Entries from May 2005 ↓

Before I was a responsible dad, I would have said, why can’t we have this sort of political movement over here? Obviously I’m against it now.

Mrs Watson has, rightly, decided that Malachy is gonna live his life in private. So, there were no local newspaper photos and she’s forbidden me from printing his piccie on the blog. I’m SO proud of him though, I figured one sneaky little pitcure won’t do any harm will it? Just so that I can show him off to you.

Phew….

Malachy George Watson, a beautiful nine pounds seven ounces baby boy was born late on Thursday night.

Fellow parenting bloggers you were right – life just got a lot busier. Mrs W. and I have got our hands full as he’s a powerful little rascal.

I’m taking a little paternity leave so might not post too much in the next week or so. Best wishes one and all.

Here’s another competition. To win a free copy of Boris Johnson’s book – you know you want to. The answer is of course, The Spectator.

1. Pace around the house thinking of ways to keep your wife in good spirits.
2. Arrange a draft schedule for the Finance Bill (doesn’t particularly go with point one I know).
3. Plan next years vegetable plot (26 feet by 16). Does anyone know anything about winter veg? I’ll be ready to plant by the end of June.
4. Sort out the hedges (they must have last been trimmed a decade ago).
5. Make lots of cups of tea for your wife.
6. Get addicted to moneysavingexpert.com This guy should get a medal (from Argos of course).
7. After reading point six – change gas and electricity supplier (saving £160 a year).
8. After reading six and doing seven, cancel my subsciption to channel four films (is it me or has it got rubbish in the last year?) saving another £60.
9. Buy a baby monitor. After reading six, purchasing using an advantage card and through a cashback site like greasypalm.co.uk and then inserting a discount code found on the moneysavingexpert talkboard, you can save a cool £15.
10. Read “The Lawn Expert” from cover to cover and discover that your problem is compaction causing leatherjacket grubs and prolific moss.
11. Finish the remaining thank you cards.
12. Take all phone calls from friends and family (and bosses) asking for an update.
13. Go back to moneysavingexpert.com and enter the free competitions. I’ve already won and Incredibles FM radio, but alas not the KLM flights.
14. Interrogate the RHS plant selector facility in the members only section (it needs improving).
15. Do everything you possibly can to avoid helping out in the South Staffs parliamentary election (friends in the Lib Dems – don’t worry – I’m winning this one).
16. Chuckle at the helpful but unpublishable comments about having a baby from fellow bloggers (you know who you are!).
17. Consider how your life is about to change for ever whilst digging up an overgrown bay tree.
18. Go through your mental checklist again. Family numbers. Camera. Spare shirt. Mrs Watson’s grab bag. The list of helpful hints from the lady at the NCT class.
19. Talk to my sister about all of the above and about small children in general.
20. Read the manual about fitting the car seat. Again.

No strings attached competion to win flight tickets with KLM. An no, I’m not on commission, I just think this is a really clever promotion (you might have to be flash enabled though). Let me know if you win anything.

30,000 BBC journalists miss work today – the day after happy hour is banned in 30,000 pubs.

Woke up fresh as a daisy and no Today programme (see the forlorn looking plastic cups from the live webcam). I never thought I’d say this again, but I missed them. The presenters are familiar and they live in our kitchen.

So Mr Head of the BBC. I think it’s time for you to get back around the negotiating table – before the Archers come out in sympathy.

Update: Bob woke up to the same programme but has a different sense of familiarity….

Simon Hughes, President of the Liberal Democrats, admits flaws in their policy for a local income tax. He also shows disappointment with their election results. Didn’t the Lib Dems get a record number of seats though?

I’m not imagining this baby am I? It was due on Monday and so far there’s not a sign of her/him turning up. I’ve had to do 10 hours in the garden for distraction. You won’t believe how satisfying it is to go ape with a hedge cutter and one of these beauties.

Still, there’s still a few minutes left to vote for Shakin’ Stevens on “hit me baby one more time” on ITV. I remember seeing him in concert at the last ever NUPE conference. That was the night I fell asleep in a deck chair on the beach in Scarborough and a now respected Labour MP tied my shoelaces together. I was a student at the time. Trying to get off a sandy beach at 3am, with a pair of Doctor Martins tied together was a comic moment for the hoardes of merry delegates who were hiding for when I woke up….

So Lord Heseltine welcomes the limited survey of Tory Chairmen that calls for MPs to select their leader. It isn’t really down to me to comment on how the Conservative party chooses a leader but I will anyway. I just can’t understand why Tory leaders can’t trust their membership. Sure, they voted for Iain Duncan Smith last time (doh) but they were only offered two choices – Ken Clarke of IDS. Given that nearly every leading Tory MP had been slagging off Ken Clarke for years it didn’t shock me that IDS triumphed. If they’d been offered a Portillo or a Davis then, the outcome would have been different. It just shows how little they have come on in the last few years.

It doesn’t even have to be an us or them solution. Why not share the load in an electoral college like my party does? We share out the responsilbility a third each, between trade unions members, party members and MPs. They could easily go 50/50 with members and MPs. It just seems so blinkered to me.

I don’t mind saying yesterday was a bad day. Still no junior Watson and a drawful of evil re-usable nappies ready to slop out….for no flippin reason. Anyway, the man from the Guardian who has had an “environmental audit” tells me we’re doing the right thing. I feel a lot better now. I must dash out for the tea tree oil….

Junior Watson is still showing no sign of making an appearance but we’re ready for when she or he makes up their mind to appear. So ready, in fact, that we spent weeks researching the relative merits of different types of nappy. In a draw upstairs sit a bag of fluffy looking terry-towelling, self-seal nappies. Mrs W. says they’re the environmentally friendly ones. She persuaded me that re-usable type are good for the baby and good for the envirnoment.

I know what existing parents are thinking right now. They’re thinking, you’ve never changed a nappy have you Tom? They’re silently laughing at our naivety. Just wait until the baby starts filling up those little terry-towlling bundles of fluff, they’re gloatingly saying to themselves. You’ll reach out for the pampers straight away, they’re whispering to their computer screens.

Well thank you the Environment Agency. We can now go disposable nappy crazy, safe in the knowledge that however junior fills her/his pants, you harm the environment in equal proportions.