Little wings

I had noticed on Thursday, waiting at the bus stop, that today was the day of the village fancy dress competition. It struck me that there had been no mention of it around the house so quietly hoped that it would pass unnoticed. Yesterday the subject came up but Ellen opted for a simple butterfly, which could be done with minimal parental involvement, usually a good thing where the fancy dress is concerned.

Over the years excessive parental construction or purchasing has generally be rewarded with nothing. Not even a third place, which is an all round good thing. So, I did the adult bits - cutting, riveting and made a little harness to support the wings but Ellen did all the painting, sticking, glittering. It seemed a bit minimalist to me so I suspected there were no prizes to be won with butterfly. Ellen was prepped for losing with a short lecture on the Corinthian spirit and advised to content herself with the free ice cream. Just as well. Turns out it's all change on the judging front and the most outrageously parent-built tubs of popcorn, shop-bought farmer costumes and Lego people walked off with the prizes. It's as close as we get to a scandal around here.

Apart from that it was a trip to the dump, some minor chores and a decent slump watching Superman Returns with Ellen and a post-sleepover, short-tempered, grumpy-faced Ewan. I'd forgotten about the bit where Lex Luthor gives Superman a good kicking on his Kryptonite island. Ellen was a bit perturbed by that.