Paul Fletcher

Hello, and welcome to The Lad Dads Guide to Life.

I’m Paul Fletcher or Fletch as I’m more commonly known. 40 years old and Manchester-born and bred, my home for the last twenty years has been the beautiful city of Edinburgh. It’s here I live with my wife (Saint) Jude and our two girls. For 25 years I worked in high-end luxury retail and most recently ran my own fashion wholesale business, which meant travel, fashion shows, after-parties and living the high life. What a lad. But that lifestyle doesn’t particularly lend itself well to being a good and present partner or father.

So, in 2019 I knew it was time for a change. My son, Saul, turned 18 and I realised that time was flying by. I wanted to be more rooted and have time and energy to spend with the kids while they are still young enough to be interested. I jacked in fashion and started a commercial cleaning company. The skills I’d built over the years were as relevant and valuable in this new sector and quickly we had quite the client list. At the start of 2020 and being something of a face around town I was asked by award-winning Scottish lifestyle magazine, Hood, to be their resident “Man at the Back” for three issues. I was given a full page to wax lyrical about the matters of the day and I loved it! This opportunity allowed me to keep my toe in the fashion and creative world I know and love but it also gave me a taste for keeping a journal of my exploits at work and play.

Then, in March 2020 came lockdown. With my new business on hold indefinitely I got really into my column, writing, taking pictures and journaling our family life during COVID. I also found time to explore my passion for cooking, producing three home-cooked meals a day, from scratch with ingredients from local shops and producers. As a social butterfly, I found the first week of lockdown really hard and with a friend’s 40th cancelled I had an idea to have a bit of a boozy brunch Zoom call instead. As the “virtual host/organiser” it was up to me to design a menu and playlist for everyone to cook and play along to. It was such a success I decided to take the leap and take it to Facebook Live the following weekend. The brunch grew in popularity and I introduced Sunday Lunch soon after. A community soon sprung up, dads who were struggling with homeschooling and keeping house got in touch to ask for cleaning tips and easy recipes. Always happy to help, I was happy to oblige and The Lad Dad’s Guide to Life was born.

Instead of texting John my recipe for Tuesday Tacos or WhatsApping Mike how to change a hoover bag - I’m bringing all the info a “Lad Dad” will ever need - right here. From the best places to go for vintage street wear to my favourite bars in Ibiza, my top tips on creating the perfect Yorkshire pudding every time to the beard oil every man should use you’ll find it here on The Lad Dad’s Guide to Life.

“Lockdown has a lot to answer for...”