What’s in a nickname?
Nicknames can be a way to show our love and bond. They’re a secret code between families and friends – but can also cause confusion.
“We are very big on nicknames in our family,” explains Krys Swallow in Walberton, West Sussex.
“Our son Alex was an avid fan of Only Fools and Horses. He was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer while sitting his GCSE exams. He had 11 months of treatment, yet despite fighting with all his might, he died on May 2 1999, aged 17.”
But children’s wards can be a place of fun and laughter, and Alex’s nicknames for his folks kept everyone guessing.
Krys says: “Alex was treated at the children’s cancer ward at Southampton General, where I was known as Dave and my hubby as Reg.
“Alex had named me Dave (Trigger’s name for Rodney), our daughter was Nervous Nerys (Rodney’s girlfriend), while my husband was Reg after Reg Holdsworth in Coronation Street.
“One evening when we were on our way to the ward, the child psychologist passed us on the way home and said, ‘Goodnight, Dave, goodnight, Reg,’ and we got some funny looks as people tried to work out who was who.” And they weren’t the only ones who got confused.
Krys says: “I was on my way down the corridor to Alex’s bed and a voice called out to me. I walked in and one of the mums said, ‘We had to ask the nurses if your name really was Dave, and they didn’t know either.’
“They had to look up their records to find out my real name, Krystyna!”
And nicknames can live on for ever, as Krys explains.
“My husband is still called Reg, especially by our grandkids, so Alex’s memory lives on.”
But top mum Krystyna also has advice for anyone struggling with the dreaded teenage phase, like yours truly.
She writes: “I love your columns and I know what you’re going through with The Dark Lord. My daughter was slightly older when she became impossible but I even suggested she might like to join the Army or Navy, anything to get her out of the house! She declined. She re-entered the human race at about the age of 24.”
Thanks, Krys, only another decade to go.
■ Do you or someone in your family or at work have a funny nickname? Email siobhan.mcnally@mirror.co.uk