Sorry about my babbling and over-enthusiastic people-scolding these past few days, it’s been unpleasant but the truth is I know a lot of excellent people and they should be celebrated and encouraged in their brilliance.

Pints, then. Soon. And I’ll save my misanthropy for my books.

We had an all-day training session yesterday, and we’ve got another one today. It’s a bit boring since I’m already reasonably familiar with the tool and additional training is unlikely to help with the bizarre bits, but at the same time it gives me a chance to vegetate a bit, as well as randomly getting some e-mails and various work done in between.

Toop was being an absolute tiny arsehole yesterday, although I admit I didn’t make it better by laughing. But this was the conversation that happened.

Toop: I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. Mama, I wanna watch Winx. Mama, I wanna watch Winx.

Mrs. Hatboy: No.

Toop: I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx.

Mrs. Hatboy: No. Stop asking now.

Toop (starting to cry): But mama I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. Mama I wanna watch Winx. Mama I wanna watch Winx. Mama I wanna watch Winx.

Me: No Winx. Come over here and we can play on my phone together.

Toop (crying): I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx.

(we play on the phone for a bit, but she starts screaming so into the bathroom for chill-out she goes)

Toop (coming out of the bathroom some minutes later): I wanna watch Winx. I wanna watch Winx. Mama I wanna watch Winx. Mama I wanna watch Winx. Mama I wanna watch Winx. Mama I wanna watch Winx.

Mrs. Hatboy: Listen, it’s time for dinner. There’s no Winx now and if you keep going on about it there won’t be any more Winx and you can go back to chill out a bit more, okay?

Toop (sniffling): Okay.

(sniffles some more, hiccoughs, recovers)

Toop: Mama…?

Mrs. Hatboy: Yes?

Toop: I wanna watch Winx.

This was the point at which I lost it, and we all laughed. This didn’t stop her from asking to watch Winx – she’s quite relentless – but at least we were then able to shovel some food into her and then distract her with other things. And then give her a bath. And then put her in bed.