Stephen, Martin and Tony ran in the Glasgow Men's 10k on June 21st, raising nearly £2000 for the charity and celebrating Father's Day on behalf of separated fathers everywhere.

Tony made the run from the Transport Museum to Glasgow Green in an incredible 36.08 minutes, with Stephen and Martin finishing a little bit later.  Wearing the new FNF Scotland t-shirts, they raised awareness of the charity amongst the thousands of other runners. 

On a day which can be really hard for separated fathers, particularly when they aren't seeing their children, it's great to report such positive activity.

Following this success, we hope that other fathers and their families will help us in other sponsored events, such as Pedal For Scotland in September and the Edinburgh Men's 10k in November on International Men's Day.

In the mean time you can still top up the sponsorship for Martin, Tony and Steve by following the links to their Justgiving sites.

Whether or not you intend to celebrate it, it's hard to avoid Father's Day, with reminders in every supermarket and newsagent.  It can be a particularly difficult time of year for parents that are unable to see their children.

For many fathers, the gifts and advertising campaigns focussed on Fathers Day will be a painful reminder of their own situation. It can be an incredibly lonely time, and it can be difficult for friends and family to understand what you are going through.

Families Need Fathers have added two new Father's Day reflections to the page on the UK site.

Happy Father's Day.

Coverage of Fathers Day in the press this year has included some acknowledgement that it can be a very painful day for those who don't see your children.

FNF patron Louis de Bernières wrote a heartfelt article for the Telegraph which conveys this feeling:

 "I have had the good fortune to have come to an understanding with my ex, and to continue to be a part of her family. We separated two years ago – after 10 years together, and two children: Sophie, four, and Robin, seven. My ex now lives in the village next door, and we have shared residence, which is working very well. This Father’s Day, I will be working, giving a talk at a literary festival. Then I shall rush back in time for bedtime and presents (I hope) at my ex’s house. My ex is very good about observing Father’s Day."

"For a time, though, I had months of the most extreme despair after our personal fiasco blew up in our faces, and this has given me the determination to fight on, not for myself, but on behalf of the tens of thousands of fathers who do not have my public profile or financial means."

"The fact is that fatherhood has changed. My own father was not a “hands-on” father, as he admits himself. His generation was not allowed to be, and didn’t know it was possible. I remember the slight awkwardness if he bathed us when our mother was out. He was still a wonderful father, and the important thing is none of us doubted that he loved us deeply and would have endured any hardship for our sakes. His ability to quote appropriate bits of Shakespeare is undimmed by age, and he still writes poems for each of us."

Aileen Campbell, Scotland's minister for children and young people, commented on Father's Day that many fathers feel unwelcome by schools and doctors’ surgeries.

In the run-up to a new national parenting strategy being unveiled in the autumn, Ms Campbell said fathers are often “cut out of the picture”.

She said: “Dads being fully involved in their children’s lives has all sorts of positive benefits for the wider family and community. However, we need to go further to ensure that as a society we truly value and support dads in the role that they play.

She continued: “As we celebrate Father’s Day, it’s a good time to reflect on what all this means for dads, because sometimes when we talk about parents, we tend to mean mums, and cut dads out of the picture. How does it feel to be a father in Scotland today?

“Many will ponder how different their experience is to that of their own fathers. Dads today tend to be a lot more hands on and there is a greater expectation they will be more actively involved in all aspects of their children’s lives.

FNF Scotland is submitting ideas about how the parenting strategy can also apply to separated parents.

We asked some religious leaders about their fathers.  The Right Reverend David Arnott,  Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland said:

I realise that I learned from my father that we are all here to serve and to help other people.  Life is a gift and we all have to use that gift for the good of the society in which we live.

My father, who was a GP in West Fife, spent himself looking after his patients. When he died one of his patients said to me it was as if a friend had passed away.  He was also an elder in the Kirk. When I was studying divinity we would regularly debate issues of faith.  It was clear to me he took his faith seriously, but also that he questioned it regularly. If that causes uncertainty on occasion, it also results in a stronger faith.

I like to think those qualities have helped to shape my own outlook on life. I am very much aware I am my father's son.