Very surprised and delighted it's a girl. I heard just before lunch, and walked through the brilliant sunshine of Tavistock Square, under blue skies and deep green leaves. A perfect day. Life renews everywhere: a pigeon nesting her eggs on my balcony, a caterpillar silking itself to my kitchen wall. Beth and I sat in the square and talked about the usual topics. There was something in the air: a scent, pungent and sickly, like rotting meat. No wind today, nothing to blow away the stench, or the thick blankets of pollen that make my eyes stream until they're bloodshot.