We went over to my brother's place today - my mother, my boy and I - to see my brand new niece. She's only two days old, and really quite tiny. She was sleeping at the time, and her face went through all sorts of grimaces and smiles (she smiled when my mother placed a red envelope, containing lucky money, on her chest - the boy said it was the Cantonese half that smiled).
My niece still hasn't got an English name, although my mother has already received a list of possible Chinese names. The problem is this - the actual names are written in Chinese, and these are translated into English meanings, but none of us can read Chinese well enough to know how to pronounce them. So we have to find someone who can read the names while I try to get the sounds down in English.
I quite like the name Isabel, myself.
Afterwards, the boy and I went into town for a spot of 'bimbling' (this is apparently an English word which means rambling about town with no particular purpose). I tried to look for a copy of The Golden Bough, which was recommended to me by a library customer interested in folklore and mythology. It wasn't to be found though, so I satisfied myself with a copy of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights. I couldn't help noticing the various babies and toddlers with their bimbling parents; I am definitely getting clucky.
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