-2. He looks like a nice, ordinary, everyday man in shorts and football top -- you'd see him in your pub and grunt a comment about the weather. But he walks around town addressing people, and no-one knows how to react. "Beautiful dress you're wearing!" "Afternoon!" "That's the trouble with mobile phones..." He sees me and Alec and stops short, staring at our Moby wrap. "That's brilliant! I like that!" I smile and say cheers, because I quite agree.
-1. She speaks slowly -- as if the words take a while to come down -- but moves quickly, sitting, standing, sitting. My gaze flicks from the delicate greenish tattoo on her upper arm to the toddler sleeping in her buggy. It's a good likeness.
1. This brown-eyed boy is the youngest of our NCT group, and he feels small and soft compared to Alec -- or perhaps he's gentler and less squirmy than my thuglet. I think you could hand me the babies one by one in the dark, and I would know which one was Alec. I could probably have a guess at some of the others.
2. In the bus shelter, someone has chalked "Capitalism isn't working" and "If you don't like what you see, see what you can change." I like the fact that they have not used paint or pen that must be scrubbed off.
3. While we are waiting, a bulky man hurries across the road and starts chatting to us. He says he's on Jobseeker's Allowance -- has been since August, but it's only until he passes his driving test. He catches two buses in for a gardening work experience placement, then two buses home each day. "As soon as I've passed I'm going to get a Mondeo, with room in the back for my tools." He gives me his driving instructor's business card.
