Happy 10th, sorry it's a bit early but I'm dancing tomorrow morning, need to sleep :) Thank you so so much Amy, Emma, and Lizzi for reviewing the last chapter, you guys are beyond brilliant. Seriously. And it's the weekend now, so I can get on top of this and get up another Conclusions in Cape Town chapter Saturday evening, then hopefully, a salty tears update on Sunday :)

Don't forget to press the review button!

Love Flossie xxx

Tuesday 10th December 2019

Nikki's Diary

6.14pm

"Mummy?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Do you think my shoebox will go to Vietnam?"

"I doubt it." Daughter's teacher has decided at last possible moment that this year 4F are going to each fill a shoe box with toys/stationary/sweets etc. for Samaritans Purse campaign to be sent as Christmas presents to children in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Is lovely idea, but a little more notice wouldn't have hurt. Had to give up whole afternoon off to trek around shops in search of small, cheap pens, notebooks, stuffed animals and what-not for Josi to fill newly-decorated shoebox with. Somehow, don't think Miss Frazer has children of her own.

"Why?"

"Well, because the charity that sends the shoeboxes off to children for Christmas is a Christian charity, and Vietnam's a Buddhist country. Most Vietnamese children probably don't even celebrate Christmas."

"Oh, OK. So if it won't go to Vietnam, do you think it might go to South Africa?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure. But wherever it ends up, it's for a good cause, isn't it? I don't think it really matters where it goes."

"No, not really. Mummy?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you help me with my maths homework?" Ah, that's why she's spending so long beautifully organising the shoebox, is because she's trying to delay starting her maths homework. Josi not huge fan of maths, will have to learn to love it if is serious about being an anthropologist. God, sound like pushy parent. Poor child is still only 8, has whole 10 years ahead of her before has to worry about that sort of thing.

"Yep, course I will. What is it you're doing?"

"Ratio and proportion. And it's really hard. And I can't do it!"

"Yes, you can." Have learnt over the years that best tactic with Josi and maths is unwavering optimism, otherwise she manages to talk herself out of it before she even starts. "Right, come on then. How many questions have you done?"

"None of them." Is pouting now, think she's dangerously close to giving up. "Mummy, it's too difficult!"

"No it's not, you'll see. Right, read me the first question."

"'Frank has 20 apples. For every 1 red apple, he has 3 green apples. How many green apples does he have?"

"Right, OK. So where do you start?"

Uh oh, not a good question to ask her. Is now staring at homework sheet with blank, panicked look on face, clearly doesn't have a clue. Never mind, have cunning plan.

"OK, scrap that, we're going to do it visually. Wait there!" Definitely packet of marshmallows in back of cupboard somewhere; will use them. Think visualisation might be the key here.

Got them.

"Right, we're going to forget about red and green apples and use pink and white marshmallows instead, OK? Now, how many marshmallows are there in total?"

"Umm… 20."

"OK. So however many pink marshmallows and white marshmallows we have, we can't have more than 20 in total. Agreed?"

"Ja."

"Good. So, we'll use the pink marshmallows as red apples; for each pink marshmallow, how many white marshmallows do we want?"

"3."

"Yep, good girl. So take a pink marshmallow, and we need to put that with 3 white ones in a group there, see. Now, in that group, we've got 3 white marshmallows for the one pink marshmallow, haven't we? So how many marshmallows are there in total?"

"4."

"Well done. Now remember, we can't have more than 20 marshmallows in total, and we want to keep them in that ratio, 1 pink to 3 white, in groups of 4. So we need to times 4 by another number to get to 20, OK? So, how many times does 4 go into 20?"

"5?"

"Very good."

"So that means there are 5 pink marshmallows?"

"Yep. See, you can do this! But the question's asking you how many white marshmallows Frank has in total, remember, not how many pink. So now we know how many pink marshmallows there are, how can we work out the number of pink ones?"

"Umm… times 3 by 5?"

"We could do. Or there's an easier way."

"Take away 5 from 20?"

"Good girl. So what's that?"

"15?"

"That sounds about right, doesn't it? But why don't you check, just to be sure, you can count out 5 sets of 1 pink marshmallow and 3 white marshmallows and add them up to make sure we've got the right answer, OK?"

"OK. So when I've done that, can I eat the pink ones?"

Damn, so should have seen that one coming.

"Not now. But you can have a couple when you've finished all the questions, if you've got almost all of them right, OK? As a reward."

"Can't I have one now? I think I'm starting to get the hang of ratios, and I couldn't do them at all earlier, so I've obviously been working really hard!"

"Yes, for all of 5 minutes! Alright, one. But no more until you've finished all of those questions, Josi. I mean it!"

-8.12pm

Phew, maths homework successfully negotiated, book bag packed for school tomorrow and violin music on kitchen table so can't be forgotten for lesson tomorrow. Now just need to actually get Josi into bed, before will have nice quiet flat to self. Not expecting Harry home for a while yet, has just texted to say is caught up in something nasty. Don't envy him at all, looks positively freezing outside. Will be kind, thoughtful, loving fiancé and do him hot chocolate with remainder of maths-equipment marshmallows when gets in, know is his favourite. Once have gotten daughter off to sleep.

-8.13pm

"Right, come on Josi, bed. It's late, sweetheart, you're going to be tired tomorrow."

Grrr. Bedroom empty, thought she'd been in bed reading Harry Potter for at least 20 minutes by now.

"Joycelin, come on please!"

"Mummy?" Sounds considerably distressed actually, something definitely wrong. "Mummy, I can't find Ollie!"

Oh god. Ollie is Josi's toy elephant, has had him since she was a baby and can't sleep without him. Is no way am going to be able to get her into bed until Ollie has been found. Probably more than life's worth to make her try.

"OK, darling, I'm just coming!" Think she must be in living room.

-8.14pm

Yep, is peering down back of sofa with Hello Kitty torch, if wasn't in mad panic over Ollie the missing stuffed elephant, would find it quite cute.

"Mummy, I can't find him!" Think she's overtired, too, probably not helping matters. Charlie insists she put her to bed at bang on 8pm last evening after extra-long story, though judging by scattering of DVDs across living room floor and empty sweet packets in bin, am not convinced.

"Josi, don't panic, we'll find him. Where did you have him last?"

"Umm… I can't remember!"

Think, Nikki, think. Am sure she had him earlier when doing maths homework, think he was sitting on top of piano about an hour ago when Josi was clearing My Little Ponies off floor. Then sent her for bath, took her through to mine and Harry's room to dry her hair…

-8.15pm

DRESSING TABLE!

"Josi, hold on one second, I think I know where he is!"

-8.16pm

Phew, got him.

"Josi, it's alright! Panic over, I've found him!"

"Thank you!" Looks considerably relieved, though very much doubt is as relieved as I am. "Thank you, Mummy! Where was he?"

"On my dressing table, I think you left him there when I was drying your hair after your bath, remember?"

"Oops."

"Yep, that's one way of putting it. Now come on, darling, it's bedtime."

-10.58pm

Ohhh, think can finally hear footsteps in hallway, about time, too. Poor Harry, know was at outside crime scene, if has only just got back now, most likely hasn't been back to Lyell Centre, therefore must be freezing. Have already measured out hot chocolate powder and remaining marshmallows (all white, pink ones consumed by Josi after maths homework), just need to stick kettle on.

"Nikki?"

"In the kitchen!" Probably shouldn't be shouting, will wake Josi up and have to give her hot chocolate too, sugar rush will wake her up and will be nightmare trying to get her back to bed. Damn, better be quiet now.

-10.59pm

Poor Harry, looks freezing. And tired. And miserable, is probably bad combination of tough case and horrible weather. Hug is definitely required.

"Difficult case?"

"You could say that. 14 year old girl found dead in a children's playground."

Don't really know what to say to that. Don't think really need to say anything to that, some things are simply too horrible to put into words. Will settle for tighter hug instead, though not sure even that can make things much better. That sort of case is always the worst.

"You didn't have to wait up for me, you know."

"I know, but I wanted to. It's not that late, anyway." Would only have been cold if had gone to bed without Harry, use him as hot water bottle at this time of year.

"It that hot chocolate?"

"Only if you want it. We've got whipped cream and marshmallows too, though I'm afraid Josi ate all the pink ones while we were doing her maths homework."

"You let her eat half a packet of marshmallows?" Look of amusement on his face is priceless.

"Hey, I didn't let her! I was using them to explain ratios, I told her she could have a few of them once she'd finished and before I had a chance to stop her she'd scoffed all the pink ones." Well, most of them. Might just have helped her out a bit.

"Right. Of course."

"She did! So, hot chocolate in bed?"

"That, Dr Alexander, is quite possibly the best idea I've heard all day."