Baby talk

My prejudice against cities has softened a lot since our children have lived in them. I have discovered that the convenience of shops and food outlets in walking distance, public transport and many leisure options does not mean a life imprisoned in concrete, steel, plate-glass and grime. Green spaces exist, green corridors offer an escape from hard pavements, water nurtures wildness, the pressure-valve is opened

We on a grandson grand tour. First stop was a brief scan over the gate at my babies in the hive. No worries there, they are frenzied. There must be some early flowering ivy, some late brassicas or some gardens stocked with autumn blooms that they can exploit. They are certainly not eating into their winter stores, so they can be left to their busy selves

This is Birmingham, part of its many miles of restored, and now cherished, canals - so different to the post-war years when volunteers had to battle with bureaucracy to get permission to save them. Today they were were a perfect green way for a three-generation walk to a cafe lunch

Now we're in Sheffied, plotting a meeting of the cousins. Baby-nurturing is exhausting work and we are trying to be helpful hands where we can