16 June 2012

God Save 'Er(II)

As I said, today we decided distraction was better than trying to ride out the storm... so, as it happened to be today, we headed to The Mall for Trooping the Colour.

We didn't get right in the crowds, but Sherlock saw the Queen's carriage from my shoulder, and we could hear the music. We also saw some of the bands marching past.

Then we headed down to the river, hoping to see the flypast, and because Sherlock was 'starving'.

He was dissapointed there weren't many planes, but he liked the helicopters and the AWACs Boeing the best, he said.


Planes.  And Her Maj. Official salute at the front. Commoners' salute of the cameraphone behind.



Anyway, I started writing this hours ago, so long ago now the highlights are on the telly. Some of the horses looked a bit frisky in the wind.

Ah, the highlights just said the reason the Battle of Britain flight wasn't there was the weather, which is what we thought.

Sherlock has put in another appearance now, having spent most of the afternoon under his bed. He's vowed never to go back to school, except when it's shut, to see the pond...although at one point he threatened to take all 'his' tadpoles with him.

Think I'll go and see if he wants to help with dinner.

It's Father's Day tomorrow. We're going to go and meet Mycroft, have lunch together.

62 comments:

Desert Wanderer said...

I think this is my favorite blog post title of yours yet, Lestrade. And do tell. What was it that distracted you for hours between typing and posting? Eh?

Anonymous said...

It looks like you all managed to have a busy day, despite Sherlock spending most of it under the bed. Poor little sprog. I can't help but think of the ostrich, who buries its head in the sand in the hope that if it can't see the bad thing, it can't get hurt.

Hopefully tomorrow will have less under the bed time and more fun time.

Greg Lestrade said...

DW - after all my carefully constructed puns and lyrics, this is your favourite?

Distraction...nothing fun. Talking to Sherlock, talking to John about Sherlock, having a shower, that sort of thing.

pandabob said...

I hope sherlock had some fun helping with dinner. I've always thought the trooping of the colour would be an interesting thing to see but it's a long way to travel to see it!

Lunch with Mycroft sounds like just what Sherlock needs right now so I hope you all enjoy it :-)

Anonybob

John H. D. Watson said...

Commoners' salute of the cameraphone

Heh. I wonder what archaeologists will make of the camera phone obsession in a 1000 years. Assuming the human race is still around by then.

Desert Wanderer said...

Well, I don't usually get the lyrics, not having your encyclopedic knowledge of every song since 1948 or whenever. And this is kind of a pun, in its own right, so...

I apologize for complimenting your title. I'll never make the same mistake again if you're going to be all indignant about it and such. :P

Anon Without A Name said...

I admit to being slightly confused by Sherlock's insistence that he's never going back to school. If the problem is that he doesn't want to lose Mrs t, then I would have thought he'd want to see as much of her as possible. After all, if he doesn't go back to school, then he's already seen Mrs t for the last time. I'm sure that isn't want he wants. Hmmm....

The Trooping the Colour ceremony looked impressive from the bits of highlights I saw on TV. I'm glad you all enjoyed it.

Have an excellent day tomorrow, all four of you.

Greg Lestrade said...

Danger - you mean in 1000 years when we can just download pictures from our brains? Well, maybe not 'we', but others.

DW - Sorry. Once I'd written it I did sort of think I was being a knob, given it is indeed a bit of a pun. But didn't come back and say so.

Have now collapsed on the sofa with my beloved. Feel like today has beaten all the life out of me.

Greg Lestrade said...

Nameless - I think it's a bit like what I was talking about the other day. If he says he's not going to school then he's the one in control (sort of) rather than the school.

I'm hoping Mycroft has a nice chat to him tomorrow, and then time will tell. There's nothing much we can do except be patient with him and let him know that this is how it is, and it's not going to change, no matter how much he fights it.

Desert Wanderer said...

I was just kidding, Lestrade. Sorry if that didn't come across.

Greg Lestrade said...

No, no, it did. You're fine. Don't think I'm expressing myself well tonight.

John H. D. Watson said...

Nameless - Earth logic has no place in Sherlock's tantums.

L - Have now collapsed on the sofa with my beloved

But your guitar's in the bedroom... ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

Just have to strum you instead... what sort of fingerstyle do you favour?

John H. D. Watson said...

If I knew more about guitars I could come up with something about frets here, but I don't. You can rub my head if you want to though.

Greg Lestrade said...

You can rub my head if you want to though.

As long as it won't chafe...

You know you're great, right? Brilliant. And exceptionally lovely.

Anon Without A Name said...

Poor Sherlock; I suppose for all his genius intellect, he's still a six-year-old boy. You're absolutely right, of course - he's trying to exert what control he can over the situation. Poor little toad.

Have a... relaxing evening, gents :-)

John H. D. Watson said...

L - thanks. You always manage to make me feel better somehow. Love you.

Greg Lestrade said...

Knowing you think that makes me feel better too :)

Love you right back.

Greg Lestrade said...

Happy Fathers Day to anyone it applies to. Is it elsewhere in the world, too?

I'm getting a scotch and a painkillers and hoping it'll put me to sleep.

Anonymous said...

Yup, it's Father's day in the US too. I hope yours goes all right. Sherlock may not be in the mood to provide glittery cards this year.

I know you're seeing Mycroft. Will you be seeing Mrs. H, too? It might not be a bad idea for Sherlock to have a chance to talk to her about school and things.

rsf

Greg Lestrade said...

Mrs H hasn't said she'll put in an appearance. Which doesn't mean she won't. She'll doubtless appear sooner or later and talk to him.

(It didn't put me to sleep.)

Desert Wanderer said...

Can we help?

Greg Lestrade said...

Come over here with a length of 2x4, put me to sleep with that?

Invent that time machine?

I am getting sleepier. Think the battle will be lost soon.

Desert Wanderer said...

I don't think I'm tall enough with a 2X4. And I'd have a hell of a time explaining that to HM Customs.

"Well, you see, sir. It's...um....a piece of wood. No, no I'm perfectly aware you have wood here, but this is...er...special American wood. Yeah. Made by special Americans. They're magical, see. They have secret sleep-giving properties. How does it work? I guess I could give you a demonstration."

*demonstration*

What's the prison sentence for assaulting HM Customs officer with a special American sleep-giving 2x4?

Greg Lestrade said...

You could just buy it once you got here...

Anyway, putting down the phone and concentrating on sleep. Or trying.

REReader said...

I hope Mycroft can help Sherlock--not easy, this being young business, and being that smart has to make it harder rather that easier in a lot of ways.

And I don't guess Father's Day is terribly easy for Mycroft, so I'm glad you'll all have the time together.

(I hope you were able to fall asleep without DW's magic sleep-inducing 2x4, L.

Anonymous said...

Nope, being young and smart isn't easy. Especially when all the grownups think you're smart enough to have figured something out and you hadn't, or you wouldn't be upset. (You'd be smug!)

DW, you can bring that 2x4 up to Boston if you like. I think I'm in need of it...

rsf

Anon Without A Name said...

I hope you got back to sleep OK, Lestrade - or at least managed to spend some quality relaxation time spooning your gorgeous Doc.

Hope you all have a good day today.

pandabob said...

I hope you got some sleep Greg and that Sherlock and Mycroft have a good time together, I think they probably need each other for lots of reasons right now and a bit of brothers time will do them both the world of good I'm sure :-)

I don't think Greg and John thought that Sherlock's smarts would make the school thing any easier RSF, they have been talking about their concerns about how the change would go on and off for the last few weeks, but they are doing a great job of keeping calm and consistent with him which is impressive because it would be so easy to be getting cross with him especially when some of his outbursts are physical and are increasing pains from injuries.

I hope everyone has a great day or a long sleep depending where you are in the world :-)

Greg Lestrade said...

I think we've got some hope, given that he hated school altogether at first, and that turned out fine once he knew raging and fighting wasn't going to get him out of it.

Anonymous said...

Sorry DW, I shouldn't post at quarter of 5 in the morning. It always sounds wrong. I think John and Lestrade are doing a great job with Sherlock, and helping him tremendously with the inevitable changes in his life.

I think the school should have been telegraphing the upcoming changes since last September, and doing so in so many words, and I think so because Sherlock isn't the only one of the kids who got upset at the news now. He's not the only kid who felt blindsided. When you think about it, those kids have had one experience of a new school year, and when it happened, their teacher came with them.

L, I'm sure Sherlock will come around once he's done fussing and he finds out that the new teacher knows things he hasn't learned about yet. I know darn well that being intelligent doesn't make school easier. And also that no school gets everything right. *sigh*

Oh, well. Have a nice lunch with Mycroft!

rsf

Anonymous said...

Oh, man, I'm still not awake. DW, ignore that. Pandabob... *headdesk*

rsf

mazarin said...

Happy Father's Day, gentlemen. Sure, you're not technically Dads but then again, love and devotion and sacrifice and protection embody what it means to be a parent, and you guys have that sorted out just fine.

All the best, and I hope Sherlock is able to accept his new teacher in time. He'll have to, which may be part of his frustration, but I hope the transition smooths down.

Desert Wanderer said...

Oh, so now you don't want to talk to me, rsf?

*sniffle*

Jaws said...

Hi guys! I haven't been following for the past couple of weeks, but I finished my exams on Friday (terrified, out of my wits) and I've just caught up.

And wow, I leave and the word games come out. It's nice to be back, I've definitely missed this little community, and I'm glad to hear everyone's still relatively okay.

Here's to summer! (And pina colada icecream, mmm)

REReader said...

I BROKE A BRICK! (Well, actually a cement paver. :)) And just like soft- breaking a board, it felt like hitting nothing at all.

I hope a good and happy time is being had by all. And Happy Nanny/DI//Father's Day!

AftSO said...

Hi everybody, I wanted to mention that I've been following along the past few weeks, just not posting, and you folks have cheered me up many a time. Life's been good lately, but also very difficult, with family stress, work stress, and a whole lot of time spent doing physiotherapy for my back (and then not doing much else cuz it's tiring). I've done a lot of driving lately, and played yellow car the whole time, and asked my partner for help figuring out the word games.

A happy day to all!

Greg Lestrade said...

RSF - They have always been very upfront about the classes, which teacher takes which, how it works.

I think - and I don't know if John agrees - that a lot of these kids, because they are so intelligent, and also plenty of them are from very privileged backgrounds, so they've always been treated as pretty special, sort of expect that things that happen to other people don't happen to them. I definitely think Sherlock felt, at first, that if he made enough fuss, someone would give in and let him keep Mrs T. Now he's slowly realising that's really not going to happen, no matter how much protest he makes.

I don't think the school could, practically, have done any more than they have.

Mycroft brough us out for a walk somewhere he remembers coming with his Dad, and he and Sherlock had a nice walk together. As did John and I.

REReader said...

That sounds quite plausible, L.

And it sounds like a lovely way to spend the afternoon.

pandabob said...

The connection to his dad that Mycroft provides for Sherlock is just lovely. He really is an amazing big brother :-)

I'm not sure all kids don't feel that screaming will get them what they want to be honest most children will be going through this now or in the next couple of weeks and a lot of them will shout about it and be sad about it but they will all turn up at school next year just like they are supposed to :-)

I'm glad you and John got a bit of time for a walk :-)

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah, me too. Especially as I've been called in now. Glad I got to spend the day with my boys.

Small Hobbit said...

Nice thought of Mycroft's to go for a walk that he remembers doing with his Dad.

Hope work goes okay (or whatever is the correct wording in the situation).

Anonymous said...

Hmm. You may be right about the assumptions of privilege, although I see that more often when the adults are modelling it to the young children.

I think the other explanation occurs to me because I was the kind of kid who could figure out most things, but got easily upset -- not so much tantrums as tears -- and between the two attributes, I remember far too clearly several occasions when I either wasn't told something because everyone assumed I knew it, or wasn't told something right away because the grownups thought I'd be upset. The former instances were bad enough because they always made me feel like everything else I thought I'd figured out was wrong. The latter instances were worse. I've forgiven my mother long since for having the dog put to sleep nearly half a century ago. That she didn't *tell* me she'd had the dog put to sleep for three weeks... yeah, that still rankles. Especially since she'd told my sisters and my little brother!

A walk sounds good. I hope your weather was as nice as mine was today, and that Sherlock is getting more used to the idea of growing up. It does have it's compensations after all. How many more inches do his legs need to grow to reach the motorbike pegs?

rsf

pandabob said...

called in never sounds good but I hope it's not too bad and isn't for too long :-)

I hope you have a nice evening with Sherlock John :-)

John H. D. Watson said...

L - there's coffee and marmite nuts in your bag. Good luck at work.

Greg Lestrade said...

Thanks Danger. You're a wonderful man.

RSF - there is definitely severe privilege amongst some of those parents. I'm amazed some of the kids have turned out as level headed as they have. God bless Mrs T and the Nannies...

REReader said...

And it's no small tribute to Mrs T that these kids are so attached to her, especially as she's clearly no pushover.

pandabob said...

Is it a school for the clever or a school for the rich or a bit of both Greg?

hope works going ok :-)

Anonymous said...

I think always having your own way is worse for a kid than never having your own way. A lot harder to eradicate, anyway! At least you're making sure Sherlock has chores and things, so he knows the world doesn't rotate around him. And giving him a view into what lives are like for people who don't have money to burn, too.

Speaking of which, will you be at work all night, since you were called in late? I hope your back is enough better that you won't need to live on painkillers!

rsf

(psst, Lancs Anon, is it a game of desk but not table?)

Anonymous said...

Fraid not RSF

It's a game of deer not elk
It's a game of add not subtract or divide or even multiply

Lancs. Anon

Greg Lestrade said...

RSF - no, hoping to get back home in... well, few hours, tops.

Back is better yeah, bit more relaxed.

Jaws said...

Lancs Anon,
Is it a game of food but not drink?
And apple but not orange?

maz said...

Lancs Anon,

Is it a game of nibble but not bite?

Anonymous said...

Jaws, it's not a game of either food or apple, maz it's not a game of nibble either.

It's a game of cards but not dice,
a game of stars but not planets
a game of milk but not cereal

Lancs. Anon

Anonymous said...

Sorry for the abruptness all...major life upheavals mean I haven't been round here since January. Lots of catching up to do.

As a kid who did grow up in a school for the rich and clever I have to say that Sherlock has a much better support system than I did (sixth grade in a secular school was a nasty shock!), but I do feel so much for him. When you enjoy the company of adults more than your peers, 'losing' a favourite teacher can be devastating. But everyone involved--you two, Mycroft, the school--seem to be handling it wonderfully. Makes me a little wistful, really.

DW--nearly collapsed with laughter at *demonstration*. Couldn't help picturing it as a big splashy sound effect.

Pere

Greg Lestrade said...

Just heard that Brian Hibbard has died. :(

REReader said...

I had to look him up, L--cancer is just a horrible monster.

REReader said...

Pere--That's really very interesting. I went to religious schools, but they were geared to the center, not the bright, and I found it excruciating (and didn't find teachers--or fellow students-- I clicked with until college), but that makes a lot of sense.

Anonymous said...

italy through :)

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah! I did dance around a tiny bit. Not nearly as much as John would have you believe. He's just grumpy because I picked him up (yeah, it was a bad idea.)

REReader said...

I take it your back is even grumpier than John about that...

Anon Without A Name said...

Hah. I dread to think what you'll do if they win :-)

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