A heavily pregnant student Iroda’s mother had come over from Uzbekistan to be with her at, and after, the birth of the grandchild. She had come along on the day of Iroda’s in-class listening test, in case the baby decided to arrive early. The test was only an hour in all, so I thought the mother could just sit in a corner of the classroom for that hour, rather than ask her to go and kill time in a café somewhere, especially since she was unfamiliar with London and could not speak much English. Normally, I could sign people in as my guests, but the porter at the building where the test was taking place didn’t know me and, for some reason, was reluctant to let her in, even after my explanation. As it was getting close to the start of the listening test, I decided I could not afford to lose more time bargaining with him, so I put this question to him, “Do you know how to deliver babies?” He immediately granted the mother access.
(London, 2010)
Update: 010116: Iroda the student said the son Nuron was born after the exam, so that was a bit of a close shave.
Update: 010116: Iroda the student said the son Nuron was born after the exam, so that was a bit of a close shave.
that's a great story....good thinking!
ReplyDeleteHaha, it just popped into my head. The baby, a boy called Nuron, is now 5 (or 6)?? I just had lunch with his mother on Monday, which was what prompted the writing of this, as we talk about it now and then and have a good laugh, but somehow I never got round to writing it up.
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