Shock and disbelief...

I've had one or two excitements in my otherwise average life.

Man Utd's last-gasp victory in the European Cup in 1999 was pretty special. I can also remember winning a £100 fruit machine jackpot as a young lad, especially that little heart skip as the last treble-bar came in.

But nothing prepares you for discovering that you're going to be a dad, especially when you're not, to use that terminally annoying phrase, "trying for a baby" in the first place.

Bloody hell. My life is never going to be the same.

I'm still at the point where I'm struggling to believe it's true, even though I know it is.

And you know what? I really don't mind. I thought I might hurl myself off the nearest high building if such news was ever presented before me. The missus clearly felt the same becaue it took her several days to pluck up the courage to take the test, fearing my reaction might not be entirely positive...

But what can you do? I believe strongly in fate, and that you must play the hand that life deals you. There's absolutely no question of getting rid of it - I'm no bible-bashing, pro-life hickster but I have a moral code that says: "you made the bed, you gotta lie in it".

That said, my head's a whirl. In a day or two I'll rationalise it, I guess....