Weeza’s entry into the world of antiques came rather younger than Ro’s.  When she was six or seven weeks old, the Sage helped his friends Norman and Barbara, about whom I wrote last week, with their stall at an antiques fair at Earls Court for two or three days.  We took down our Victorian mahogany swinging cradle for her to sleep in, because six week old babies sleep mostly, don’t they – well, we were young and naive and knew no better.

She did sleep some of the time, but it was rather exhausting for me, nowhere to sit comfortably and I can’t remember where I retreated to when I needed to feed her.  However, she was very popular with the visitors, and quite a draw for our stand.

You know how it is, that people always say the same witticism as each other?  Like, when you’re seen kneeling, it’s “say one for me while you’re down there.”  If you are working in your garden, you are cordially invited to tackle the speaker’s flowerbed when you have done.  On that occasion, most people asked, if they bought the cradle, did the baby come free?  There were two or three other jovial remarks that were repeated rather a lot of times, can’t remember what they were at the moment.  You may have some ideas yourself.  One actually did make me laugh, however.  A man peered into the cot and observed “That’s not an antique.  It’s a reproduction.”