Thomas is ready and waiting at the station

This is our elder grandson's bed, and he loves it. It is in a reasonably-sized room, and there is another spare bed in there also, but on this side of the room, it slopes down under the eaves and is a perfect little den for a big boy who was 5 years old last week.

We live in what was an old railway station, so Thomas is quite apt.

The baby (one this month) will be in a cot, either in this room or in with his Mum and Dad, it's up to them to decide.

I still seem to have loads of cleaning and washing to do. Every surface that looked fine before, I can now spot "bits" on. My fingers are cracked despite the rubber gloves.

All our carefully laid plans have already gone awry as a client of Nikonabike has asked him to go into work today.

In exactly 48 hours they should be landing at Heathrow, and I expect I'll burst into tears - just like I did the last time we left them at Heathrow almost 2 years ago.

Think of some good tips to stop me crying. Know any good jokes??