Nile Rodgers, Sharleen Spiteri, Will Poulter, Adam Henson and Manic Street Preachers.

From comedian & Writer Paul Kerensa:

In our house, we start our children’s musical education early. So in amongst Baa Baa Black Sheep’s wool, or Mary Mary’s garden growing – both highly educational songs for farming my three - and five-year-old get a healthy dose of cultural classics. 70s disco is a particular favourite, and I promise no pretending because Nile Rodgers is here – but I’ve genuinely played Chic to them so many times, that my 3 year old can’t hear me sympathise with an “Aaaaaaah”, without adding: “…Freak out!”

The children tolerate me, so the Manic Street Preachers and Texas will be next. Oh yes, they have class. But one of the quirks of our children being different ages, as most are, is that different ages mean different stages… puzzling the world out a year or two apart. While our preschool-girl tests out statements like “When I’m a man, I’ll have a tail like my bunny-rabbit” (diagrams necessary), our schoolboy meanwhile is onto mortality: “Why doesn’t daddy have a granny or granddad? Are there planes from heaven to Gatwick Airport? What do we say when God sneezes?”

I’m delighted they’re inquisitive, and I pray they don’t stop being so. They know at church each week I say “I believe in God the Father… Christ the Son… the Holy Spirit.” But to me, belief means acknowledging there seem to be more questions than answers – which there certainly are in our house. Only yesterday they were playing doctors with their soft toys. “Oh no!” said our youngest. “Look at Mr Tiger’s bruise!” “Yes!” added my boy. “And I can see Mr Tiger’s blood! I think he’s dead!” His younger sister looked stoney-faced, wondering if she should apply the bandage after all. As I saw that poor soft toy, I cried, “It’s a miracle!” He’s not just Mr Tiger who came to tea, he’s Mr Tiger who came back from the dead. We now call him Lazarus.

We don’t know all the answers, but we do what we can. So bring on the puzzling and the pondering. As the writer Elisabeth Elliot suggested, “Faith doesn’t eliminate questions; faith knows where to take them.” As children, as adults, I pray they keep asking, and keep listening to the answers. To quote our musical guests: This is my truth, tell me yours… and say what you want! I promise I won’t “aaaaaaaaah… freak out!”