Frieda the witch

Jack and Marianna had got their wires crossed a bit, and thought that Frieda's preschool started back today... when in fact it's tomorrow. I was due to pick Frieda up at 3 anyway, so just brought it forward a bit, and collected her from home at 1.  That way we shared the load. Josh and Ruth had a similar mix-up, not realising until the last minute that Eben's school was closed for  training not only  yesterday but also today. But as Josh was due to be at home today anyway, it didn't matter.
I am heartily relieved that Eben's school is a robust, stone-built Victorian building... no collapsing concrete there. Frieda's preschool is modern, but - as far as we know - seems to be OK. The whole shambolic business is just one more depressing chapter in the saga of collapsing UK public services.  For anyone reading this from outside the UK, there's a sample commentary here:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/05/hapless-gillian-keegan-arse-sitters-education-secretary-tory

It felt good to spend some time just with Frieda on her own today. She brought with her a collection of favourite dressing-up clothes, so we had quick changes from witch to butterfly to unicorn and back. She's so proud of her vivid witch costume that she was very happy to pose for a moment. With a suitably serious expression, of course, this being 'Frieda the witch', threatening to crunch our bones or turn us into frogs at any moment...