Hip op'

For all of you who follow Moannie -'The View from this end' here is an update on her progress.

Her hip surgery was Monday. She was aghast at the fact she had to be there for the ungodly hour of 6.30-7AM!! But got there she did. Yesterday was day 2 and I spoke to Dad, aka JP for news last night, as he had visited in the afternoon. He said as she was still rather drugged up with morphine, lucky thing, he said it wasn't worth ringing as she might fall asleep, in a narcoleptic fashion mid sentence.

Today I rang her about an hour ago and she sounded bright and fairly lucid considering!

She is in a lot of pain, but even so she has been walking with supervision. She'll be home in a few days and no doubt she will have much to say to you all soon.

What is in a name?

I was chatting with my work colleagues recently about how assorted and varied are the names which we give  to our children.   The latest fashion influences  of celeb' names, be it Apple, Britney, Rumer or Kylie , Justin or Jayzee isn't a new thing by any means. I'm sure many babies were called Vera and Betty or Ronald and Fred in the 30's and 40's.  I wonder whether the area of the country or county where we were raised is a significant factor; Tracey (Emin) in Margate or Thomas (Beckett/ Cathedral) in Canterbury? 

Nicole Kidmans baby girl is named Sunday Rose, which actually quite surprisingly presses my buttons as  l think it pretty. It wasn't the day of the child's birth, as she was born on a Monday,  but it has everything to do with a Australian poet, apparently!!

But is this any 'better'  or 'worse' than say Satchel, Moon unit alpha or Chastity, although l like Apple (of the Paltrow/Martin union) and it's not unlike Cherry or Rose from the 40's & 50's or Daisy from the 60's or Poppy in 70's . And there are the monthly names; June, April, May, these were fashionable in the early 20th century, so really is anything NEW?

My name is Sara, which is French for Sarah and fairly 'common' here in UK now  though I admit incorrect spellings drive me nuts. But in 1950's, when my 'alien' father (French/Italian) went to register my birth, the snotty registrar explained, that if the planned name wasn't in his Book of Names, it wasn't permitted to register in  that name!! My father couldn't argue his point confidently, as his English wasn't yet fluent, so Sarah on the certificate it is, but l am  Sara but I respond to Sarah,  Sar, Saz, Sarita, Mum of course and Oi you, depending who l am with at the time!

My parents  planned to name me Francoise, but my mother  changed her mind on the day as she loved the name Sara from the book  A little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The book has been a firm favourite for all the girls in the family and l have several early prints, but no first editions as yet. 

Also my good pal,  with whom l went to school in upstate New York in '70s called her daughter Sara after me in 1986, indeed an honour!

My kids names aren't unusual, but they aren't run of the mill popular either. Here are the stories of the whys and where for's, as  one has to compromise, cos you and the other half have to agree sometimes ... don't we?

My daughter was going to be named Susannah or Mary, but we couldn't decide which, so when she was born, as she was big and so long, 8lbs 11oz and 23.5 inches long, we thought a bigger name would suit a big girl. So Susannah Mary. Our son Patrick was decided upon long before his birth also, it was husbands choice as I had really chosen our daughters names. Husbands great uncle Patrick was a celebrated football player in the early 1920's and 30's in Glasgow, Scotland, and played for Celtic, and was famously named 'the mighty atom'.... and so Patrick. (also the name of my cousin )

My father's family names are of French/Italian origin,  these include Antoinette,  Carmen, Sophia, Clothilde (oh how I love it), Rachele, Martial, Jean-Pierre, Chantal, Margo, Maguerite,Cecile, Louisa, all sound romantic and chic to my ear!

On my mothers side (MOANNIE) pretty names as in Georgina, Margaret, Eleanor, Iris, Lily, Molly, Anne, Helena, Cecil, Henry and Jack all strong solid men's Brit names.

So, I got to wondering if we bloggers' family or siblings names are normal everyday or extraordinary in any way?  Does anyone have any interesting stories to tell?

P.s, MOANNIE tells me my apostrophe use is appalling...'eats shoots and leaves' it may be, but sorry you'll have to show me where and what exactly....LOL... so apolgies if you are the 'tethcy on grammar' type as Mum obviously is!