OVER the years, I’ve done my level best to indoctrinate my children into my sophisticated musical tastes. Ever since they were little, I’ve bombarded them with my favourite band, Genesis.

While other toddlers were having to make do with Baa Baa Blacksheep, my kids had to listen to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.

There was a very brief period when my third-born, Jack, at the age of 11 or so, would request the odd Genesis song to be played on the car stereo but it didn’t last and he later told me he’d done it because he felt sorry for me.

More recently, I’ve been trying to convince my youngest son, who is now almost 18, that Phil Collins is the world’s greatest drummer. But Max, who’s studying to be a drummer himself, won’t have it. He hates Phil Collins with a passion. He says he’s boring and “not cool”. He once went as far as to describe him as “evil”.

Why would he say that? Why would he not appreciate a musician who gave the world that unforgettable drum sequence from the classic “In The Air Tonight”?

Anyway, Max is applying to music colleges to do a degree and, last weekend, we flew to Dublin for an open day. It is only a matter of months before the baby of our large brood is gone from the nest. Quite soon, the drumming practice in the upstairs room will stop. I’ll be able to dispense with the ear-plugs, and we will once again be able to look the neighbours in the eye.

Dublin seems rather a good option. My wife has family in the city and, more importantly, there is a large distance between here and there. He drums very loudly but not so loudly that the sound can carry across the Irish Sea.

By September, it will be just me and my wife and no more arguments about who owns which boxer shorts.

These were my thoughts on the short flight from Newcastle. I know I’m going to miss him but I’m also going to enjoy the tidy house and having my own socks.

It was around 10pm before we landed in Dublin and jumped on board a shuttle bus to take us to our Travel Lodge family room. The driver was very friendly – full of questions, as all Dublin people seem to me.

“So how long are yous in town for?” he asked.

“Oh, just the weekend.”

“And what are ya comin’ over for?”

“Our son’s looking at a music college here.”

“Music? What instrument do you play?”

Up to this point, my wife had provided the answers but this latest question was directed at Max, with a quick glance in the rear-view mirror.

“The drums,” said Max.

“Ah, the drums!” came the excited reply from the bus driver. “You’re gonna be Phil Collins, are ya? You’ll be bashing out a bit of ‘I Can Feel It Coming In The Air Tonight’ so you will...”

Then he banged out the famous drum sequence on his steering wheel with his hands.

I smiled. Max groaned.

Yes, I quite fancy Dublin.

THE THINGS THEY SAY

MANY thanks to Dave Allan, of Middlesbrough, who remembers his daughter Sophie getting impatient for her teeth to grow.

“Teeth don ‘t grow overnight,” he explained.

“Do they grow overday then?” she replied.

AND thanks to Gordon Tough, of Darlington, who told me about the little girl overheard playing by the font in Holy Trinity Church, Darlington.

“That’s where I got my hair wet,” she announced.