petite anglaise

lola

10.05.2007 8:56 amTadpole rearing, Tadpole says, good time girl

This post is dedicated to Uncle Norman, author of this rather sparsely punctuated comment on my last “post”: “Stick to writing about your kid and being shagged in work time leave real life to the grown ups.”

So, I’ve written about my daughter, which is a start, and just leaves his second request. Anyone fancy distracting me from my deadline today? Conveniently, I’m working on my bed at the moment (although one end is currently propped up with Le Petit Robert.) So?

lola.jpg

Tadpole’s latest obsession is with Lauren Child’s Charlie and Lola.

After the prolonged agony of her Dora the Explorer phase, hearing Tadpole trying to mimic characters with proper English accents comes as a profound relief. And there is something about the way Lola is drawn, with unruly hair falling across mischievous eyes, which reminds me of Tadpole.

The books have names like “I am not Sleepy and I will not go to Bed” or “I am absolutely too small to go to School” or “My Wobbly Tooth must not Ever Never Fall Out”, and cleverly deal with a lot of the issues toddlers have, like having their hair cut (Princess No Knots) and eating vegetables (which seem to go down a whole lot better when you say they are from Jupiter).

If I might put in a couple of requests though, Lauren, would you consider writing “I will not Ever Never wear trousers to school” or “I am absolutely too small to do my poo poos in the toilet”?

Our latest game is to speak in the style of Charlie and Lola – I am, of course, always cast in the role of Charlie – her sensible but wily older brother – and usually end up saying “but Lola!” rather a lot.

Yesterday Tadpole came out with the following gem, which still has me sniggering this morning:

“I am absolutely ever never good. And sometimes I am naughty”

103 comments

  1. Petite, you delightful tart. I’m ever so (did that sound English) grateful to batshitcrazy Uncle Norman for posing this exciting request.

    Le Meg | 9:07 am

  2. I will be teaching that last quote to my mischevious little 3 year old (tomorrow!) bilingual viking boy! It is so very true, and he must learn how to express his personality verbally!! Tadpole comes out with some fantastic phrases!In 10 years she will hate you for publishing them and in 20 she’ll thank you!

    nrg | 9:10 am

  3. Why do people feel the need to be so nasty…they only show a very low side of themselves and indeed are just sad individuals! I liked your reply!

    sylvie | 9:20 am

  4. Shame about old Uncle Norman. Bit of a prick by the sounds of it! Keep going Petite, there will always be arseholes trying to bring you down. Good job we don’t have to “leave real life to grown ups” like him. Sounds like he isn’t getting any and has angst!

    Like everyone else, I enjoy you work very much. I’m probably one of a long line of guys who would happily pamper you for the afternoon!

    Carpe Deum?

    JNH | 9:28 am

  5. Oh, and having checked out Uncle Norman’s blog (or UN as he contentedly calls himself), his post of the 9th May sort of sums him up! I’m OK with most jokes but to blatantly publish such an infandous “quip” denotes the level of his intelligence. What an arse!

    JNH | 9:36 am

  6. Please be careful, Petite!! I thnk that part 2 contravenes French Health & Safety laws unless you are wearing a hard hat and rubber shoes.

    rhino75 | 9:40 am

  7. My son is a huge Charlie and Lola fan as well. I love your idea for her next book about sitting on the toilet…that one could be a bestseller for sure!

    Caffienated Cowgirl | 9:47 am

  8. Ugh that Uncle N is a twunt. I just followed his link to see his blog (in the hopes of leaving him a nasty comment for having been such a dickwad in your comments), and his latest post re: Diana (former HRH) is in such poor taste that I left his page in such a hurry without leaving my incredibly witty and sarcastic comment on his blog as to why he’s such a twunt, so, sorry. I’ll get him next time :)

    Valkyrie | 9:54 am

  9. Petite, I was rather shocked to read the comment of Uncle Norman. What on earth makes people comment in such a nasty manner and who on earth forces him to read your blog anyway?

    May | 10:11 am

  10. I am going to be a total suck-up now and say that I find enjoyment in whatever you write. Tadpole is a very good topic for you and something that I do find very funny.

    Daniel | 10:41 am

  11. Inteesting to see that noone seems to leave uncle norman any comments. Having scrolled VERY quickily thru his blog I can’t possibly underdstand why!!
    Go Petite – you give him what for!!

    Catkin | 10:56 am

  12. He even had a pop at you over at my place the other day. I think he might have a little crush y’know…

    Mr Angry | 11:03 am

  13. This is not supposed to be about dissing Uncle Norman. It’s supposed to be about making ME indecent proposals.

    Stop straying off topic, people!

    petite | 11:03 am

  14. I would consider it a compliment if uncle moron left a nasty on my blog.
    Hope the book is going well, love this blog and so can’t wait to read it!
    D.

    Despina | 11:05 am

  15. Petite, darling, I thought you’d never ask.

    Say the word and I’ll be straight over on the Eurostar.

    ;-)

    David in London | 11:06 am

  16. ah petite you really shouldn’t feed the trolls. jealousy is a terrible thing…

    Marcos | 11:07 am

  17. Plutôt Le Petit Robert que Le Petit Nicolas*, hein ?

    You could always proposition Le Petit Norman, just for a bit of troll-baiting fun…

    Ajay

    *This shamefully disparaging reference to Sarkozy is grossly unfair to Sempé and Goscinny, who penned (and inked) a quaint but rather wonderful series of children’s illustrated books.

    Ajay | 11:14 am

  18. You are delightful. And if only Paris was not inconveniently far from Amsterdam…….

    Anyway I thought you would not do that again (picking up a guy via your blog).

    Robbert | 11:51 am

  19. And what about a future line of children’s books…? I bet you could do just as well as C&L. Seems like you have all the material just waiting to be illustrated.

    Amanda | 11:59 am

  20. Ooh! A spin off. Tadpole in Paris. Mr Frog and I have been saying there is a gap in the market for books which deal with children whose mummy and daddy don’t live together. Combine that with a little smattering of French, a Paris backdrop, and away we go!

    petite | 12:08 pm

  21. Tadpole in Paris, I like it…

    Petite can I edit it for you??

    My five year old loves Charlie and Lola too, she’s done that incredibly clever and deceptively simple looking trick of getting inside a small child’s head.

    Tadpole also might enjoy Zagazoo by Quentin Blake.

    As a parent it sums up exactly how I feel about my children!!!

    love jx

    Jane Henry | 12:16 pm

  22. move over, petite … looks to me like penguin will be signing your daughter next. brilliant!

    kitikat | 12:17 pm

  23. Dear Petite

    I have been an avid reader of your blog for months now – as you know. I always comment and leave positive feedback – which is fully earned on your part. You have a very entertaining style and a good story to tell.

    I’m not sure though that Uncle Norman deserves for everyone who follows your site to go and visit his – which they will of course…

    As well as being one of the rudest people I have read in Blogland, he has no ability to write and his vocabluary seems to be limited to four lettered words. He has one particular favourite four letter word too, which he uses with too much frequency. I wonder if he deliberatley put in an antagonistic comment, and an antagonistic first blog, so that he would get the reaction that he did and get everyone to read his blog?

    I think he used you and your blog as a vehicle for himself really PA, which is a shame because there are probably dozens of more worthy bloggers out there who are waiting to be noticed as bloggers/ writers, but who just aren’t quite so rude and blatant as him.

    BTW my kids loved Charlie and Lola too, and I thought that T’s comment was brilliant!

    Good luck with the editing!

    Sally Lomax | 12:21 pm

  24. I’ve removed the link to his blog. Revenge is sweet.

    petite | 12:37 pm

  25. Revenge? Not at all — it was an act of kindness to protect your readers from straying to a site which is designed to induce an immediate attack of nausea.

    kitikat | 12:42 pm

  26. Excellent retort to a rather boorish post.

    Oh, and I’d definitely be in the market for one of your books. I’m asked often by my pair, “Why don’t you and Mama live in the same house?”

    Alan | 12:43 pm

  27. ‘I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato.’

    I had a lot of sympathy with Lola when I read that book, since as a child I just couldn’t physically stomach tomatoes either.

    Yet now I love them. And that’s surely the kind of exciting storyline to offer perfect sequel fodder, if ever they make a movie of that book.

    I’ll pack my bags for Tinseltown, right away. A scriptwriting career clearly beckons …

    Roads | 1:01 pm

  28. Bugger uncle norman, Petite. I’ll make you an indecent proposal at least 5 times a day.

    AussieGil | 1:06 pm

  29. Brilliant!

    Indeed revenge is sweet!

    Sally Lomax | 1:36 pm

  30. Indecent proposal?
    Show me see the $1,000,000 first . . .

    Dumdad | 1:41 pm

  31. Oops, Dumdad indeed. My comment should have read:

    Indecent proposal?
    Show me the $1,000,000 first . . .

    Dumdad | 1:56 pm

  32. harness Tadpoles originality now.
    Each stage of childhood brings a loss of naivety – sad but true – she too will become a cynical adult one day.

    tillylil | 2:22 pm

  33. Indecent proposal? Well, you could be propping up your bed with the Oxford Duden German say…

    Ariel | 3:00 pm

  34. I went in London last week… Very good atmosphere, people very nice and my favorite place is camden …

    Will u stay in Paris when u’ll write ur books?? Don’t u prefer to live near sea or mountains..??

    Bye and thanks for ur blog i’ll come back.

    Alex | 3:12 pm

  35. I am extremely ever so happy that you have got rid of nasty UN, Petite. You should Absolutely never ever discuss him again and his current comments should be ignored. I know that you are awfully exceeding busy writing your best seller to-be. But, do you think you could update little more often, please, as you are my Best and Favourite.

    …..and as for deadline distractions :) ..but I do think that there would be an extremely enormous huge queue, Petite; but I would happily still join for a few stolen moments . . .

    Looking forward to the book, keep up the stunning work.

    David-uk | 3:13 pm

  36. Oh, and as for Dora.

    Dora + Elmo + Barney = DIE! DIE!! DIE!!!

    David-uk | 3:15 pm

  37. I’m a fan of Charlie and Lola — and I don’t even have kids! But I worked in children’s books for a short while, and I loved Lauren Child’s books. A lot of talent there, and loads of creativity with the artwork. And like someone else already said above, she really seems to know how to get inside a little one’s head!

    Great post… Oh, and I think your children’s book idea is quite good, too — you should go for it!

    Alice | 3:19 pm

  38. #33 …voire avec la rousse

    (Larousse = rival dictionary to Le Petit Robert, but La rousse = the red-headed woman)

    Ajay | 3:24 pm

  39. wonder where she gets it from? *whistles innocently*
    we’ll miss you on saturday
    x

    rivergirlie | 3:44 pm

  40. Don’t be such a tease, Petite, you know it’s not fair.
    UN was just being obnoxious because he could. Ignore him.

    It’s just a shame you didn’t have your special request two weeks ago, when I had a whole long afternoon in Paris to kill. The Musee d’Orsay was no substitute.

    Moses | 3:59 pm

  41. @JNH Are you sure you wanted to sieze the God(dess). On second thoughts, I guess you are :-) But you could also sieze the day (diem).

    Chris | 4:00 pm

  42. Well distracting you would be a pleasure…
    Drop me a line if you feel like it.

    Jack | 4:12 pm

  43. If you ever feel like trying the other side of things… can I offer to distract you?

    theadulteress | 5:04 pm

  44. Tadpole in Paris. It would have to be illustrated by Quentin Blake.

    Daniel | 5:05 pm

  45. An indecent proposal? No petite, it should be a very decent proposal…..with indecent thoughts…..Now, where are those tickets to Paris I have been hiding???

    Dave of the Lake | 5:06 pm

  46. My daughter and I used to love “Matilda” by Roald Dahl. I had a cassette with it on and when she was about six we’d put it on in the car wherever we went. I don’t know who loved it most (probably me!)

    I went for a routine cervical smear test at my GP’s surgery this morning (Yuk, I know, but has to be done). The nurse who did it said to me “Are you still having periods?” (I’m a woman of a certain age) and I said “Yes”. She said “Are you using contraception?” and I said “No, my husband’s had a vasectomy.” to which she said “That’s what I like to hear, good girl.” I was rather surprised by her reaction but then it dawned on me just how much I had told her about myself in one very short sentence. I didn’t get a badge saying “I’m a good girl who has been brave” but I probably didn’t deserve one because sometimes I’m really quite naughty.

    This afternoon I went to the dentist, I planned it that way so that I could kill two birds with one stone and enjoy the weekend. The dentist de-scaled my teeth and said they were in good condition but I should take a bit more care of my gums – nothing of any great profundity.

    Sorry, I seem to have digressed but I agree with Tadpole, it does you good to be naughty sometimes.

    Sue | 6:48 pm

  47. Ah, Le Petit Robert. Good times.

    Great excuse for a trip to Paris but I don’t think I’m your type. But thanks for the offer! ;)

    hellojed | 6:51 pm

  48. Another message replete with intrigue and innuendo targeted directly at me in an effort to arouse me. The rest of you (twunts) can go and (pluck) off! The message was targeted directly at me!
    Petite, you’ll have to try harder. I have no intention of satisfying your wishes and craven demands and of ending up being horribly exploited in the future as raw material for your weblog.

    (bracketed words have been changed for rhyming words which will not offend my mother – petite)

    Trevor | 7:09 pm

  49. What’s that French saying, “telle mère, telle fille”?

    Lost in France | 7:54 pm

  50. I’m going back to bed with a hot cup of cocoa

    Trevor | 8:46 pm

  51. Oh how I remember being in bed with Le Petit Robert. And he’s not so very petit either.

    C&L are also our favourites and our best and the Minx currently sounds exactly like Lola, though a few Americanisms are starting to creep in. I fear beatings are in order.

    Let me know if you have any luck persuading LC to write the additional titles you mention as I have a couple that I need to have written as well.

    Paola | 9:00 pm

  52. I adore Charlie and Lola – I’m 18!

    I also adore your blog Petite, as do so many other readers, so take no notice of that nasty comment!

    Best Wishes,

    Tom

    Tom The Twit | 9:15 pm

  53. That is just the cutest thing.
    How very, very sweet.

    Ps. I’m with Valkyrie on Uncle N.

    Pirate | 10:52 pm

  54. I know you probably didn’t intend this post to be a bashing UN session but I have to put my two cents in. His comments were well out of order, and totally unwarranted. But we can’t bash him too much as we are all aware that he seems to be a frequent reader to your blog. So he does have some taste after all :-)

    ollie | 11:23 pm

  55. This is going to make Tadpoles day : BBC has a great website called Ceebees and they have a Charlie and Lola section which has stories that you can listen to – and they ROCK! The voice artists have got it exactly right. My 2 yr old adores the whole website and can navigate it all on her own now – warning though – you will never get your laptop back.
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/charlieandlola/stories/

    lee | 11:31 pm

  56. Ah, Petite …
    Being 20 years your elder, any proposal that I’d make would be indecent.
    Dream on.

    Old Dragon | 11:34 pm

  57. Quite right Sally Lomax – bloody good advice. As for Charlie and Lola – truly wonderful. Although if my younger daughters were ever to break my son’s rocket there would be no effing Soren Lorensen about it…
    As for Dora – risible. What is it about that young lady that she never uses adverbs? In fact adverbs seem to be going out of fashion with everyone. Can we have a few more ‘ly’s in the world please?

    Welsh Cake | 12:00 am

  58. Sorry for being an idiot but I’ve just inadvertently run my cursor over someone’s name and their blog site popped up. Has this always been the case? My God I’m slow…

    Welsh Cake | 12:03 am

  59. UN (??!):
    Twunt, twunt, twunt.

    H | 12:21 am

  60. Welsh Cake: I’m testing the snap preview thing. If annoying, I will remove forthwith…

    petite | 12:54 am

  61. Yo! Uncle Norm???

    Go fuck yourself.

    Sorry. Yes I know this wasn’t about dissing the dip-shit, but I couldn’t help myself.

    What a ass wipe.

    Nicole | 1:23 am

  62. Here’s a vote in favor of the snap preview.

    Laura | 1:33 am

  63. (A) Uncle Norman could use a good cold water enema. And (B) I, too, could use a good shag if for no other reason than I’m tired of using television as an excuse to procrastinate about my work. Such is the life of the work-at-home writer. I never thought of using my blog to post that particular request so let me know if you find any serious takers (and more power to you, if you do!)

    I hope you’re collecting Tadpole-isms because she’s got a classic wit going for her already!

    The Bold Soul | 1:41 am

  64. I adore Charlie & Lola for the simple fact that they were the wake up call for my 3 year old – there is life beyond Thomas the Tank Engine…thank god. ‘I Will Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato’ had me smiling too, because he would actually eat the cloud fluff, twiglets from Jupiter, etc. once he saw Lola would.

    Chris | 4:16 am

  65. p.s. I love the snap preview thing – gives us all a chance to peek at each others blogs while perusing yours :)

    Chris | 4:17 am

  66. Hi Petite. The “snap preview thing” is not annoying to me, just surprising if you haven’t seen it before.

    Pierre L | 7:49 am

  67. Aren’t all vegetables from Jupiter? Tadpole certainly thinks they are. Yesterday we ate special green trees that grow at the bottom of the sea, on Jupiter.

    Also known as broccoli.

    petite | 7:59 am

  68. Ha ha!

    Petite:

    I just turned on the TV (in Australia) and Lola’s on. Charlie has a broken arm. And Lola just drew on his cast! Super cute.

    Have you checked out Peppa Pig? (http://www.peppapig.com/) I watched the whole first series with a friend’s niece and it was completely hilarious!!! And the gender politics are pretty awesome too! Very similar style to Lola from what I can tell. I wonder if they’re made by the same people in fact. I think Tadpole would definitely like it.

    :o )

    inspiredbycoffee | 8:18 am

  69. My girl loves Charlie & Lola too. She was also born in Paris where we spent her first 9 moths before moving here to Hong Kong. I still miss it. I downloaded a whole pile of Charlie & Lola episodes from UKNova, which I would highly recommend for keeping your Tadpole out of mischeif when you cannot read to her or when travelling. Love the blog, keep up the good work!

    Fiona | 8:23 am

  70. I wasn’t complaining! Snap preview all you like..

    Welsh Cake | 8:52 am

  71. Don’t be too hard on the fellow. He’s just read somewhere that if you want shedloads of hits to your site you just need to leave an intriguing comment on ‘Petite Anglaise’ and wait for the deluge.

    (And no – after our last intimate liaison I think best leave someone else to ‘distract’ you in work time!!! Sorry again.)

    JonnyB | 11:05 am

  72. I realise that this completely isn’t the time or the place, but can anybody tell me why an image of my blog doesn’t show up in the snap preview window? I tried googling, but still can’t work it out.

    Apologies Petite!!!

    inspiredbycoffee | 11:50 am

  73. Inspiredbycoffee: Charlie and Lola and Peppa Pig are made by two different companies but using the same method of digital cutout animation. Absolutely love both! In fact I’m waiting for a talking Peppa Pig plush to arrive in the mail, and I’m a grown woman! Tragic.

    Wonder if Tadpole would like The Bumps? http://www.bumpybump.com
    My friend’s 4 year old keeps on singing the xmas song again. And again. AND AGAIN.

    sproutling | 12:34 pm

  74. Have read an article about you in the French magazine Glamour May edition(pages 174-176). Thought you should know their ‘legend’ to the photo of you page 176 is very confusing: it talks about a “Camille” rather than yourself: “Camille a changé de voie: maintenant, elle écrit des livres”. I think you should write to them and ask for a correction in the June edition. They should agree to this.

    Roberta Collins | 1:52 pm

  75. I like the snap preview thing!

    Sally Lomax | 3:15 pm

  76. We caught the same bug:
    http://sosylvie.typepad.com/so_sylvie/2007/02/charlie_lola_an.html

    Cheers!

    So Sylvie | 5:57 pm

  77. but one thing you’ve got to say for uncle normal, three of his top four blogs are crackers.

    enidd | 10:16 pm

  78. Now you’ve removed horrid Uncle Norm’s link and I must admit I’ve become slightly curious to see what he writes. What an arse. When you type Uncle Norman in on google its your site that comes up!

    Renée | 3:27 am

  79. Oooh, I agree with Valkyrie #8 – Uncle Norm is a horror. I was so repulsed by his site I rapidly left before I could finish reading what (little) he had written (is it writing, or it spewing?) ….shudder!

    Sarah | 4:42 am

  80. Stop staying off topic! just imagine that till next post, Petite is just “quietly” (??) waiting for something to happen.
    What a nice picture!

    Mardo | 6:09 am

  81. He he. Except no! I finished draft two and I have been instructed by my editor to take at least a week off!

    So, many thanks for the indecent proposals – I did get some very interesting emails, which made me smile in a time of stress – but now I am officially a lady of leisure and any “shagging” (as UN so charmingly puts it) will not be on work time.

    petite | 6:38 am

  82. > I’ve removed the link to his blog

    Ah, the power of censorship, you should retun to the UK, you’d like it.

    roger Nolan | 6:44 am

  83. Hi Petite. Well done on finishing that second draft. And on time as well!

    Pierre L | 7:43 am

  84. Just as a side note, I got a VERY long comment on MY blog today from none other than Uncle Norman himself! His comment, of course, had little to do with the post on my blog but instead was a lengthy rant about our girl Petite. Guess he wasn’t getting the reaction he wanted over here so he’s taking his show on the road. And he seemed a little turned on by my enema remark #63 above), the perv. Was I the only commentor to be so honored?

    The Bold Soul | 10:12 am

  85. A week off? Goody — that means more to read on your blog soon, I hope.
    Interesting thing, language. I reckon UN’s use of the word “shagging” puts him firmly in the over 50s age bracket. But that’s about all there is to say about his use of language. Poorly written, uninspiring drivel. Tadpole certainly beats him hands down in the imaginative wordsmithing stakes (clearly takes after her mum)

    kitikat | 1:48 pm

  86. I heartily recommend Le Petit Nicolas by Sempé and Goscinny as a reading for people with kids whose fate is to go some day to la grande école (such things always happen sooner than expected!) … (and, possibly later, Catherine Certitude by Sempé alone).

    Géronimo | 3:22 pm

  87. Has anyone twigged yet that this Uncle Norman is a WOMAN? Do a WHOIS on HER web address.

    A “Julia” living in Winchester, England?

    Chez

    Chez | 3:41 pm

  88. For all those Charlie and Lola fans – have any of you seen the new Charlie and Lola magazine! No, I’m not going to take out a subscription but it does look fun!

    Best Wishes,

    Tom

    Tom The Twit | 3:44 pm

  89. (And no – after our last intimate liaison I think best leave someone else to ‘distract’ you in work time!!! Sorry again.) ?????

    Do tell, JonnyB…

    David in London | 7:16 pm

  90. I too received a comment from the ‘charming’ UN after I dissed his blog in a comment on Petite’s post last Sunday (6.5.2007). What he (she?) said was really crude. As I have only just started blogging and his comment was only my second so far, I didn’t feel able to let it pass moderation. Perhaps I should have done so you could all have read what he said…

    Stratfordgirl | 8:48 pm

  91. My theory is that Uncle Norman is not a man at all. Let’s looks at the evidence. This IS a generalization, an opinion that I admit maybe wrong, but most men are rather terse in their comments, direct and to the point…no flowery speech. Uncle Norman, on the other hand seems to have written quite the diatribe over at http://www.theboldsoul.com

    Could Uncle Norman be a woman, perhaps a disgruntled blogger who feels like PA hasn’t paid enough attention to her?

    Point #2: Uncle Norman’s blog appears to be rather new. So if someone was trying to kick up dust and thus gain popularity for their statistically lagging blog, this might be part of some calculated chess match they are attempting to play with PA and her audience.

    Can you tell I am sitting at work, just a little bit bored. All I can do is come up with humerous conspiracy theories.

    Samantha | 11:32 pm

  92. Don’t know ’bout the other thing, but I can give you a phantasmagorical foot massage any night, any place, I never get tired. Then I can dissolve into your perfect breakfast tray and you can eat me all up. No need to talk, just eat. Perfect.

    andrew | 1:10 am

  93. Hi Chez: I’m not quite so sure Uncle Norman’s a woman; on the otherwise odd and bitter comment he left on MY blog about this whole thing, he mentioned he had a wife and two children who were killed in a car accident some years ago. Assuming he’s not pulling my leg on this one, maybe it’s possible that he registers domain names in his late wife’s name? Or perhaps remarried and his current wife registered it?

    I’m not defending him and I haven’t bothered to look into it. Just passing it along, what he said.

    The Bold Soul | 1:20 am

  94. Can we have some more of her please xx

    fjl | 8:24 pm

  95. Just to set straight anyone who may have seen the trollish comments UN is leaving elsewhere on the internet. I have deleted two comments left by this person (one under a different name), as I found them offensive.

    I very rarely do this, but I feel that someone who comes here simply to insult me has no place in my comments box. Constructive criticism is one thing, and I accept that posting a two word post about the elections may be seen by some as shallow, but anyone who reads this site at all knows that politics is simply not my subject matter of choice. It was more fun to show where my sympathies don’t lie and let you guys talk amongst yourselves.

    petite | 8:37 pm

  96. I can’t believe I’m commenting twice on this…but I am. (again bored at work on a Sunday afternoon). Here’s another generalization that just might support my theory. I find that men really don’t care as much about the “morality and virtue” issue as women do, unless it is concerning their wives, daughters, sisters. On the other hand WOMEN are very quick to judge other women based on their own moral ideals. Food for thought and humor.

    Samantha | 9:19 pm

  97. Surely it’s your blog so you can do exactly what you want?! It was a succinct post that got straight to the point!!

    Hazy | 10:06 pm

  98. C & L sounds a good lead. My just 4-year old is still in Dora land, and anything with less Spanish American would be a start to make life less linguistically muddled.

    There was a bilingual Peter Rabbit at WHSmith on Saturday which I stumbled upon. I always thought that Beatrix Potter would be very dull, but my daughter has been banging on about farmer macgregor et les haricots ever since.

    charlie | 10:47 pm

  99. Gosh, what a shame. Sometimes the best way to deal with these unpleasant characters is to ignore them, not comment on them – it only encourages them.
    Glad you saw fit to exercise your authorial powers PA, or shouild I call you Mme Whiplash?
    Now, finally, off to the land of the circumflex.

    andrew | 12:16 am

  100. I knew an Uncle Norman once. Well, my son called him that.
    Must be the same guy because he loved making indecent proposals…to kids.

    cream | 12:53 am

  101. Yuk, think an Uncle Norman commented on my blog yesterday, then came back again and said how beautiful my house looks ‘Did I need a 24/7 Butler ? Double Yuk.

    sally | 7:04 am

  102. Hi Petite. I love your blog; it annoys me when people leave the really offensive and insulting comments. This is your writing space, most of us enjoy it or we wouldn’t keep coming back. As far as I am concerned, you are welcome to delete hurtful comments – this is not the same as people disagreeing with you, which is fine as long as it is reasonably polite.

    Pierre L | 7:53 am

  103. What a delight to find your blog, (something terribly coarse about that word “blog” why couldn’t they be called “tippets” or something slightly more genteel..) sorry I digress as ever. My bilingual offspring scream with laughter at dreadful Dora and her appalling accent..despite Madame Grognonne telling them that it is quite uncouth to mock the afflicicted. May I suggest “I want my potty” for poo reading ? it worked a treat with Eldest.I am not aware that I know Uncle Norman but he is obviously terrible ill mannered to make such unkindly comments to some one who is myself so obviously a lady. If I were you I owuld have nothing more to do with the fellow!

    Un Peu Loufoque

    un peu loufoque | 9:25 am