“I hear you knocking, ” br Dave Edmonds sings, br “but you can’t come in! ” br and my father br br unexpectedly br br rises to his feet, br grabs his walking frame br and with a joyful grin br begins an imperceptible br rhythmic twitch, br an infinitesimal hitch br of shoulders, that br we might have missed br but this New Year’s Eve... br br “You dancing, Dad? ” I call... br “You asking? ” his reply’s retrieved br from out the distant past.