1. To throw a large bag of rubbish in the bin and drop off a large bag of unwanted clothes at a charity shop.
2. At tea time my mother says that Alec wants to be Amanda the gardener when he grows up with her ladder, loppers and Pippin dog: 'Manda climb ladder!'
3. When I realise that I've left my rucksack on the train, the guard (who has just helped us over the gap) retrieves it and hands it out to me. 'Thank goodness you were there!' I tell him. Nick, who was waiting on the platform for us says: 'What on earth was so important that you abandoned Alec in the pushchair and ran back?'
I hesitate, thinking that the answer is going to get me in trouble (first because nothing is that important; and second because actually, the contents of the rucksack would be very hard to replace and I should have been more attentive). 'The laptop and all my course work. Anyway, you were there to watch him.'
