Me: Gosh, it’s stormy out there today.
Nell: Would you mind whispering, please? Harriet is still sleeping.
Me: Did the storm keep her awake?
Nell: No. It was Roley Moley.
Me: Roley Moley?
Nell: Yes. And The Cat.
Me: Roley Moley and The Cat?
Nell: You are repeating everything again.
Me: What were they doing?
Nell: Playing Ibble Dibble, if you must know.
Me: Ibble Dibble?
Nell: Are you doing this to annoy me?
Me: That’s a Christmas game.
Nell: No, it isn’t. Ibble Dibble can be played at any time of the year.
Me: But they’ve got fur. You can’t play Ibble Dibble with fur. The mark from the cork won’t work.
Nell: They were playing with sequins.
Me: Oh, I see.
Nell: Roley Moley is an excellent player.
Me: He would be.
Nell: David is not. He ended up with 14 Ibble Dibbles or Dibble Ibbles. I need to look up the rules again on Poodle.
Me: My poor Big Brave Beautiful Boy.
Nell: Poppy refused to play. If anyone came near her with a sequin she took out her sword.
Me: She’s not a sequinny kind of animal. I thought Roley Moley was going back to London with Sally.
Nell: The Cat has persuaded him to stay. It’s making him a new suit with a waistcoat and needs him around for fittings.
Me: I’m surprised Roley agreed to that.
Nell: He finds The Cat amusing. They bonded over smoked salmon sandwiches.
Me: I would love one of those. I wonder if Poppy would make some for tea.
Nell: No chance. Poppy is busy dealing with the Cross Hot Buns for Easter.
Me: You mean Hot Cross Buns.
Nell: I do not. The buns are cross because they are hot. Everyone knows that.
Me: Yes. Of course. Sorry.
