Wafer Thin Mint?

Dear all,

Monday, I spent the day with A in Cheltenham General Hospital.   You know me, always up for the sight of row and rows of beds and cracking/peeling paint in a hospital.  Although we have private health insurance, in an emergency you must go to NHS hospitals.  So, with A suffering acute pain, we headed to the hospital.  He had pneumonia.  

A had been sick on and off for the better part of a month.  He has lost weight and is looking even paler than his normal pasty self.  Poor guy, but when it came time to collect M and S from the airport after a trip to France, he was healthy enough to come along.

We waited at a Costa Coffee for their flight to arrive.  The Nicer of the Two Parents indulged A in a massive hot chocolate.  A gulped it down along with whipped cream AND marshmallows.  We were thrilled to have M and S back with us and we went out to dinner to celebrate their safe return and hear about their adventures in France.

Before dinner, The Nicer of the Two Parents ordered Aidan a fizzy fruit drink.  A slurped it down.  When dinnertime rolled around, A, who was seated next to aforementioned, Nicer of the Two Parents (and who wouldn’t want to be?), ordered himself a lemonade (7-Up). 

His sick tummy revolted. Three sips into that 7-Up and Aidan exploded like a scene out of Monty Python.

I’ll spare you the details, because, to be honest, words cannot do justice to this grand display of hot chocolate, purple juice, 7-Up and curly fries.  All the same, I will say that the restaurant became a temporary war zone with us grabbing chairs to use as shields as we ran for cover.

When Round One ended and A paused momentarily to reload, we got him out from behind the table and told him to run for the bathroom.  Desperate, he took off.  We were nearly there, actually just OUTSIDE THE BATHROOM, when an old lady cut us off, walking very slowly (freaking, Mr. Bean nightmare).  She turned and gave us a smug look, quite satisfied that she had prevented an impolite boy from running through a restaurant.  Imagine my pleasure, my pure joy and deep gladness something akin to a religious experience, when A blew for a SECOND time…this time right down the old cow’s backside.

With love from England,

T-Ann