As I was finishing the walk with Ollie yesterday, I was heading past the small playground on Beetley Meadows in the direction of one of the exits.
Two young mums were sitting on a bench inside, watching their children playing on the swings, roundabout, and climbing frame. The children were aged around four and five, and very noisy. Ollie was trailing behind me, sniffing and marking the rows of shrubs along the wooden fences of the houses that back onto the playing field.
Just as I got past the playground’s wire fence, a little boy shouted out to me at the top of his lungs.
“Old man! Old man!”
I turned to see him up at the fence, obviously wanting to say something to me. So I smiled at him, and walked back.
“What is it?”, I asked him. He pointed at Ollie. “I like your dog”. I grinned, and asked him a question.
“How did you know my name?”
He didn’t get it, but his mum smiled.
A funny incident. So, there are children in Beetley too. Not just younger women who wonder about men’s clothing. 😉 Ollie is definitely the star of the streets. 🙂 Thank you for telling, Pete! Best wishes, Michael
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Yes, lots of small children around here, Michael. And they all love Ollie. 🙂
Thanks for the reblogs too.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Reblogged this on NEW OPENED BLOG > https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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priceless!
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I had to chuckle, Michele.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Nice, in north India, anyone married is Aunty, anyone above 20 is Aunty, and anyone with a single white hair is Amma (old woman) 😀 I fall in all these categories…it is just who can see the whites hidden beneath the layer of Mehendi color.
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Some people who live in the nearest town come from Turkey, Portugal, and Cyprus. Many have small shops or restaurants. They usually refer to me as ‘Uncle’. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Aww nice story! You’re sweet Pete 😘
Reminds me of the time (going back quite a while I’m sorry to say) a bunch of teenagers on bikes and skateboards went past me and one of them said “careful there’s a lady standing there” – very nice of them to be so polite of course, but it struck me that they saw me as a ‘lady’ when I still saw myself as a ‘girl’ if that makes sense! I’ve never forgotten it!!! And like I say, this was quite a while ago !!!
Take care xxx
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When I was 17, two young boys came up to me and asked, “Excuse me, mister, have you got the time please?” That was the first time I remember being addressed as an ‘adult’ by children. A while back on Beetley Meadows, a little girl asked me why I dye my hair white! 🙂
As ever, Pete. XXX
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“How did you know my name,” Bahaha! What a cute story and Ollie has some sweet admirers, C
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Kids love Ollie, mainly because of his stumpy, curly tail. 🙂
He tolerates them too, and lets them stroke him.
Best wishes, Pete.
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That’s a cute story. You have to love kids!
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I like how they just say the simple truth. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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And then, glancing at the water closet in the open fields, you said to the mother, “I like children. If they’re properly cooked.”
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It was an amusing moment, David. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I was quoting W.C. Fields.
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Oh yes, I knew that. 🙂
This one from him is on the same theme. ‘There’s no such thing as a tough child – if you parboil them first for seven hours, they always come out tender.’
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I love this story!
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It’s great how kids just say what they see. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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They say things openly and honestly.
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Children just love to embarrass their mothers by making these sorts of remarks. Gregory once, at the age of three, pointed at a strange woman’s face and asked what the rather large mole on her face was. I nearly died and gave him a big lesson on not making comments about people.
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I think it’s okay, Robbie. They say what they see, and there is truth in their innocence.
Best wishes, Pete. 🙂
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It depends on the person on the receiving end of the comment. You are nice and understanding.
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The kid will suddenly start laughing one day when he realizes what you said!
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I hope he does, GP. I doubt I will be here to see it by that time though. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Nicely done Pete!
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Thanks, John. He was a feisty kid, but I foxed him with my question! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Oh, brilliant!
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It was a lovely moment, Sue.
Best wishes, Pete.
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😊
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Well done and well written. At my son’s first haircut, he told everyone in the barbershop that he could spell my name. I did not think he could but he blurted out d-a-d. Now he can spell o-l-d!
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Thanks, Geoff. Kids say some great things, without the restriction of ‘manners’. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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So funny! I guess to a 5 year old you qualify!! But not to the rest of us! 😉 😉
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I think I qualify full stop, Susanne. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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This made me chuckle, Pete. It is so easy for some people to get offended so I am glad you took it for what it was. I have learned that children Speak so matter of factly with no ill intentions. I’m sure they loved Ollie.
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It didn’t bother me at all, Maggie. I like the way they just say what they think. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I have been on the receiving end of children’s honesty many, many times, Pete.
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Last year, a little girl asked me why I dye my hair white. 🙂
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Now that’s funny, Pete.
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what a cute story, Pete! 🙂 🙂
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Thanks, Wilma. It was a funny moment that made me chuckle.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Made me smile, Pete – young children say it as they see it 🙂
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Yes indeed, Mary. Refreshingly candid in fact.
Best wishes, Pete.
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so cute and funny!
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It was funny, Beth. I had to chuckle over it.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Out of the mouths of babes!
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Yes, I must seem incredibly ancient to that boy. I expect his own grandfather is much younger than me. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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It’s all relative. When I was small, I thought my grandma was ancient but she would only have been 60 or so….
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That’s it, it’s just a name, Pete.
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It did amuse me, Twan. But I completely understood.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I remember the first time someone knew my name whom I didn’t know and called out to me; but, in that case, the snot-nosed child was in his 20s and should have known better. warmest regards, Theo
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Yes, if they are over the age of 10, it becomes rather insulting, I think. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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LOL! chuq
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It was funny. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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You do have to smile at that Pete.😁
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Definitely. Like when my step-daughters were young, and they asked me if I had been in the army in WW1! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Sweet! Cheers, Jon.
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Thanks, Jon. You have to smile at that kind of thing.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Having recently acquired a granddaughter has given me a new perspective on such things 😀
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If you’re only 5, even 18 is old, lol.
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Yes, I remember thinking teenagers were old when I was that young.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I was 11 when I started at my secondary school. I couldn’t ever envisage being as old as the sixth formers, who were around 17 or 18. They were just too old, lol.
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Aw, from the mouths of babes, as they say! Well at least Ollie has another fan!
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Yes, his curly tail makes him popular with the kids.
Best wishes, Pete.
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