helper looked a little annoyed by the interruption but I could hardly stand by and do nothing. Molly did know âMumâ. I mean, it was the first word she ever said; she just needed a bit of prompting, thatâs all. Unfortunately I discovered that being at school with Molly didnât stop me worrying about her. My daughter tortuously spelled out âgoodâ and âdogâ while the child I was sitting with seemed towhizz through her chosen book effortlessly: âIt is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of â¦â Well, it felt like it at the time.
âYes, all right, Bronwyn,â I snapped, âthatâs enough reading. Go and play in the home corner. Or the second-home corner in your case. Hello! Iâm finished over here so would you like me to take over with Molly?â
Five years later those other mothers and their husbands had become our best friends, and, like mine, their eldest children would soon be taking their entrance exams for big school. While our daughters were having extra tuition on Saturday mornings, we would meet up like this in my kitchen and debate the major issues of the day. How many secondary schools are you applying to? Is it true that you can only get in to Chelsea College if you can speak fluent Latin? âWe looked at a lovely secondary school in Calais. The only downside is that Bronwyn would have to get up at 4.30 every morning to catch the Eurostar.â The regular Saturday morning gathering also gave us a bit of quality time with our younger children, ones who were stimulated and encouraged as they learnt the basic skills of life: writing, drawing and identifying all the characters in Peter and the Wolf .
âListen, everyone. This is the oboe now. Whose theme is the oboe, Alfie?â continued David.
âThe duck!â he shouted and our friends murmured their appreciation.
âMy Cameron likes to clap along to nursery rhymes,â said Sarah bravely but nobody bothered to respond to that.
âHang on, hang on, here it comes. This is the clarinet. Who does the clarinet represent, Alfie?â
âThe cat!â
âClever boy, Alfie! Thatâs one of the wind instruments, isnât it? What other wind instruments are there?â
âThe baboon!â
âBassoon, thatâs right! And who does the bassoon represent?â
âThe grandfather!â
âHeâs very musical, isnât he,â said Sarah, rather perceptively I thought.
âThe grandfather is a baboon!â Alfie repeated delightedly.
âThatâs right, the grandfather is the bassoon,â said David firmly.
âHe is a clever boy, isnât he? Have you had him professionally assessed?â asked Ffion. I thought Iâd already told her about how Alfie had scored at the institute but she must have forgotten.
âEr, yes, we got the report back a couple of weeks ago; the institute said he was âapproaching giftedâ,â said David.
ââ Approaching gifted.â Thatâs wonderful news.â Ffion smiled faintly.
âWell, itâs fine, yes, but I think theyâve underestimated him. Actually I think heâs just straightforward âgiftedâ. Ideally Iâd like him to be aspiring to âexceptionally giftedâ.â
âHeâs only four years old, darling,â I said, noticing that William was looking slightly incredulous.
At that moment there was a panic as Sarah leapt across the room like a presidential bodyguard and snatched a biscuit from her childâs hand. âItâs OK, everyone â Iâve got it. He didnât ingest any, heâs OK â¦â
âSorry â is he not allowed biscuits, then?â
Sarah read solemnly from the side of the packet. ââMay contain nuts.â Yes, I thought so.â
âI didnât know Cameron was allergic to
âYes, all right, Bronwyn,â I snapped, âthatâs enough reading. Go and play in the home corner. Or the second-home corner in your case. Hello! Iâm finished over here so would you like me to take over with Molly?â
Five years later those other mothers and their husbands had become our best friends, and, like mine, their eldest children would soon be taking their entrance exams for big school. While our daughters were having extra tuition on Saturday mornings, we would meet up like this in my kitchen and debate the major issues of the day. How many secondary schools are you applying to? Is it true that you can only get in to Chelsea College if you can speak fluent Latin? âWe looked at a lovely secondary school in Calais. The only downside is that Bronwyn would have to get up at 4.30 every morning to catch the Eurostar.â The regular Saturday morning gathering also gave us a bit of quality time with our younger children, ones who were stimulated and encouraged as they learnt the basic skills of life: writing, drawing and identifying all the characters in Peter and the Wolf .
âListen, everyone. This is the oboe now. Whose theme is the oboe, Alfie?â continued David.
âThe duck!â he shouted and our friends murmured their appreciation.
âMy Cameron likes to clap along to nursery rhymes,â said Sarah bravely but nobody bothered to respond to that.
âHang on, hang on, here it comes. This is the clarinet. Who does the clarinet represent, Alfie?â
âThe cat!â
âClever boy, Alfie! Thatâs one of the wind instruments, isnât it? What other wind instruments are there?â
âThe baboon!â
âBassoon, thatâs right! And who does the bassoon represent?â
âThe grandfather!â
âHeâs very musical, isnât he,â said Sarah, rather perceptively I thought.
âThe grandfather is a baboon!â Alfie repeated delightedly.
âThatâs right, the grandfather is the bassoon,â said David firmly.
âHe is a clever boy, isnât he? Have you had him professionally assessed?â asked Ffion. I thought Iâd already told her about how Alfie had scored at the institute but she must have forgotten.
âEr, yes, we got the report back a couple of weeks ago; the institute said he was âapproaching giftedâ,â said David.
ââ Approaching gifted.â Thatâs wonderful news.â Ffion smiled faintly.
âWell, itâs fine, yes, but I think theyâve underestimated him. Actually I think heâs just straightforward âgiftedâ. Ideally Iâd like him to be aspiring to âexceptionally giftedâ.â
âHeâs only four years old, darling,â I said, noticing that William was looking slightly incredulous.
At that moment there was a panic as Sarah leapt across the room like a presidential bodyguard and snatched a biscuit from her childâs hand. âItâs OK, everyone â Iâve got it. He didnât ingest any, heâs OK â¦â
âSorry â is he not allowed biscuits, then?â
Sarah read solemnly from the side of the packet. ââMay contain nuts.â Yes, I thought so.â
âI didnât know Cameron was allergic to
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