Published in the WOW! supplement of the Evening Echo 21/11/2007
When you’re seven, thirty Euro must seem like a small fortune. It was certainly burning a hole in the twins’ pockets. Most of the young guests at their birthday party had brought them small gifts – but some had given money, and the twins had been planning how they were going to spend it ever since.
I’d suggested that they get something useful with it, something that would last them a while. Like a decent torch for example. They love torches, but the two or three Euro plastic varieties never seemed to last very long. They always ended up purloining my old Maglite – which is older than they are and still going strong – to illuminate their night-time antics. Here was a perfect opportunity for them to get one of their own, and have enough money left for a toy.
They were having none of it. Top of their respective lists instead were Mr Potato Head and a Bratz Kids doll. The following weekend we were heading up to the city. The nagging started even before we got in the car.