Heidi Ho

After all the excitement this week end, no surprise to see the Shakespeares looking a bit stoned in front of .. you guessed it .. the TV - this time at Claridges BB. Boy have I grown used to this blank stare. I'm hobbling about since Sunday and taking ice baths to reduce any swelling. Miserable. I hope to start jogging in the next few days but we shall see, oh boy. Today the stairs remain a challenge. A quick glance at the papers shows swine flu and this chestnut from the Daily Mail: "Lessons about the gays will be compulsory." Now that's a headline that catches my eye. Pupils "as young as 11" will be taught about homosexuality and civil partnerships in compulsory sex education classes. Sigh. Eitan, for his turn, will learn about sex this year, though not gay sex, because this love is different from other love. I will preview the G-rated film to be shown in his year-three classroom as part of the sciences curricula. Do not doubt for a moment Eitan's capacity for disgust on the subject - holding hands with a girl nets a shriek of resistance while the boy covers his eye at kissing on the Big Screen, TV or between me and Sonnet. He simply does not care to know beyond the basic concept of boy-meets-girl-puts-baby-in-stomach. I already see his internal conflict: remain tops-in-class or ignore a science/ teacher disapproval? There will be an outcome however it may go.

Madeleine joke: "Doctor, doctor - I feel like a pair of curtains." Doctor: "Well why don't you pull yourself together."
Me: "Isn't that Eitan's joke?"
Madeleine: "Yes, but he won't care." (yeah, right)

Eitan to Sonnet: "Can I watch Chelsea vs. Barcelona?"
Sonnet: "No. You have watched enough TV this week."
Eitan: "Well, I'm going to ask Dad, and he's the master while you are the co-pilot."