On a Tuesday in early April, little Ruby Elizabeth arrived - so her nickname, of course, is Ruby Tuesday. She weighed 7lbs 5ozs and is a beautiful and settled little girl. She is, quite simply, adorable. Now, this is not new news to all you grandparents out there, but this is my very first encounter with a grandchild albeit a step grandchild. Dave and I were on a flight within the week and had the enormous pleasure of spending five days in Liverpool, dropping in for cuddles and telling her all about our life in Tokyo! Her mum and dad, Sian and Andrew, are wonderful parents and we know she has the best start in life. What a privilege to spend time with them all and, for us, Skype is a magical invention - we saw her within 24 hours!
It was something of a week - not only did Ruby arrive but my very own youngest little girl, Jemma (in pink and who will not relish this description!) married her best friend Ben. They have known each other since they were teenagers and Ben's mum and I used to joke about becoming The In-Laws - no joke: on Saturday 17th April, it really happened. It was a beautiful day in Salisbury and Jemma looked amazing. The wedding was a small affair and we all had a wonderful day. Sadly Dave and I had to leave after the lunch - the party continued! We had to get back to Heathrow to see if there was any chance of our flight the following day. This is a story for another blog - it's quite a tale with stories of the kindness of strangers and our friends.
