J and the onions

I like onions. They live in a cupboard near the sink. They share housing with the potatoes. I take them out. I carry them round with me. They go where I go. I have one in each hand. Until I get bored and then I have one in one hand. The other rolls away and plays by itself.

Earlier today, I was walking through the house checking teddies. Onion in hand. The doorbell rang. Good news. It was J. He’d called to collect G. I smiled at J. I held up my onion for him. J looked down then looked away. He didn’t smile. He didn’t grin. There was no funny face.

I wanted J to have my onion. A gift from me for him. I held it up for a while. But J didn’t take it. He didn’t look down again. He carried on talking to G. And then to M. Even to Em’s. But not to me.

Shortly after J left. My eyes clouded over. I put J’s onion in my play box. Maybe he will want it when his funny face comes back.

The return of the quails

The quails are back. I went to the quail shop to collect them.

There were loads of quails. Many sizes. Many shapes. Many colours. But no spotted ones. Well not proper spotted ones. Not like my raincoat.

I couldn’t see my quails. But the man knew where they were. He put them in our box. We drove back home.

The quails were back. They sped into their new home. It’s much bigger than their old home. It has a bigger fence. They won’t be going anywhere without asking M first.

The quails looked different. There was a brown one, only one white one and two were brown and white. They were not the same. Their colour didn’t match. Things were not quite right. I scratched my head. Then I knew. They had changed their feathers or maybe dyed their hair like M.

I looked again. They were smaller than before. But they were running around like they used to. Busy, busy, busy. Rush hour was back. They may be smaller. They were still my quails. They must have shrunk in the rain. My quails were back. I had missed them. As had Biscuit. She sat by them all evening. She kept them safe.

School Fete painting

It was the school fete. The brothers went. The sister went. I went.

We arrived. It started to rain. Spots of water spotted my spotted raincoat. The big tent was washed clean. It was a short shower. Then the sun shone.

J was there. With his friends. He said hello. He grinned. One of his best grins.

I bounced on the bouncy castle. Lots of bounces. I had some cake. Lots of cake. I played with friends. Lots of friends. Lots of playing. It was fun.

I went on the hook a duck stall. Ducks were swimming around. I took the stick. I swung at a duck. I whacked one on the head. It sank. I swung for another. I missed. I wobbled and nearly fell in. It was a close thing. I swung again. Another duck sank. I swung for a third. "That's it" the stallholder said. I waited for my prize. But I didn't get one.

A boy came over to me. He was my height. He was very strange. He had a face like a lion. He wanted to play with me. But I don't play with lions.

Another boy wandered over. He had clothes like J. He was as tall as J. His hair was the colour of Js. But he didn't have a funny face. His was blue and gold. I'd never seen a face like it before. The boy looked at me. He grinned. His grin was like J's. But J doesn't have a blue face. He grinned again. He stayed for a while. I started to play with my friends. I saw him standing nearby. He looked sad. Probably because he had a blue face.

The fete lasted all day long. It was a day of sun and smiles. But I didn't see J again. That would have been nice. I wondered where he was. I thought he would say goodbye. I searched for him. All I saw was the boy with the blue face standing by the wall looking at me. By himself. Looking sad.

Busy girl

I am such a busy girl. I have my teddies to look after. They can't stay in my bedroom all day. They need to get out a bit. Have some fun. I take them downstairs. It can take a long time. I have lots of teddies. I place them around the house. I'm only happy if there is a teddy in every room. Usually one at each end. With one in the middle. I move them round. So they don't get bored. There's always a teddy on the move. M helps. She takes them upstairs. Sometimes before they should be there. She's only trying to help. But it's a bit annoying. I have to bring them down again.

I help M with the housework. I lay the table for lunch. I get the cups and plates out of the cupboard. I put them by the table on the floor. I can't reach the table. M often puts them back in the cupboard. She forgets they are needed for dinner. Sometimes we eat in the big room. So I take the cutlery in there. Just in case.

Often M leaves work papers in the kitchen. They should be in her study. I take them there. It's difficult to carry them all. I take them one at a time. Very carefully. They only sometimes get torn. I put them away. In her drawers and under her desk. Nice and tidy. So neat she wouldn't know they were there. If the study door is shut I put them in the bin by the door. If they are magazines they go on the shelf in the hall. Everything in its place.

I do like the toilet rolls. It's such fun running away with them. I criss-cross the hall. Lovely white lines. It looks so pretty. M was busy today so the sitting room looked really good as well. There was toilet paper everywhere. M shrieked when she saw it. I know she was pleased. It looked so good. Although she did become a bit serious. But then art is a serious business. She took me up to my room. She told me to stay there. I think she wanted me to check the teddies. But most of them were still downstairs having fun.

The Great Fire

We all went to Great Aunt B's birthday party. She lives in London. She is very, very old. Someone said she was 80 but no one is that old.

Lots of my cousins were there. They are all much taller than me. I was easily the smallest. I tell them apart by their shoes.

The Queen didn't come. I thought she lived in London. She must have been busy. Maybe she was mowing her lawn. It was a dry day.

We played in the garden. British Bulldogs. It was scary at times. My cousins are big. I managed to catch a few of them. I got caught a lot. Now and then I ran so fast I made it to the end of the garden. I thought of Harry. He might have made it to the end. But not as often as me.

The real scary bit was cake time. Cake time isn't normally scary. It's the best time of the day. Today was different. The cake was a big smartie cake. Chocolate covered with more candles than I have ever seen. All the candles were lit. There were a lot of flames. We sang happy birthday. I sang as well. B went to blow out the candles. She blew out one. It relit. She blew out another. It relit. The flames got bigger. She blew again and again but none went out. Other aunties went to help. No one could blow the candles out. The flames got even bigger. M tried to pick the candles off the cake. The flames bit her fingers.

I was very worried. The candles were starting to burn the smarties. Then an Aunt grabbed a wet tea towel. She threw it on the flames. It must have dried the candles. When she picked up the towel there was only smoke. The flames had left. The cake looked sad. It was wet. The smarties were changing colour. Water was dripping over the chocolate.

I thought the cake had died. But it hadn't. Once it was dried we all had a piece. It tasted nice.

We drove back home. Leaving London behind. It has had a fire before. Some time ago. There were no tea towels then. They must have lost a lot of smartie cakes.

Dressing time

Getting dressed is always fun. M helps me. Otherwise it would be a problem. I would have to wear my PJs all day.

I begin by lying on my back. I get nappied. I sit up. If I can, I go for a little run. Just for exercise. Unless M grabs me first. If she misses me, I race away. She jogs after me. We both get exercise.

Once I am caught we choose my clothes. There aren't many. I wear what is clean and close to where I am. Or cleanish and closeish. Once we have chosen I stand up, turn round and reverse. I park myself on M's knee. She dresses me. When I have my vest on I need another run. If it's my second run of the day M usually stops me. If it is my first run I usually make it to the door.

Once I'm caught again, I reverse back into position. If I am wearing my jeans I always look inside. Just to check no-one is there.

I like my trousers with turn-ups best. They are good for carrying sand. I have some dresses. They are very pretty. I wear them for special events. Like fashion shows. I like my spotted tops. But I don't have many. Time for a trip to the spotted top shop.

Lucky day

I was in town with M and G. I was in my push chair. We had been buying things for G. I'd seen some nice tops but they didn't have spots on.

We were by the fountain when J bumped into us. He had his funny face with him. He'd been to the cinema with another girl. I didn't mind. We both know what will happen when he is grown-up.

He walked with us for a while. He took my hand. I held his finger. He couldn't stay long. He had to go. It was nice to see him.

When I got home I checked the chickens. There were two eggs again. Still only two chickens earning their dinner. And it rained again yesterday. So the others should have started.

I could have pointed out the non-layers to M. But it had been a good day. I was still thinking of J. I just smiled at them instead. They looked away. We understand each other. One more rainy day and I may not be so kind.

Wet weather chickens

It rained and rained. The racecourse was puddled. The horses could not run. Too many spots of rain. So no spotted tops. No coloured hats. No visit for me. No work for my pointing finger.

So I went to feed the chickens. They were very wet. They didn't have brolleys. I went with M. She works. I watch.

We had a surprise. I saw them first. I jumped up and down. I pointed. There were two eggs. Their first eggs. Very small eggs. Like quail eggs. Just a bit bigger. Maybe the quails had returned in the night, laid their eggs and left. I don't think so. They would have stayed to see me.

I looked at the chickens. Two of them are working. Two are not. Two looked at me. Two looked away. I know the layers from the players. I didn't tell M. The others will start. Next time it rains. Otherwise there may be more work for my pointing finger.

The harry and the tortoise

It was the day of the big run to raise money for charity. The older ones ran on the racecourse. Luckily, there were no horses around. Otherwise they would have been squashed. The runners not the horses.


The brothers did their bit. They ran fast and went for miles. I thought they weren't coming back. Like the Quails. But they did.

We had a toddler's race. It was in my back garden. On my home track. There was Harry and me. Harry is 2. He was the favourite. He had toddled before but not in my garden.


He started fast. I started slow. He raced round the first corner. I took my first step. He raced round the second corner. I took my second step. He was at the third. Then he fell. Flat on the ground. I picked up speed. His mum picked Harry up. She dusted him down. I was catching up. Corners came and went.

I was in my stride. Toddling flat out. It had never been so easy. I was going so fast. The wind raced past my cheeks. I sped past the duster and the dusted. I was flying. The crowd shouted "go anna, go anna". Quicker and quicker I went. Legs going backwards and forwards. The robin was singing. The chickens clucking. I dived over the finish.

Harry didn't finish. He didn't restart. I gave him some cake. It cheered him up.


I saw Little John. He smiled. Now he knows I can run and dance.

Music time

It was the school concert. It was in a chapel. God had moved out for the evening. The school had moved in.

I was at the back. I sang a bit. Sometimes with others. Sometimes by myself. There were some pieces that lacked singers. It was lucky I was there.

I danced a bit. Only to the boppy numbers. And in the interval. Some people smiled at me. Others had left their smiles at home. I didn't mind. I just like to dance.

I went down the aisle to the front. I could dance better there. People were pointing at me. I think they liked my dancing. D came and picked me up. He took me to the back. But I hadn't finished dancing yet.

I went back to the front. I joined the musicians. It's easier to dance close to the music. The dance floor was very small. One of the music stands was in the way. I moved it. A musician stopped playing. She must have finished. The others kept playing. I carried on dancing. A man with a stick looked grumpy. He waved it round. He nearly kept up with the music. Then D appeared. The dance floor was very crowded. There was no dancing room for D. Another musician stopped playing and handed me to D. It was nice of her. She could tell D was upset at not dancing.

D carried me all the way outside. A nice long cuddle. I could still hear the music. I would have liked to dance some more but D wanted to play with me. The concert finished. The man with the stick spoke to D. He looked annoyed. I wasn't suprised. It must be upsetting to wave a stick when there is dancing to be done.

Helmet time

I have a helmet. I wear it on M's bike. I ride on the back in my bike seat. You need a helmet when you speed through town.

The boys ride their bikes to school. They have to pedal. I don't pedal. I just sit and watch and wobble. M is quite fast but not as fast as the boys. She needs to train.

I may wear my helmet at home. It keeps my head on. But it is not easy to scratch an itch with a helmet on. It's a difficult choice. Scratch an itch or keep your head on.

The fashion show

We went to my cousin's show. It was full of art and design. There were lots of things to look at.

There was one picture of lots of chinese dolls. It was missing something. I found a red crayon. I drew a line. It made a big difference. I was still colouring when D grabbed me. But he was pleased. "At least no-one saw you" he said.

There were some cakes and sweets on a plate. They were very colourful. Quite bright for cakes. But they didn't taste good. A bit plasticky.

There were some cushions on the floor. They looked really comfy. They needed more padding. They collapsed when I dived on them.

I spotted some quails in a box. They were not the same colour as my quails. They were a pale white with green feathers on their head. They looked like quails. But they weren't proper quails. Quails aren't pale white. And they live in pens not boxes. Still I like quails . So I picked one up. I carried it for a while. I am not sure when I dropped it.

I saw my cousin's picture. It had lots of things in it. I spotted the chips, the trainers and the car. There were things she had missed out but it was still good.

There was a fashion parade. M knows all about fashion. She watches Ugly Betty.

My cousin was in the parade. Her clothes were a bit small. I could see her legs and her tummy. She had a pretty top. It would look nice on my teddy.

I felt tired. I lay down by a table. I knocked the leg. Only one glass fell. M said it was time to leave. Fashion is fun but I was ready for bed.