Western Mail, 7th September 2010
Kate Edwards, 31, is an associate solicitor at Cardiff-based Wendy Hopkins Family Law Practice. A recent trip to Nepal with her father Dr Howell Edwards, 62, showed her how similar and alike they are and how close a bond they share
My dad and I have always been very close. We’re incredibly similar, which sometimes means we don’t see eye to eye.
We look quite alike too – minus the beard and glasses – and I think our personalities complement each other.
However, I didn’t quite realise how close we were until we went trekking together in the Himalayas in March. We spent two weeks in a tent and got on really well, which I think was a surprise and relief to us both – so well in fact we’ve already started planning another trip next year.
He’s very inspirational. When he retired we did a sky dive together, just before that he got his PhD, and he did his first marathon 18 months ago. He’s also the founder of the Valleys Kids charity. He likes to push himself – when I mentioned Nepal he didn’t say “Are you sure?”, he just replied, “OK, let’s go” – and he’s always had complete and utter faith in my decisions.
Going away together was the pinnacle of our relationship, as it taught us that we’re very similar but we can use that in a positive way. We both know that we have to work hard to get a good partnership, and neither of us take the other for granted – he makes sure of that.
The other day he rang and asked if he could stay at mine because he was going out with some old work colleagues. Then he asked me for a lift, and while we were in the car not only did he ask for a lift home too, but he also said he’d forgotten his wallet and could he borrow some money. He’d worked out I owe him about 2,000 lifts from when he used to taxi me around when I was a teenager so it was a complete role reversal.
In my job, I deal with a lot of single parents and children without dads and I can honestly say they are missing out. Having a father figure in your life teaches you how to deal with men in general, and you learn to appreciate the male point of view – after all, a man’s perspective is very different to that of a woman.
I think my dad is remarkable. He is a man of great integrity with a strong social conscience and a sense of adventure and I look up to him very much.