To and fro, serene and tiny trousers.

1. Ellie and I are swinging. When I am to, she is fro. "You're in perfect opposition," he says.

2. She tells me that the mother of triplets at school had her specially adapted pushchair stolen. "She's a better person than I am -- all she said was 'Someone must have needed it more than I did.'"

3. Alan takes Alec's little plus-fours off the line and inspects the stitching. "Someone's thought about this -- look at the pleats." I'd thought they were just a cheapy-chirpy pair dumped at a charity shop -- but perhaps they're a real find.