Keeping score

Very very very long journey south on the train today. Never has 5 hours and 18 minutes seemed to stretch out longer. The kids were well behaved, we had lots of food and I had a good book.... but also the loudest family in the world sitting opposite. Quite unaware of the impact their top volume activities (including constant music from the daughter's DX game) were having on everyone else.

So many shocking examples of parenting that I can feel myself coming over all Daily Mail just thinking about it. Never an attractive trait, so I'll leave it be. I did like the mum, on hearing a mobile phone beep as a message came in: "You'd think people would turn their mobiles off - they can really disturb people". Rich coming from a couple whose conversation was so loud that Mr B and I almost resorted to conversation by text across the table, so hard was it to be heard.

Anyway, it finally ended and we were off to the now traditional kids' New Year party at R & V's house. Here's Rob scoring the quiz - many years of accountancy training and practice culminating in this moment.

The kids' party continued with a movie, while we ate way too much chicken in the kitchen, and finally wobbled home to Chiswick rather too late.