Tuesday 18 October 2011

zoca-low down

School's back, and thank the lord for that. I saw a survey suggesting parents spend an average of £341 per term on each child. Really? On what?? I mean, obviously mine are too young to be clamouring for French horn lessons or tennis coaching (neither looking terribly likely at this point, unless it's lessons in how to build a French horn out of lego), and we don't have the expense of uniforms; but still – are these parents buying gold-plated compasses? Filling lunchboxes with fugu sashimi and foie-gras sarnies? Or is it that parents feel obliged to bow to the legendary power of peer pressure and buy the latest thing - scooter, DS game, designer satchel – lest their offspring be (horror of horrors) deemed uncool? Meh. Kids would be a great deal more resistant to peer pressure (which is over-egged anyway) if their parents were less worried by it and taught them that coolness isn't something you can buy. It's just stuff and it won't make you happy.

Our school has a lovely new garden, playground and pond (with a below-surface safety grill, natch) which looks great. All paid for by Amex, so there are some advantages to being educated next to a building site. That, and an in-depth knowledge of crane structure. Jem has always had an eye of such engineering matters. He was asked in an audition for an crayon advert recently to draw a rocket – an ad exec's idea of a rocket, multi-coloured and zooming through stars and planets - until Jem put him right by drawing a technically accurate space shuttle, in grey, before coldly explaining that it was not zooming, it was still on the landing pad (which he had also drawn).

Here in Hanover – and this year for the first time, all across Brighton – we have a thing called Zocalo. It's an event where at a set date and time you turn off the telly and come out to meet your neighbours. People put out chairs, bake cakes, share food. It'll be running next year, and you can join in too. Go here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Zocalo-Brighton/140978452657219 for more info. If you took part last month, I hope you enjoyed Zocalo as much as we did – despite a chilly start to the afternoon, by 5pm we had about 10 people crowding the pavement by ours, (plus a load of kids upstairs), and we had home-made lemonade and cake. It was lovely. Next time all we need is not to have to share the pavement with cars. That would make all the difference.

Oh, while I remember! Don't forget to light a lantern for Halloween and encourage your little local trick-or-treaters – it's an ancient British tradition dating back to pagan times (not a new-fangled American idea, as some believe) and another chance to meet your neighbours. And eat Haribo. Hurrah!


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