Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
'Why did they change it?' they cried.
'What was wrong with the old system?' they raged, before picking up their pencils again,
sticking their tongues out in time-honoured 'I'm concentrating' fashion and 'giving it another
go'. I half expected the local farmers to start burning bales of hay in the middle of the
classroom, such was the anger and passion in the room, but in the end common sense broke
out and someone opened a bottle of wine.
This year's affair was much less controversial; this would be a big year for the children, the
teacher said, they go to
college
next year and a stronger work ethic and greater concentration
would be required, she thundered, unfortunately just as a llama wandered past the window
and everybody's head turned.
The circus had arrived in town the day before, a desultory affair which would clearly
struggle to entice even the most entertainment-starved crowds. The posters had been in town
for a week - they promised lions, tigers, elephants, a big top, scantily-clad trapeze artists,
clowns and all the fun of the fair. The actuality was a few scrawny donkeys, a trapeze artist
who would have made Hammersmith Bridge wobble and the clown assassin from
Octopussy
.
But they had cleverly set up on the
champs de foire
opposite the school, automatically pitch-
ing themselves at the school audience. They had also set up right on the
boules piste
which
had clearly put a few noses out of joint. 'Your llama is in the way of our game!' one irate
player shouted at the clown, who leant in close to the complainant and whispered something
sinister in his ear, nipping all further complaints in the bud.
How the children were expected to concentrate while even the most pathetic circus you
could imagine was setting up around them God only knows, and at this point I really felt for
the teacher. Her day must have been hell. Trying to impress upon assorted nine-year-olds the
importance of
conjugaison
while a clown (albeit a bad one) was resentfully pulling flowers
from his sleeves must have been pretty hard work. And now she had the parents in front of
her showing exactly the same lack of fortitude.
Not that 'us' parents were impressed. We just knew that all our children would ask to go to
the circus. We were preparing our excuses. I'd already dealt with it the evening before when
I'd picked the boys up.
'Daddy, can we go to the circus? Pleeeease?' Maurice had whined, despite seeing the clown
cuff one of the circus dogs.
'No,' I said tersely.
'Pleeeease?' he said again.
'Tell him, Samuel,' I said.
Samuel and I had had this conversation dozens of times, he knew my thoughts about cir-
cuses, best leave it to him, I thought.
