isobelmtl

Couldn’t resist this prompt. I am a “ boomer”, born after my Dad came home from the Second World War. My parents already had a seven year old boy, my brother Andrew. They were happy to welcome a girl into the family.

My Dad was of Irish descent and my mother had converted to Roman Catholicism while he was fighting in the War. She developed a devotion to St Francis of Assisi and St Clare, his counterpart.

It was decided that my name should be Clare. At the time in Britain parents had to register a child within a month of the birth. My parents left this task until the last day and my mother sent my Dad off on the bus to get the task completed.

When he came back she was relieved to see the certificate in his hand. Imagine her surprise, however, when she saw that he had registered me as Isobel! At first she thought he had made a mistake and taken the wrong certificate but, no, the date and names of parents were correct.

He coolly announced that he had changed his mind in the bus. Didn’t she think Isobel was a better name? This story was always told as an example of how unpredictable my father was. I used to laugh and like the quirky idea of him looking out of the window of the bus and being struck by inspiration.

When I had girls of my own, however, I understood that perhaps my mother had not been so charmed by this “ surprise “