Michael reads and re-reads a lot of Asterix and Tintin. This has had an impact on how he talks. Sometimes he says “By Jupiter!” and also “By Toutatis!” [which he pronounces “by tortious”], “Blistering barnacles!” and “Thundering Typhoons”. He also says, “Fiddlesticks!” when baulked. The other day he answered the door to the babysitter and I heard him say to her, “Do come in.” When you ask him to do something he says, “As you wish.” He says “That’s quite alright”, if you apologise for something. When you make an observation with which he agrees, he says, “Very true” or “I’ll say!” Hilariously, whenever he is cross with anyone he says, “You bingbong!”; he also has a slightly baroque line in insults – “you bald baboon”, “you half-headed monkey” and other made-up expressions of that nature. He refers to me as “My beloved Mummy.”

The other day, we deployed the paddling pool. As is often the case, the water from the garden hose led to a cooler experience than expected. I got a kettle full of water to put in the pool and Michael leapt up in delight and said, “Hot water, Allah be praised!”

Recently, he had to sit in my office for an hour which he did very quietly. Only looking up from his DS occasionally to say, “That’s a bad word, Mummy” as I muttered curses.