Private Thoughts Made Public

Here’s an exchange between my son and I in the car on the way to the airport last weekend. He’s sitting in the back of the car, quietly looking out of the window and watching the world go by, when he opens his mouth and these words ensue:
“The King and Queen are at home”
“Er….. ok. How do you know that”
“Because I’ve just seen a flag. And when a flag is up, the King and Queen are at home, when it’s halfway up it means something’s happened, and when it’s down it means they are out.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that only applied to the flag on Buckingham Palace, and not to a flag flying on an industrial estate 10 miles away from Manchester Airport.
Oh, and he’s also learned that the standard answer to the question “what are your table manners like?” is “Atrocious”. That’s his maternal grandmother for you!