with housework as a gift.

The biggest insult, men are frequently reminded, is to give the one you love an iron or vacuum cleaner. It is akin, women say, to being asked not to forget the household chores, even on your birthday.

I’m puzzled, therefore, by the fact that females are often steered in the direction of power tools as an ideal present for the man in their life.

Be it Christmas or Valentine’s Day, I’m always inundated with e-mails at work, describing the latest drill or sander for which men will be eternally grateful.

Now Father’s Day is approaching, it’s the same again. ‘Put a smile on dad’s face this Father’s Day," says one such message, ‘forget novelty socks, ties and shaving kits. Men love toys that they can actually play with and use to show off their skills.’ It goes on, ‘Let Black & Decker take the stress away..’ I can only think that the dad who inhabits our house is a breed apart from other blokes, because, were the children to present him with a fancy screwdriver or state-of-the-art wrench, he would react pretty much as I would to being given a telescopic duster or an extendible window cleaning wand.

My husband hates DIY, and I know he’s not alone. So why is it universally assumed that men adore tools?

The appeal, apparently, of one particular compact sander is greater control, plus ‘the soft palm and ergonomic design provides added comfort, taking an irritation out of the job.’ Based on past experience, my husband would find such a job horrendous in the extreme, never mind irritating. He would feel the same whether using a scrap of cheap sandpaper or a gold-plated, velvet-padded machine.

Aren’t dads supposed to relax on Father’s Day? Surely the last thing they want is to be reminded that the back door needs re-hanging or the shower needs grouting.

Even the more quirky items being plugged by supermarket chains are ramming home that there jobs waiting to be done. A mini tool kit, say Sainsbury’s, is ‘perfect for fiddly DIY jobs’.

For pity’s sake, dad’s not only expected to get out of bed and carry out repairs with his amazing new 100-piece drill kit, he’s expected to go one step further and set about the more complex tasks.

Of course, shops are also bursting with special beers and spirits – of which (and I hope children take this on board), Dad is going to need in bucket loads after a day re-hanging the guttering, tiling the downstairs loo, and fixing dripping taps.

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