Laura Tennison and her husband John Femi-Ola have had a sequence of nannies since the birth of their two sons. They were especially lucky with their last one, a 27 year old male nanny called Dalibor.
Laura with Ben and Toby |
Laura says that Dalibor's CV jumped out of the pile at her - but for all the wrong reasons.
Underneath his name and address were two little words that said "heavy smoker". Of course, Laura couldn't employ him.
But when he telephoned to see what was happening with his application, Dalibor told Laura that a friend with good English had typed his CV and had put it there as a joke. Laura and Dalibor immediately established a rapport.
Laura's children, Ben and Toby, prefer Dalibor to their female nannies. "They can't make lego as well as him and they can't build space ships". Their father, John, says it wasn't like having two fathers. Dalibor is more of an elder brother.
The boys were unhappy when Dalibor left. But Dalibor keeps in regular contact - one Saturday every month. He's now a friend of the family. Dalibor admits to missing the children very much, but may one day return to the Czech Republic. Laura says, "In the future, they may not see as much of him, but I don't think it will be a devastating separation because it's been gradual. But the boys did make a special bond with him."
Their youngest Toby has the last word. He loves Dalibor from his bedroom all the way to Africa..