The grandparents meet

Now that Laura and Dave are expecting our first grandchild, it was time that we grandparents should meet properly; after all we have a lot to discuss.

Although Laura is carrying the baby and Dave is the father, it is from our gene pool that this child will inherit its good looks, its intelligence and its character. No doubt, as the child grows up it will be looking to its grandparents for wisdom, knowledge and most important- finance. Between the four of us, I don't think the child will be sold short on any of those.

All the best meetings involve a decent meal. Thankfully, Dave and Laura had booked us in to the Vogue restaurant just round the corner from where they live. They'd never been there so were taking a risk on such an important occasion. As it happened, it was a very good choice. In fact I don't think it could have been better. We had the restaurant to ourselves and so enjoyed the facilities of all of the staff.

The hard part at Vogue was choosing what to eat. So many tempting choices from simple dishes to full blown haute cuisine. However, I don't think it much mattered which dish you chose because they were all tasty, well prepared and a delight to the senses.

Now to the important stuff. This child needs to grow up to be a true European so we have arranged for the whole family to come over to Bigastro in August to celebrate the Fiesta for San Joaquín. Not only will the child witness the traditions of the town but will also get its first opportunity to listen to the language and savour the aroma of rabbit paella. We may even let it have a dip in the pool as long as it doesn't pee in it.

After meeting Joan and BC (as Dave's father is known) I can confidently predict that the two families will get on like a house on fire - as teachers and ex-teachers we have a lot in common. The only issue will be stopping Joan getting to the waiter first to pay the bill. It is a trick she has apparently perfected but it won't work in Spain!