Or how to keep your head when all around you are losing theirs…

Today is a bit of childminding duty.

Eight year old Granddaughter the Younger is entertaining herself after I collected her from school this morning. She’s on a half day for some reason.

GDtY is a remarkable child. She’s extremely chatty though not quite as chatty as she used to be. What is so remarkable about her is her ability to entertain herself.

She has a plastic sack at the back of the couch which is full of bits of toys that mostly have bits missing or broken. This of no consequence as she will upend the sack on the floor and then entertain herself making up imaginary stories about the various treasures. I noticed that a lot of these imaginary stories involve murder mayhem and the loss of heads. She’s Daughter’s daughter so that is no surprise.

One of her favourite toys is a small doll with a little button on its back. Press the button and the spring loaded head will fly off to the other side of the room. Great fun and hilarity.

She eventually tired of the plastic sack and all its treasures. She packed everything away and sat down for a while at the kitchen table to do some colouring. She found a box load of crayons that I didn’t even realise I had.

Then she decided to make a stew. This involved putting water into a biscuit tin and then adding various things she found around the kitchen in the various drawers. That could be interesting, if not lethal. I switched off the cooker circuit just in time before she brought the lot to the boil. Somehow, in the midst of all this imaginary stew making she found time to slice a banana which was served up to me [nicely cut up into slices] for my lunch. It was an actual banana as distinct from an imaginary one so I was actually able to eat it.

She has now made herself a peanut butter sandwich. I had forgotten that peanut butter can be eaten as the jar I have is purely for bating mousetraps. Personally I have a lifelong distaste for the stuff.

Things have gone suspiciously quiet. Very quiet indeed and there is no sign of her.

I suppose I had better go and investigate.

She could be trying to behead Penny.