January Diary

So there I was flippantly pondering what effect Brexit would have on the social kiss hello. Would the quasi-Continental both- cheek kiss greeting,  the most commonly observed formality in London,  no longer be palatable post -Brexit? What exactly  did  the pre-EU full English kiss hello consist of? Was it like the current Australian greeting amongst friends ; a shoulder barge followed by a hearty smack on the left cheek (well that’s the way I do it)? Or was it a stiff upper lip air kiss like a haughty hen inhaling the breeze as it lays an egg in a mild November mist?What I think I’m enquiring about is this: will we need to revert to the kissing customs of 20 years ago to honour  the imminent departure from the EU?

But this flippancy has melted into fear at the latest news. It has mostly been possible, up until now, to […]

My youngest child is puffy-eyed from lack of sleep and therefore sluggishly dressing for World War 2 Day. Much to his disgust, boys  are not allowed to come dressed as soldiers flaunting weapons, but rather, as children who are about to be evacuated from Blitz-y London to the countryside with all its anticipative magical wardrobes. Items I’ve been able to forage for this event so far consist of skater shorts with pockets in the wrong places to be of the period, long  socks that read the word Disorder, his usual button up white shirt, a linen blazer and a grey v neck- even though the forecast is a blazing 25 degrees and sunny. Once WW2 boy’s transformation is complete, minus the blazer which he tears off declaring it ‘IMPOSSIBLE’, the tweenager, stationed at the bench with toast, YouTube and Latin verbs, snorts loudly.

“Don’t say anything,” I hiss, then shout […]