Swine Flu strikes Dulwich

I did promise I would not write about Swine Flu anymore and stick to the economy.  But - IT has landed in my back garden.

It is here.  Leafy Dulwich has five cases of swine flu and the media vans are crawling all over the neighborhood.  Mothers are texting each other in excitement.  Most of the mums are delighted to have their children get a dose of Tamiflu before it runs out.  At the local Sainsbury's I spied several Alleyn's mummies staring down the antibacterial cleaning products.  Swine Flu has gone posh.  The well-regarded Alleyn's School is closed for the week.  Surely there is a bad local joke going around about how clever that little virus must be to have gained admissions to Alleyn's.  T,c,a,g....but can you string them backwards while hopping on one foot?

I am off to a lovely farmhouse in Majorca on Wednesday with four other mums under the good excuse of a of a scrabble tournament.  I do hope if they close our adjacent school they have the good sense to do so whilst I am on holiday and the mother-in-law is here to look after the children...

**Addendum.  Neighboring school JAPS has just closed from the 18th of May through half-term due to one case of swine flu in a year 6 girl.

The Victorians

Missmarketcrash was treated to another-assembly-about-the-Victorians by her son's class at the state school. This is Victorian assembly number three for us -- son number one has attended three schools in London. Here is what I have learned about the Victorians.

At the private mostly-girls school we were informed that the Victorians worked very hard and had mean teachers who beat them. They studied hard by the light of kerosene lanterns and did fancy embroidery. The only employment suitable for females was teaching.

At the boys private school we were told that the Victorians were poor and dirty. Vermin ran rampant through the city and death and disease were common.

At the state school this morning the presentation highlighted that the Victorians marched to improve workers conditions. Victorians also won the rights to free education for children by protesting. Collective action was the predominant theme.

Amazing. Reminds me of childhood dinnertime conversations between my Conservative Libertarian father and my Hippie Democrat Mum.