Gemma had always been adamant that she didn’t want children, so when she and Chris announced their pregnancy, you could have knocked me down with a feather!

Elliott Bowie (as in David Bowie – because Nick was a big fan) Christopher was born by caesarian on November 27th, a very healthy 3.49kg (7lb 11oz) and 52cm long, hardly surprising as Chris is 6’4″.

Everything was going well for the first few days, until Gemma developed pre-eclampsia, something I didn’t realise could happen after birth. We had a very scary few days when she was back in the hospital; Australia has never seemed so far away, there was nothing I could do except keep in touch by WhatsApp.

However, after an interminable few days of being unable to settle to anything, sleep or eat, we heard that her blood pressure had stabilised and she was going home.

Since then things have gone well; she’s taken to motherhood like the proverbial (if somewhat exhausted) duck to water. Chris’s parents are there at the moment, supposedly on holiday, but actually stepping in to help look after Elliott as much as they can, greatly appreciated by Gemma, who’s making the most of the free time they afford her by catching up on some much needed sleep.

Kieran and his children, along with Alex and her girls, are going to visit in February; they’re all so excited, though I think for the kids the prospect of meeting their new cousin is secondary to seeing kangaroos and koalas.

So I’ll be the last to meet the newest addition to the family; it’ll be too hot for me in February, so I’ll wait till they come to Europe in the summer. At least we have WhatsApp now, I can’t imagine how it felt for past generations, who knew that, once someone emigrated, they were unlikely ever to see them again.