An Early Arrival

 

 

I had intended to write a blogpost on 9th May about the VE Day tea party the day before at the almshouses where I am a trustee. Normally I'm somewhat sceptical of such events, when so many lend themselves to hijacking in the cause of jingoism. This party had, however, been requested by the residents in circumstances where at least half of them still had memories of the end of the war back in 1945. It succeeded in hitting the right note when the Chairman asked everyone to acknowledge those who had sacrificed their lives and although there was flag waving (for a press photo) and singing; Rule Britannia and its ilk were avoided. The residents themselves had assisted in the preparation of the decorations including jars of flowers, where the red, white and blue effect was valiantly achieved with the help of a permanent marker pen!

In any event, I digress because there is a reason why I never wrote that blog entry and it came in the shape of a wonderful 2.48kg bundle when Dilly gave birth to a little sister to Grandotty. She was 2 weeks early, but is perfect in every way and, of course, we dashed straight off to London to meet her.

 

Dilly is non-practising but her Hindu ancestry demanded a chhathi ceremony on Little Sister's sixth day to enable the goddess of destiny to visit and bless her future. Ours was very much a truncated form of the ritual, although the Youngest, as the paternal aunt, played her part in tying ribbons to the baby's limbs and affixing what we in the west would generally refer to as a bindi, before confirming her name. 

There was no chanting, only a chorus of "Happy Birthday" as we produced a cake with a candle in the shape of a zero. A fish and chip supper from the local takeaway was also served, in place of the more traditional spiced fish stew.

All in all another retirement first for us, together with the joy of a second granddaughter and the ongoing delight of mixing the two different cultural legacies which our grandchildren share and will hopefully proudly claim.