When hubby kindly “lends” son good camera for his trip to Australia, it leaves me with just the camera on my mobile phone.

But, to take a leaf out of darling hubby’s book, I thought you might like to see these.

I don’t know why it is, but I always think of Chuck when we visit a Castle….

We are so lucky to have such history on our doorstep..

It is NOT a good idea to watch a programme on a Sunday afternoon, about the top 12 most venomous creatures in Australia, two days after your son, who just happens to be spending three months in that particular country, post some photos of some huge, scary looking spiders in his flickr account and also tells you that he has had a close encounter with a tiger snakeunder some corragated iron he was moving…..

The programme featured some horrific spiders and some rather nasty snakes - one of which was - yes, you’ve guessed it, a TIGER SNAKE!!!!!

I was just getting over his departure and coming to terms with his going. Now of course I am very relaxed about the whole thing - NOT!

Our baby was 15 year old on Monday.

Is it really 15 years ago that I held that precious newborn baby girl in my arms, blubbering nonsensically as I was SO sure that she was a he.. and saying, over and over, but she can’t be, she can’t be… and then blubbering even more because, deep down, I really wanted a daughter.

With our son, I just KNEW he was going to be a boy. In those days, you did not get told the sex of the baby. You had a routine ultrasound at 18 weeks but, even if you asked the sex, it was not revealed. Anyway, I just knew he was a he… and he was.

The second time around, I felt the same. I looked the same. Was so sure it was another boy. Even “saw” a little wee willie winkie during the scan.

The birth was quick. She arrived at eight minutes to midnight on her due date, in under two hours. The carefully worked out and much fought for home delivery, thrown out of the window at 11.15pm when the waters broke and contained meconium. A mad dash to the hospital in under ten minutes. It took me longer to walk from the car, to the Maternity ward, stopping every minute to breathe my way through a contraction. This baby was in a hurry to be born - I thought I was going to have it there, on the floor.

Rushed into the labour room, hooked up to monitors - strapped into a “medical” position - not able to walk around or squat or anything. Ten minutes of pushing - then the agony of being told NOT TO PUSH, the head poking out as they stuck a tube up her nose and sucked out all the goo from the nasal passages before any was breathed in..

And then being allowed to push and then the fuss and panic of a paedriatric check to ensure that the baby had not inhaled any of the stuff..

And then, this blood stained, vernix coated green goey baby, was plonked onto my chest - and the he was a she after all.

And I cried.

Despite the mess, and the goo, and the blood, she was the most beautiful daughter in the world.

And now, at 15 years old, she is still the most beautiful daughter in the world.

But, yet again, I am a little biased.

I AM her mother after all…….