Frozen Crocs, the movie

Stop, look, listen.

Having exceeded the average number of sproglets per centile of the UK population, I’ve experienced ‘The Look’ a number of times on innumerable situations in years gone by, never seeing it coming, until it’s too late, much too late. I am of course now a fully paid up member of the ‘Stop! Just think it, don’t whatever you do, say it” brigade. I have the badge, the t-shirt and the t-towel, as opposed to the baseball cap, (it’s an age thing). I just know.

Witnessing the look as a bystander, as opposed to the recipient it’s intended for, it is no less deathly but I can safely say, as the words were uttered, I did indeed see it coming.

Shopping and exploratory trips to Oxford Street, Camden, Battersea. The theatre in Soho for the shared experience of all things strange. Friendship and parent /child relations blossoming beautifully and two becoming one as they journeyed home vowing to do it all again soon.

Just a day or two later, gathered as kindred spirits at the homestead, the atmosphere of warmth and joy cutting sharply through the age divides, as if from a West End production, there was a strong reminder that teenagers are unfathomable…. The resounding gong that some things are not so strange. Generation after generation making their presence as teenagers on the world stage. Expressing themselves as only teens can, with panache, style and irreverence but absolutely zero tolerance for the behaviour of their guardians. Protocol will not be overlooked for our precious teens or their solid communities, they rule the world…..

Hero to Zero….

Amongst the sound of laughter, chatter, squealing and Bob Harris on a chilled Sunday, with the aroma of a roasted Sirloin joint wafting around the homestead, we heard;

“If you’re hot, why don’t you detach the sleeves?”

Stage notes- ‘thunder, lightning, apocalypse music, (whatever that is), a freezing blizzard hitting the South-East, turning everything white and still’) nothing more so than the bearer of the unthinkable suggestion. And then…………The Look.

Actually detach the sleeves on your super cool All Saints hoodie with studded detachable arms?! (which are clearly never going to be detached while this uber conscious fashion teen is in possession.) What on earth was the responsible adult in this situation thinking before uttering those immortalised words? Was there no consideration for the previous hours of the teen; spent thinking and eventually deciding what to wear so as not to look as if any effort had been deployed.  Alas, too late. Words uttered, teen’s frozen stare straight towards the donor, chilling the room to sub temperatures. A simple suggestion cutting through the atmosphere as only a caring comment from a kind, loving parent can achieve. Painful, regrettable, ultimately expensive. Thankfully, we turned the heating up and he did eventually defrost.

So, they begin again; shopping trips, theatre experiences, maybe even a gig or two and a gentle reminder that silence can be truly golden.