A couple of greenbacks

They were a spontaneous gift from my first sister–in–law Big Mama–san this summer, when tons of family converged on a large borrowed house in Deepest Daarrrset for the birth of her daughter Jen’s second, a girl this time. You out there who haven’t been updated yet (was going to get round to it this Christmas I suppose!) will only remember Jakob (pronounced Yakob) born three days before Christmas 2005 in the same hospital, for the same reason:- Andreas’ ancestry means that if the baby was born in Switzerland (while they live in Geneva) the Swiss birth & passport bureaucracy would go into orbit trying to establish what happened when and in what order, trying to trace him back through the East German bit and his wonderful highly unorthodox Russian mother, and they will not  take it for granted that someone else has done any digging necessary, ie German, French, US, Iranian and Iraqi, Azerbaijani and British governments who have all passed him fit of mind and body and a fine fellow. There is nothing to find, but try telling the Swiss that. He’s an international human rights lawyer and has been training Iraqi judges in Brussels. God this is getting complicated. So little Delphine has a British passport like her English mum, and that’s that.

Anyway, there’s $40, Big Mama–san’s contribution to my Campaign to Keep Me and Mother Afloat, stuck inside the mirror frame on my mantelpiece. I thought if I put them on the mirror they might mysteriously double up. Actually I think it worked - just won £25 on my premium bonds, my first ever prize! And I've just realised, writing this, that the mirror was from Big Mama-san too - payment for some graphics work I did for her when we all lived in London. So I've always treasured it.

PS – emailing to family recently about blogging names –

“how would this be ?
PMW
LW
MJW
TJW
JKW
AKW etc
I think that would get around the problem nicely - do you agree ?”

Reply from MJW –

“I am fine with either abbreviations or first names. Honestly, any internet predator would run into our real names which are nothing like our nicknames.”

and reply from Andreas –

“AKW in German is an acronym for Atomkraftwerk - nuclear power station. Please not. The first name would be nicer.”

And what struck me as delightfully strange was this – (P M & J are my brother's first family)

Mia lives in caMbodIA,

Jen lives in GENeva (stretching the argument slightly), and

Pip (Philip) lives in the PHILIPpines.

How amazing is that?!!

And since Pip's a Media Director he's not worried about publicity either, apart from being related to a mad aunt. 

Anyway, enough of this nonsense. Got to have an early night for mother's Big Day tomorrow.