I generally trust Mrs Blog’s intuition so, when Leanne, who has breezed through her pregnancy, said she felt bloated and generally ‘yuk’, my wife announced that the baby would be here sooner rather than later. Sure enough, the very next day and a whole two weeks before her due date, Blake Nigel Jones entered the world.

It turned out that Leanne was suffering from Pre eclampsia, a condition that is highly dangerous for both mother and baby and with her blood pressure going through the roof she was immediately dispatched to the RVI hospital in Newcastle. 
My wife rang me at work at 4.30pm explaining the situation and how the doctors were going to induce Leanne AND how I could make myself useful by nipping up to Kielder to rescue the dog who was ‘home alone’, OH, and pop round the RVI to get a key off Steve!

‘NIP TO KIELDER?’ ‘POP TO THE RVI?’  We’re talking a five hour round trip here but, a combination of wanting to be useful and the adage of ‘when she speaks you do as you’re told’ by 6.30pm, I was on my way.

En-rout to the RVI and I started thinking about how Steve, my son-in-law, was determined that his son was going to grow up a Sunderland supporter and how I’d tried to sabotage that by playing ‘Local Hero’, the tune that Newcastle United run out to, to the unborn foetus!
I remember thinking how Steve wouldn’t be happy that his son was going to be born a ‘Geordie’ but nothing prepared me for the sight that greeted me on arrival at the RVI. A huge sign above the entrance read… THE LEAZES WING. For those not in the know, The Leazes End was a stand that was demolished and rebuilt as The Sir John Hall Stand at St. James’ Park in 1993.

Steve was waiting for me in the car park and looked quite concerned. “The doctors are in with her now and it looks like it will be a ‘C section’ if he’s not here soon!” he says. I’m not normally slow in coming forward but pointing to the ‘Leazes Wing’ and shouting ‘IT’S A SIGN, IT’S A SIGN just didn’t seem appropriate at the time. Anyway, I’ve got the rest of my life to remind him of that one!

So, to Kielder and back home and a nervous night waiting for a phone call. I got a picture text from Steve at around 5.30am showing my newly born grandson with the message ‘Born 5.08am 7lb 3oz both well!’ I don’t mind admitting there was a few tears, firstly at the relief they were both ok and then the realisation of this new little life. “He’s a seven pounder!” I exclaimed to Diane “AND he’s two weeks early!” The headline for the blog immediately shot into my head ‘BLAKE’S 7’ but, as you can imagine, she who must be obeyed was having none of that. Mind you, wait until his seventh birthday!!

Leanne spent a week in the RVI but they are all home and settled. I would however, like to thank everyone for the kind messages and cards. Much appreciated