Lockdown Week 8 (Thurs)

THURSDAY

It’s still surprising when you find out how unfamiliar words are pronounced, even as an adult.

At lunchtime I decide to cook quinoa, after finding a pack at the back of the cupboard pretending to be couscous. I can’t say which one of us bought it by mistake - it could easily have been me. The packets look EXACTLY the same.

After the recent dispute over pronouncing the word ‘Nike’, I suggest a competition to see

who can work out how to say ‘quinoa’ correctly. No access to Google, and all final answers

will be recorded.

The loser will have to eat quinoa for lunch. 

The children look slightly panicked but accept the challenge. They are all quite competitive, and love watching each other squirm. I remember the two girls getting the eight-year-old to stick worms in his mouth or up his nose when he was a toddler. Although I think he rather enjoyed it.

The quinoa competition works well, and none of them get it right. Feeling triumphant, I dish up a small amount of quinoa on each plate. The complaints far outlast the time taken to eat the tiny spoonful; and they do all admit that it doesn’t actually taste of anything at all.

This evening we applaud the NHS as usual, though no-one stays out for long. Many of the local children still bring out their pots and pans and give the same level of enthusiasm every week. The sentiment is certainly no less sincere.