It’s tough when you have a family member living away, especially at Christmas. My little brother Henry lives in the UK with his wife Candice and they had thee most beautiful baby girl earlier this year, Willow. We got the news very early in the morning. Immediately the Tall Man got online & booked my flight to Newcastle as I packed my bag  (a toothbrush!)  I tore off and made it to Dublin in six & a half minutes, its 152km so I’d say I did it in good time! The flight was closed and the lovely boy on the desk, Nigel, booked me onto the Manchester flight & didnt charge me, how lovely. (sorry Mr. O’Leary) Im not a fan of the plane but was sitting at the front which made things easier. I sat next a guy who also missed his early flight, he was on the beer the night before & his ‘friends’ left him in bed. Nice. Oh I also forgot my phone & didnt know Henrys phone number, but good old Nameed (besties at this stage) let me use his phone to inform the Tall Man I was now heading to Manchester to buy a new phone.

In the meantime Nameed’s fiancee was txting (flight mode) wondering where the hell he was as her parents were waiting for him, they had an appointment to look/buy a new house that afternoon. The wedding plans were in full swing and the house was number 3 on the list. She was not a happy lady. Of course he blamed his mates explaining one of them got lost & so they all missed the flight waiting for the last to return. She bought it. I suppose she was right, someone was buying her a new house that afternoon.

Made it to Manchester, bought a new phone, had a veggie pasty which burned the roof of my mouth & hopped on a train to Newcastle. Interesting journey. After walking through seventy-four carriages I eventually found a seat beside a guy called Paul who was rehearsing his lines for an audition in  Emmerdale. The storyline was all very Eastenders, he was the son of a mad man who loved his half sister…..he lost me after that…Later a conductor explained I should be on a different train, make 2 extra stops & hop on another train to somewhere else. Seriously. Got in contact with Henry who was in a ball of worry & I assured him Id be there sometime this year!
Arrived at the station, got a cab with John who drove me (miss daisy style…) three minutes around the town  to the front door of the hospital. Up the stairs to the maternity wing, rang the bell and in through the door, around the corner to meet the most beautiful addition to our extended family. Baby Willow Harrington. Candice in the bed looking as perfect as ever, her mum & dad were there, mum holding baby Willow, sister Becky and bf Pete were all standing around the bed and my little bro just stood there looking at me in complete disbelief. I made it. Open arms, warm embrace and endless tears. I would go to the end of the earth for him.

So this Christmas the Tall Man gave me a gift of a new whistle. Willow may not be around the corner to hug & play with but she is in my heart always & so I put a little tune together for her, with loads of mistakes of course.