China Smash!!

Earlier this week, Dalton attended his first Beaver Scout meeting. For those of you who didn't know, Boy Scouts was started by an Englishman, and the English have long ago extended the idea down to quite an early age - the Beaver Scouts are for boys too young for Cub Scouts. So, anyway, Dalton attended this Beaver Scout meeting, and he seemed to really enjoy it. At the meeting, his Scout Master told him about a Merstham "Street Party" (their terminology, not mine), where he would have pancakes and "China Smash".

Michelle and I talked about what "China Smash" might be - crushed noodles, squashed wontons - we were clueless. After all, this is the place where "I'll have a lemonade," means "I'd like a Sprite," and a lemon squash is the equivalent of a lemonade. So, today we went to the Merstham Street Party.

The Merstham Street Party was tame, at least in comparison with the moniker. However, it was still pretty neat. There were games and rides for the kids, a magician who also did balloons, and they even provided a free "tea" for the kids, which comprised a sandwich, a couple of biscuits, and some squash. (As in blackcurrent squash or raspberry squash - i.e., Kool-Aid, or the like.) And yes, Dalton's Scout Master was also there, selling pancakes (crepes) and running a china smash, which was Dalton's favourite. Basically, you pay a pound, and you get four balls to throw at the china plates, cups, and saucers. Thus, china smash. Dalton wanted to play, so we let him throw the ball and break things. He was still talking about it afterwards, saying that if he had two pounds, he could have gotten eight balls, and then he could have broken a lot of things. Typical boy.

We also had a brief discussion of his lifetime goals after we left. He now wants to be a person who blows up balloons when he grows up. I'm not certain whether this is an improvement or not - previously he had wanted to be an unmarried policeman (the unmarried piece is very important to him), but he apparently decided today that policework is too dangerous, and blowing up balloons is the way to go. Maggie, of course, just wants to be a ballerina princess. Then there's the boy we met at the street party today who apparently is aspiring to be a busker. He approached us and showed us his plate-spinning skills - he was actually quite good, and probably about ten years old, and then stated that in a few years he would soon be spinning plates 24-7.

Me, I haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up.