When Mr.
Waffle was 7, his parents moved to Venezuela for six months. I was looking at the pictures from Venezuela with him and his mother one day and
there was one of him in a rather twee t-shirt featuring a little boy and girl
fishing together. Â“Oh yesÂ” he said
bitterly Â“my Â‘gone wishingÂ’ t-shirtÂ”. On closer inspection, the words Â“gone wishingÂ”
did indeed feature in faded letters over the picture on the t-shirt. It appeared that because they were only in Venezuela for 6 months, his mother had not
considered it necessary to get all the kit required by the school and instead
of the regulation gym t-shirt, she had issued Mr. Waffle with the Â“gone
wishingÂ” number. This had obviously
scarred his sensitive soul.

Please bear
this incident in mind when considering the following piece of dialogue.

Me: It says on her school list that we
have to get her a Â“tablierÂ”, what the hell is that?

Him: Kind
of a smock thing, but we can just cut down one of my old shirts.

Me: But it gives the name of the shop where we
can buy themÂ…

Him: But thereÂ’s no need, one of my old shirts
will be fine.

Me: But she
wonÂ’t have a smock like the other children.

Him: But,
for heavenÂ’s sake, it doesnÂ’t matter, itÂ’s only to keep her clothes clean when
sheÂ’s painting.

You will be delighted to hear that, in defiance of my husband, I went to the authorised supplier and
purchased a tablier, pictured below.
Seriously, would a cut down shirt have done? Please note
the pencils and paintbrushes embroidered above the pocket before giving
your answer.