Listen to your elders

I cycled to the village shop this morning.  Standing in front of me in the queue to pay were two children, a boy and a girl about 8 or 9 years old.  They were each holding a can of orange drink.  The lady in front of them suddenly spotted the cans and began lecturing them on how bad all canned drinks are for one's health.  The children stood quietly listening to this tirade until the boy meekly said, 'I didn't know' but still standing his ground clutching the can.  The lady turned to the rest of us in  the shop and said someone should tell their mothers.  I kept my counsel while one or two others nodded in agreement.  The children didn't seem to be intimated at all, they remained quiet and polite.  The lady bent down and kissed both children on each cheek and warned them to mind her words.  She paid and left.  The boy and girl paid for their drinks and departed but not before grabbing some chocolate from the shelf and paying for that too. 

Are the bookies bothering to take bets on the outcome of Brexit?  I just need someone to put us out of our misery.  We had a long drive to our tennis match on Sunday and I listened to my team mates discussing how stupid the British are to contemplate leaving Europe but if that is what they want why do they keep voting against it?  I am at the point where I can no longer contribute to these discussions because there is no logical argument to make for or against anymore.

House prices don't go up in rural France.  I have just learned that my house is now worth 35,000€ less than I paid for it.  If I survive another ten years I can give it away for free.