1. Champagne
2. Crunch
3. New Year Parade
Nanna and Brother did an early babysitting session yesterday, so The Man and I went out. Champagne cocktails in a Yoof Bar watching people half our age limbering up to celebrate. Sets of girls, gangs of lads, dressed in… everything. Strictly Ballroom costumes… Incredible Hulk bodypaint, birds, Sylvester… Son 1 aged 4y 3m will be delighted to know that he’ll still be able to walk around Town dressed as a pirate when he’s grown up. Many of the boys had black eyes and split noses. Bound to be rugby. We headed backfor 2230. Son 1 will probably not want to know that 25 years after leaving home he may still be rushing to get back for the time he told his Mother. We opened champagne, chatted, said goodbye, and settled down to crisps and Jools Holland. At midnight we went to sit in the bay window to look at the fireworks across the river. In next door’s window, the Christmas tree wobbled, and then our Neighbours appeared, also to watch the fireworks. They waved at us and we waved at them. Three police officers walked along the pavement outside, so I waved at them. They waved back. The Neighbours raised glasses with us as the fireworks went off.
Another slowish start. The house is full of new toys, so Son 1 watched hours of telly, playing with his Ben 10 Omnitrix, while Son 2 aged 15m took the three sections of the vegetable rack for a walk round the kitchen and hall. Son 1 joined in, one section on his head as a helmet. Son 2 copied him and walked into the fridge. Son 1 was doing his collie-in-a-china-shop thing, so we took them out. As we went through The Town we did economics and social history. “Why are the shops shut?” “Because it’s a holiday.” “Is Woolworths on holiday?” “No, Woolworths has closed for good.” “Why?” “Because they spent too much money and no-one would give them any more.” “So can we never go in it again?” “No.” WAIL. “I like going in Woolworths. I wanted to buy a Ben 10 tee shirt.” Then we passed the arty cinema. Son 1 took an events booklet from outside. He opened it at a still from the Baader-Meinhof film, showing two men shooting at a car. “Who are these people?” ”Robbers who captured people a long time ago.” “Did they kill them?” “Oh no. Everyone escaped and the robbers were caught and sent to prison.” “Did all the robbers get caught?” “Yes.” “Did they keep their guns?” “No, the police took those away.” “What did they do with them?” “They melted them down and made them into tin openers.” “What’s a tin opener?” A child of the ring pull age.
In the still-perishing wind, we trailed over to the Other Side of Town. Five or six children were marching, Von Trapp fashion, along the lines of dark paving criss-crossing The Square. Son 1 watched longingly. “Do you want me to ask if you can play with them?” As he considered, a shout went out from a group of adults on the other side, and the children ran off towards them, leaving The Square empty. Son 1 went and stood on a dark line. I stood behind him, and marched on the spot. He giggled, and off we went, marching up and down the lines. He started to run, I chased him. We went back and forth. He ran off towards an unlet shopfront, and hugged a swinging street sign while he caught his breath. Eyes dancing, cheeks glowing, a wide smile of little white teeth, he looked up at me and said “I love you.”
Tags: Baader-Meinhof, Ben 10, Brother, champagne, chasing, fancy dress, Jools Holland, marching, Nanna, neighbours, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, vegetable rack, Von Trapp, Woolworths
