My father's whiskey figurine of Sir Richard Hadlee symbolizes cherished memories, despite his fading memories due to dementia.
On the mantelpiece in my parents' lounge room sits my father's limited edition, porcelain, whiskey-filled figurine of Sir Richard Hadlee.
It was sold as an investment, a sports memorabilia keepsake, if you will, which would both celebrate the great New Zealand cricketing champion and, with its rare single malt whiskey, appreciate over time.
He was the first true hero I had, other than my Dad, of course. Even though the spectre of dementia has begun to steal the luster from some of Dad's memories, he can still recount the story, with a glint in his eye, of me as a five-year-old sat in the dusty, beer can laden concrete bleaches of Eden...