London
Yesterday we all went to London, for the launch of the Rowan Williams book. This involved a two-and-a-half-hour train journey in both directions, and we were more than a little worried about how Bridget would cope.
We needn't have been.
It took fairly constant bi-parental attention, but Bridget stayed cheerful pretty much the whole time - although Mummy's trip to get Bridget's dinner heated in the buffet car caused two or three minutes of piercing howling, and sympathetic looks from fellow passengers. (There's an important comma in that sentence.)
Bridget showed no signs of being able to sleep on the train, however, so it was a relief when we got to London with enough time, and nice enough weather, to walk from Paddington to Church House Bookshop - across Hyde Park, Green Park and St. James's park - with Bridget napping in the pushchair. She napped again when we did the walk in reverse after the launch and after her first meeting with her Auntie Rachel Gomme back in St. James's Park.
The launch was enjoyable, with about twenty-five people there (more than I had expected and many more than I had feared). It was nice to see some family and friends there, and I had a very encouraging chat with the publisher. Bridget was the centre of attention for much of the time, quite appropriately, even to the point of monopolising the attention of Ruth Gledhill, the Times' religion correspondent, who had turned up expecting me to be older.
Today my new life in the limelight has continued: I've been recording interviews for BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Greater Manchester Radio, and BBC Radio Devon. Four more interviews on Sunday, and then one more next Wednesday. (No Radio 4 though - they have found bigger fish to scale.) Oh, and a letter in The Times some day soon. But it's not going to my head - although from now on if you want to contact me you'll have to go through my publicist...