JT8

Josh - my nephew - has his birthday today and all I can think of is how much he has grown since that first day we 'met' eight years ago.

He was fast asleep in a cot at the hospital and I peered in to see him. All I remember is fuzzy hair and a Tigger baby grow.

Nowadays, he's a little man with a love for cars and music.

He is always watching the music channels on cable or listening to his CDs. His favourite song at the moment seems to be Jason Mraz's 'You're Mine'.

Why do I know this?

Simple - it's because he's always bloody playing it!!

One of the things that is a bit of an annoyance is it will be the first time I won't be able to see him on his birthday. I will miss getting a kick seeing his surprise when he opens the presents I bought him.

The date usually falls during the half-term holiday or, for last year, on a weekend. It does mean, however, that he will get to be the centre of attention at school tomorrow so I am sure he will like that.

I always like to write about him on his birthday so for a few weeks I have been trying to think of something funny to put in here.

The one story I came up with is when he has MTV on and sits on one of the dining room chairs with an old Playstation steering wheel. I have to sit behind in the armchair and pretend to be in the taxi and ask where to be dropped off and everything.

While I was in the taxi, Josh (or 'Jason' as he is in this game) turned to me and said 'don't forget you have to speak to your friends who are riding with you.'

I turned around and looked at my invisible friends and said, 'so did you watch the game last night then?' and then Josh politely told me that my friends were sitting beside me and that I was talking to the rear window.

The kid got me!