Granny Turnbull provided a detailed report about her trip to the botanics with Mylo:
“Yesterday we continued our discussions on the natural world. On the way to the botanics we found a ladybird which I picked up. Mylo didn’t want to touch it or have it on his hand but was very interested in its 6 legs. Then he was very impressed with 100s of bumblebees on the flowers, and asked me to pick one up- I said they wouldn’t like that they would bite / sting me. He talks to the ducks and squirrels, but not the crows. The piranhas are gone from the aquarium and he wants to know where they are. We asked but no one knew. We saw some more bees and he asked if they would “bang” me - probably couldn’t remember “sting”. I said only if you poke them. We found a nearly dead one. It had one leg wiggling which he thought was an ant. On reflection, maybe it was an ant, now I think about it. Long discussion about what ants eat and if they eat bees - I suppose so. We meet another dead bee. He asks if he can stamp on it. I am nonplussed. Should I say yes or no? I equivocate and he asks why it is dead, why it isn’t moving, why is it not alive, etc etc etc. Later on he says sadly in a tone of completely false sympathy, of a blob of mud on the grass, “Oh! I think it’s dead!” Long discussion about how mud wasn’t alive in the first place. Am worn out long before we get on the bus for another round of “why is the bus going round the corner?” “why is it turning left?” “why do we have to get off now?” “why can’t I press the wheelchair button?” etc etc etc. I have been relieved of car duties though- for the first time, we didn’t get out the garages yesterday.
An absolute joy. Although he was very very tired we didn’t have a cross word.
M/Jx