Grandson (3½) is a great wee lad. He is a sponge for information and observations. He repeats new words to get them just right. I am trying to feed his imagination with sometimes abstract ideas. He is of course already very clever anyway. At home he has a room full of toys but when he comes for ‘sleepover holiday’ he’ll have to do with the few toys I have. I am pleased to report that he is very good at inventing his own games, scenarios.  Amazing what sheets and tubes of cardboard can be transformed into.

Children can be cruelly honest, or amusingly honest as this morning at the butchers. The shop was full of people. Fraser helped me put onions into a bag, then we waited for our turn. As I was being served he was looking at the display counter chattering away, making fine finger marks on the glass screen and then suddenly asked loudly ‘Why is it taking so long?!’ Mirth followed. The lads behind the counted laughed. ‘That’s you telt, Colin!’ We all might think that but we have a filter what to say aloud and what not. At the supermarket as I was picking the mangos, his favourite fruit at the moment, he got away but I had no problem knowing where he was. He has no volume control. I could hear him two aisles away wondering where the toy cars are.

My granny’s house was right on the road side and when she was looking after me she had to tie one end of a rope around my waist, the other end to a post so that I wouldn’t  run onto the road. I wonder what the Social Services would say about that sort of thing nowadays. Apparently on seeing the bus approach I had a habit of running into the middle the road, waving to the bus driver, a weel kent face. Everybody used buses then. He luckily knew to expect me so here I am still, alive and telling the story.

After one visit to town with me granny swore she’d never take me there again. She let my hand go and I disappeared instantly. Any open shop door was fair game.

I had three candidates for New Year’s resolutions. To start working again properly, to de-clutter the place, and to drink less than a bottle of wine or champagne a night. I would have failed in all three so far.  There are so few pleasures left in life that the wine promise was abandoned. I do try to throw away stuff I come across, if I haven’t seen it for years or think unlikely is ever going to be used. Don’t hire a skip yet.

As for work, I am trying to build up stock, especially for the end of May weekend. My application to be included in Spring Fling failed. I was a bit upset but thought maybe people still remember me and want to visit, so, welcome everyone!