Saturday

A beautiful day, the first real day of Spring.

We decided to go to the park. Soak up some sunshine, shake off the Winter cobwebs.

Unfortunately, half of Israel had the same idea. Or so it seemed.

Eventually, we found parking space, a good ten minute trek from the park. Or more like half an hour, if you're trekking with a recalcitrant 2 year old more interested in dog shit (his favourite activity at the moment is to point at random dogs and shout 'Wow-Wow...Kaa-Kii' [Doggy...Poo-Poo]).

The place was heaving. Even the Small Noisy One was mometarily cowed into silence. Then he flung himself into the fray...

Whilst the Feminist Mrs Goy rushes after him, I sit in the sun and, apropos of nothing, try to decide whom amongst the throng voted for whom. I gave up after a bit, but only after concluding that the parents screaming the loudest at their children were Friends of Avigdor...


Mrs Goy, incidentally, voted Hadash - the Communist Party of Israel, a mixed Arab/Jewish enterprise. I am guessing that in the solidly petite bourgoise suburb that we live in, they probably treated her vote as a spoilt ballot and discarded it...
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My sister left for London the night before last. She works, occasionally, as a freelancer or the BBC. Not in a news gathering or reporting capacity - although this did not stop an elderly relative of Mrs Goy from asking whether she (the Missus) could explain to my sister, as a representative of the accursed organisation, that the Israelis were not always the Bad Guys/

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Thie morning, the Small Noisy One awoke and announced that he was ready to go to Gan (Kindergarten). At 6.30. On Saturday. Tears and recriminations later, I very reluctantly agreed to drive him to the deserted location. Where he proceeded to stand, patiently, for almost half an hour before I managed to coax him back into the car and back home again.

This, to my mind, proves two things: Firstly, that the apple can indeed fall far from the tree (I was, at best, an indifferent student, with no enthusiasm whatsoever for all forms of education, formal and informal, from a very young age); and secondly, that my child clearly misunderstands the purpose of the Sabbath. Which may not be so much of a surprise. Some good Jewish education is in order, methinks...(first lesson: Thou shall grant one's father a proper lie-in on the day of rest...)
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