I remember being shocked in France when our childminder, among others, would tell the children things that were plainly not true in order to calm them down. So, for example, if I dropped them off before I was due to go off on a trip and they started crying, she would say, “mummy will be back later” which I was plainly not, as later I would be on my way to wherever I was heading.

I would try to explain that it was not strictly true but always felt uncomfortable contradicting her, because she was so much more experienced than I was with children and also totally brilliant. In fact they are going to stay with her on this trip, she has almost become a third grandmother.

Poor Leo has had a similar experience here. He changed summer camps this week as the one at the Shang-ri La finished at the end of July. He has been at his football camp all week. And all week they have been promising him a cup for being the best footballer.

Every day they say the cup is coming tomorrow. Today was the last day and still no cup. He was not amused when Rupert went to collect him.

“They kept saying tomorrow and now it’s today and there’s no cup,” he fumed. “They lied to me. And I was going to give that cup to my son.”

Poor love. He seems to have got over it though and is watching Spiderman 3 as I pack and unpack and pack again. Shoes are a nightmare; how on earth am I supposed to know what shoes I will want to wear ten days from now? I can’t even decide which ones to wear on the flight.

We leave at midnight, I am not sure when I will be online again, so goodbye for now.
Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2009