One, two, three

Is this where my love of numbers came from?

I remember in Primary One, being handed a little cotton bag containing Rods. I adored these little things and I still remember the joy when realising that 10 of the squares equalled the garden one orange one, and five of the red ones equalled that.

We were talking about our complicated spreadsheets and our calculators which add complex sums at the push of a button and I suggested the boss had learnt on an abacus. My colleague didn't know what an abacus was.... and then I told her I learned to
Count on these. rods

eBay is an amazing place I thought I had found a little bag as I had had- but when it arrived it was an original teachers box - all but complete from the maker!

I remembered all the colours - I remembered all the ways I could lay them out to add different numbers. Five times five...
Six times seven, heavens. Even nine times eight became easy... nine times eight is the same as ten times ten, but there are nine twos and a ten missing!!! (100 -18 - 10= 72)

The five company three currency consolidation suddenly becomes a walkover :)