My Daddy

It was probably around 1987 when Blackadder II hit TV screens in England, and the following conversation took place between Edmond Blackadder, Percy and Baldrick:

Baldrick: It has vanished, my Lord.

Percy: Vanished ... like an old, oak table!

Blackadder: Vanished, Percy, not varnished...

Percy: Pardon me, lord, but my uncle had an old oak table. And that vanished. Twas on the night of the great Stepney fire, and on that very same night, all his belongings vanished too. So did he, in fact. Twas a most perplexing mystery!

Fastforward to 2005 and look what I find at my parents' house:

Dad had to decant some varnish for Sophie to use on the few home-made Christmas presents that she didn't set fire to. For him, varnish and old oak tables have been inextricably linked since that fateful Blackadder episode. Bless!