picked some flowers and stood a vase in front of the completed hearth and mantelpiece – then called me to admire the effect. There were just a few odd jobs to finish off.

Half way through lunch my waters broke. There was no way I was going into hospital until I had finished eating. I remembered only too well the starvation I suffered at Gale’s birth. I must have changed colour though because Florence noticed, but I wouldn’t allow Peter to go next door to phone for the ambulance until I was good and ready. It came almost at once.

Heath Road Hospital was a great deal more civilised than Lewisham Hospital had been, and as before I gave birth painlessly and easily at 6.05 to a very large James, who looked more like a month-old boy than a new born baby. Peter came in by bus to see me that evening. This time we were allowed to keep our babies by our beds – change them and feed them when we wanted to, and get up the next day if we wished. They still kept us for a week in hospital, but that week was stress-free and thoroughly enjoyable.

Gale and Peter were glad to see us back. Florence and Arthur went home having admired James. Gale and Peter went back to school. The house was finished and “Peter’s Garden” was taking shape nicely. At long last, it was, for Peter, Paradise Regained. Almost he forgave his father for having torn him away from Owslebury all those years ago.

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PS Peter told me, years later, that he had found it difficult to believe that he had been able to father another child and had three-in-the-morning thoughts that I might have taken up one of our friends’ offers and got pregnant to make him feel better about himself. Indeed, Geraldine, who could be very malicious, hinted as much. It was only when Florence discovered that James had double jointed thumbs just like his father that he really believed a hundred percent that James was his. When Jas was born, indeed, he looked exactly like my father, but luckily only for about ten days, and in many ways he is a second Peter, for good and ill.