Friday update

The weekend started for me at 11.30 this morning, when I arrived home from school.  Russell’s van had broken down and was at the local garage and I’d had enough of everything.  So I suggested we go out for lunch – and also suggested we phone Weeza, to see if she was free too.

She and Gus were, so we scurried around sorting things out for a short time and arrived at her house just before 1 o’clock.  We went to a local restaurant: I had curry, Weeza had risotto, Russell had steak, Gus had sausages.  Afterwards, girls had black coffee, boys had icecream.

Zerlina had an after-school playdate, so we offered to take Gus home and stay until his dad arrived – everyone in his office works an extra half hour Monday to Thursday so that they can leave early on a Friday, so it would be before 4 o’clock, despite his cycle commute.  Gus was adorable.  He’s also, to everyone’s surprise, developed a broad Norfolk accent, or way of speaking at any rate.  Examples?  Of course.

“That not cold, that waarm.”

On finishing his icecream – “Thass all gorn.”

It was hilarious.  He’s relatively late to speaking and has only just started to form sentences in the last few weeks, but he’s now developing the same keen enjoyment in language that his cousin Hay has had for some time.

On the way home (Weeza’s home, that is), we called at a garden centre and discovered they had a greengrocer’s department.  Gus was very excited to see strawberries, which he loves, so I bought two punnets and also two bunches of asparagus.  And we bought a Busy Lizzie for Weeza and Smarties for the children, because grannies are supposed to indulge their grandchildren.  That’s what we’re for, within the limits tactfully stated by their mothers.  Understanding that is clearly the way to be loved by everyone.

Tonight, we had asparagus, followed by omelettes, followed by strawberries and cream – that is, I didn’t, R did.  I skipped the main course (I had protein at lunch, darlings, I was fine) because I knew I could only manage two out of three.  Though I may feel hungry before bedtime.

It was such a dull and misty day that I felt I must give the tortoises some extra encouragement.  So Edweena was brought in and put into the vivarium and the Tots were taken upstairs and their heat lamp put on.  All, as a result, ate more than they have all week and were seen basking happily.  I haven’t had the heart to turn off Edweena’s lamp yet, but I must go and do it now.

4 comments on “Friday update

  1. nick

    Some accents/ ways of speaking are quite easily picked up, others are harder. I’ve lived in Belfast for 14 years but I still speak like a posh English person. The Northern Ireland accent is so idiosyncratic, if you don’t learn it as a child you never get the hang of it. Which is why actors pretending to be Irish are usually painfully bad at it.

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  2. Z Post author

    It was all lovely, Mig.

    I’ve never developed a Suffolk or Norfolk language, though bits do slip in now and then. Actors are useless at regional accents – country ones, that is. They rarely even try and just resort to general Mummerset. A really good Northern Irish accent is wonderfully hard to understand, I’m sure it’s impossible to speak unless you’re born to it.

    Weeza isn’t sure where he’s picked it up – she and her childminder use RP, Phil is mildly Brummie, they don’t have any broad Norfolk friends. I think it’s to be encouraged, though.

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