Time for a bit of catching up. In December, just a few days after Chantal was released from hospital after her bout of pneumonia, we travelled up to Leeds to see Bess and Florence baptised. It was a Catholic baptism, just extended family rather than being part of a service at the Church. It was quite a short and simple service, although including a few personal words from the Priest. I was a bit surprised to hear that this was the first time that Claire and Si had met the Priest, this being evident when, thanks to him sitting next to Claire, the Priest assumed that Steven was the father of the girls, which would have been a bit of a surprise to us all.
The solemn occasion was lightened somewhat when, as the full Baptism party of parents, children and Godparents were all standing at the front, Claire stepped backwards, and promptly tripped up a step, resulting in Lucy having a fit of the giggles. The Priest coped admirably.
The girls each got a baptism candle, to be lit on special days, which, as far as I can recall, were specific Saints days and other special occasions in the Catholic Calendar. A note for Claire and Si – we Methodists often suggest lighting the candle for a short time on birthdays, which over the years encourages curiosity about the candle, and maybe questions about the baptism. Of course this where the Godparents come in to explain. Plenty of support there – Chris & Lucy, Steven & Sherry, Duncan & Mimi, Daz and Viccy can all expect a phone call….. Actually Bess nearly lost out when it came to Godfathers. Chris was one of her Godfathers, and his first duty was to bless her with the sign of the cross. He blessed Florence instead, but following vociferous objections from the congregation, he turned and blessed the correct Godchild. Florence got a bonus blessing.
Afterwards it was back to Claire and Si’s to party, a real houseful, with a lot of food. I was driving us home, but still managed just one beer, although I didn’t mind, because there was a pie. A wonderful pie. In fact two wonderful pies. It seems that Christine, Si’s Mum, and Maureen, Si’s Aunt, always make homemade pies for his birthday, and they kindly obliged for the baptism, with a meat and potato and a cheese and onion pie. Si, you really must invite me up for your birthday more often.
Megan had been a bit under the weather for a day or so, but at the party was happily running around with the other children, until she got breathless, and retired to bed, surrounded by worried parents and grandparents. Lucy decided to call the out-of-hours health helpline “111” for advice, and the doctor (or whoever makes an assessment over the phone) talked to Lucy, talked to Megan, and recommended a precautionary trip to outpatients at Leeds General Hospital. There are times when Mum, who knows a lot more about her offspring, and in any case is actually with the child in question, knows best, and Lucy decided that a precautionary keep-Megan-quiet-and-keep-an-eye-on-her was a better approach. Megan has been prescribed an inhaler in the past, and Si’s brother Daz kindly fetched his inhaler from home for Megan to use, which quickly helped with the breathing.
I remember the occasional “out of surgery hours” health crisis with Simon and Matthew, including in Yorkshire when staying with my sister, and at other times when the local doctor was not the one with whom the boys were registered. On each occasion we either had a prompt home visit, or were invited to the surgery to see the “emergency GP”. I’m not sure when doctors decided that illness should only occur in office hours and that anyone inconveniently poorly outside office hours would need to visit hospital, but I do feel that this approach is somewhat un-professional. After all, if a bar is stopping the neighbours from sleeping at 2am, I have to be there to assess the situation. Mind you, I’m much cheaper than a doctor
Anyway, Megan was soon playing with the other children, but was not allowed to run around.
It would have been nice to stay longer to chat with Si’s family, and maybe hope for some more pie, but we had dogs to collect, and Chris and Lucy decided that Megan needed an early night, and so we headed south by late afternoon, leaving the Yorkshire contingent to party on.
More photos in “our recent photos”
Technically we live in Oaktree House, but sadly the tree had to go.
We now have a thriving Oakstump at the front of the house.
