More with the grandchildren

 The next morning my daughter rang to say she wouldn't be coming back and she would be leaving me with the four children.  She was leaving her husband and disappearing for good.  I was a bit taken a back and suggested that this was all a bit sudden but she said she had met a new man in the French pub in Soho  and would be going to live in Dubai where he runs restaurants and casinos and has a wealth advisory business for footballers.  She would contact her husband via a solicitor but in the meantime I had to take the children.    I said I would contact the Russian embassy and ask to be put through to the Siberian British consulate and get him home.  She said there is no such thing so don't bother. 

I asked her to send me a list of their schools at least as I had no idea where they go and what is required of me.  The youngest at the Forest School would mean the she would be with me for three days per week.  I was not pleased and in fact I was livid. 

First things first, I told the children to go back to their hobbies whatever they were doing and I would go to the fishmongers to get some squid (this was their idea that next time they wanted squid with squid ink -  my fault, I told them a story of a squid ink meal in Venice).  The rest of the problems can be dealt with over time and no doubt their flightly mother will see sense and return for them. 

I jumped in the car and left the 10 year old in charge.   I also went to the bakers for fresh bread before the fishmongers.  I purchased squid and octopus and more lemons.  Priorities priorities I thought. 

I returned to find a police car outside, a neighbour had called the police when she found four children in my house when she came round with the Parish magazine as well as a trail of blood in the kitchen (I had dressed a pheasant before going out and it must have dripped) and children with Moroccan rugs and cutains wrapped around themselves playing my old school recorder and saying they were using a mongoose (Thomas the cat) to look for snakes and no sign of me.  (Thomas was meowing loudly and his tail was swishing so it was assumed a snake had been found (erroneously)).  I explained to Thomas and asked him to bear with it. Please.   His tail continued to swish from side to side. The police officer meanwhile looked on.   I explained to the officer that it was a game of hide and seek we had played the night before pretending we were in Marrakesh and it was all harmless fun.  Meanwhile he had his notebook out and wanted to know how long the children had been left for.  I showed him the squid and the octopus and explained we were having these for lunch and I had been gone for 20 minutes.  Under the circumstances he let me off when Finn, the 10 year old, explained that he was quite capable of being in charge and had my phone number and there was nothing to worry about and said "please don't lock grandma up".  The policeman gave me a warning and went off.  I took the Parish Magazine off Thelma from next door and invited her in for a sherry.    The children returned to Thomas, the mongoose, to look for more snakes.  

To be continued.