Father is up and about (4)
I believe the answer is:
sire
'father' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'is up and about' is the wordplay.
'up' says the letters should be written in reverse (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'about' becomes 're' (regarding**).
'is' written backwards gives 'si'.
'si'+'re'='SIRE'
(Other definitions for sire that I've seen before include "Stallion; beget" , "Generator" , "Rise for male parent (4)." , "Bear" , "Male parent of, say, horse" .)