Waiting for Jemma

Posting this in November 2016 ´just after seeing Angie's step-niece, born on 22nd October 2016, for the first time.

I suspect this photo, which was on the outside of a self-made card, can claim to have been the original analogue Blip. It came from Bliper Nogbad, and as he doesn't back-blip, I have stolen it for my journal.

He sent the card on 15th October 1990 as can be verified in the extra photo which shows the words he wrote: a long description of the sites and attractions of the Kent village city of Eccles, not the hamlet of the same name near Manchester where he was born and raised.

Nigel and I had been working together for a year in Munich but with child #1 on the way, he had made the decision to stop the fortnightly flights and bachelor pad life in Munich for a return to full-time UK home life.

The card says baby #1 was due to arrive that day but was showing no sign of urgency. As it turned out Jemma did not arrive until 23rd October. I have always kidded Nigel that Jemma was conceived after a night of too much Munich beer when entertaining Mum who used to fly over to Munich when possible. However thinking about it, February 1990 was very snowy in Munich and he was forever tired after digging his, street parked, large Ford Scorpio out from under the pile of snow the ploughs had dumped on it. I think the company made a mistake in not booking an underground car space to the flat rent they paid for him, It cost a fortune in snow shovels on his expenses.

But the final proof was Jemma's late arrival - no child with even a sip of German beer DNA would arrive late.

(I do need to check on one word he used back then - Nigel is always very careful with the words he uses ´but I can't find any ´detail to the origins of two of the village monuments to explain it.)

As it happened on Monday 15th October I had taken the day off work as a company was delivering my new bedroom furniture, double bed and large cupboard unit which they would also put together.

These were pre-IKEA days and German businesses didn't do customer friendly delivery. You were to be at home all day and they would decide when they would turn up. And no, don't even pop around the corner for a pint of milk and a loaf. If the ring your doorbell during that 5 minutes and you aren't at home. don't expect to hear from them for at least a month.