Delight as gran sees her boys once again

WHEN First Minister Mark Drakeford last week announced friends and families could reunite outdoors after nine weeks apart, the first thing many people did was pick up their phone and put a plan in place.

For the past couple of months, people have been staying connected with video calls, Zoom quizes and Facebook statuses, but nothing beats getting to see your loved one in the flesh, with the hope that this marks the beginning of things returning to what will be a new normal.

For mum and daughter Amanda Bishop and Carmen Tejedo, video calls have been a lifesaver to stay connected – but there wasn’t much Carmen could do over the phone to fully help out Amanda with her now six-month-old twin boys, Parker and Jesse.

When Wales entered lockdown on March

23, the boys were just three months old and Carmen, 63, had spent almost every other day beforehand visiting her grandchildren, so Amanda and her husband could have a rest, and she some muchneeded bonding time.

Carmen said it was a huge shock for her to go from seeing them that much to nothing at all.

But earlier this week she said, with a tear in her eye, that the joy she felt when they finally reunited in Pontypridd’s Ynysangharad Park almost matched the one from Welsh Government service.”

When it came to schools, the First Minister reiterated there will be no additional openings in this next threeweek period beyond the 450 currently available for the children of key workers.

He added that discussions were ongoing with happiness she felt on the day they were born.

“I was just so emotional, I wanted to cry and just go over to them, squeeze and kiss them, but we can’t yet. We still haven’t hugged,” said Carmen, who travelled from just outside of Pontypridd to meet her daughter, who lives in Ynysybwl.

“It is just so different seeing them in real life.

“I was so worried they would forget me and wouldn’t know who I was and I was afraid they would not come to me.

“It is a long time for babies, it is heartbreaking to think they might forget me.

“They have grown so much, and they are doing so much more and I feel as though I have missed out on that, but to see them is just wonderful.

“It is very much like the day they were born because you are seeing them all over again.”

Carmen admitted feeling heartbroken at missing out on precious moments of their early life, which made the reunion all the more emotional.

“The nice thing about it is we FaceTime everyday, I have been seeing them everyday and she sends me photographs, it has helped.”

The pair were obviously glowing with happiness and excitement as Carmen lovingly sang to her grandchildren, seeing them laugh and wave back to her in real life for the first time in weeks. local education authorities and teaching unions.

He said the Welsh Government was following scientific advice from the World Health Organisation and other expert bodies in only making “one change at a time”, choosing to give people the chance to see family members first.

See Pages 6, 7, 12&13