Well, I delivered two crocheted rabbits to the small people yesterday evening, one grey, one purple, and apparently caused minor havoc because the older small person decided she wanted the grey rabbit. This, of course, meant that the younger small person also wanted that one because he always wants what his role model wants. Such are the trials of being a big sister! And a small brother! So it goes.
Families always have these odd mixtures of adoration and rivalry. I have two sisters and between the three of us we have occasionally had those moments of noting that one has put weight on, or neglected to sort out her hair or things of that nature.
Even figures in the public eye have family members keeping an eye on them. There’s this story I saw in today’s newspaper about a Japanese politician:
“A senior aide to Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has apologised for putting his hands in his pockets during an official trip to the US, admitting that his mother had scolded him and told him she was “ashamed” of him.
Seiji Kihara, the deputy chief cabinet secretary, revealed on YouTube that his mother had read comments that he was “disgracing his parents” after he was caught with his hands in his trouser pockets as Kishida spoke to reporters outside Blair House in Washington.
Kihara, 52, appeared chastened by an angry phone call from his mother, who told him she was “ashamed” and suggested he “sew up his pockets”.”
Oh dear! Such a casual pose is, I read, considered rude in Japan in certain social and professional situations. Not just in Japan, I would have thought. Do we not remind people, especially our children, to stand up straight when meeting someone important or being interviewed for some position or other? Boris Johnson was criticised for burying his hands in his suit jacket and trouser pockets at a Nato summit in Brussels in 2022, as he watched other leaders shake hands and engage in small talk. But then, I suspect that was more would-be upper class casual cool as much as anything else.
I read somewhere recently that some people believe the queen usually carried a clutch bag, rather than a handbag that could hang over an arm or shoulder, as a kind of shield that she could hold with two hands. This meant that she did not / could not respond to hands stretched out to shake her hand but that she would be the one to initiate the handshakes. I think it was in one of those articles extolling the virtues of Kate Middleton, saying how she models her behaviour on her husband’s late grandmother’s.
It must have been at the hairdresser’s that I read it as that’s the only place where I read scandalmags.
It’s funny how often we still refer to Kate Middleton by her maiden name, perhaps because she and William seem to,have a variety of possible surnames available to them. Occasionally she is spoken of as the Princess of Wales, her official title after all, but rarely have I seen her called Princess Kate. Maybe Kate is also too casual and she would have to be Princess Catherine.
That’s enough of that nonsense!
This morning I read this article about rubbish!
Who knew that the mafia was taking over our refuse-collection? Not so much the collection as the disposal, by the sound of things. I was instantly reminded of The Sopranos and wonder why refuse disposal is something that the mafia find so enriching!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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