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Yesterday's Fact or Fiction story Here was entirely true.
My children have always been independent and unafraid when it comes to speaking their minds. I love that they are quick-witted and funny, they certainly take after their mother for their sense of humour (but they also have their dad's dry wit too, on occasion.)
The shock and amusement at the Royal Armouries is a story I enjoy telling when the occasion arises because people who know Dani and Haydn will understand that their reaction was honest and sincere.
I have a large collection of 'sharp and shiny' stuff - weapons, both replica and historical, lethal or for display purposes only - and the kids are used to people in our circle of friends voicing their concerns when I turn up to an event with my newest 'toy' - another sharp and shiny item.
The odd facts that are in dispute about Agincourt are either due to the memory being around 20 years old or the guy that was speaking to us has a different opinion on the facts of ancient archery.
The story was absolutely true. They did, both at the same time, as though it was rehearsed, put up their hands and shout, "No! She's not allowed sharp things!"
I love my kids.
I've had a few jobs over my working career. One of the very first jobs I had was working in a restaurant washing dishes.
The first job I had was as a newspaper delivery kid. That was where I encountered someone that I recently used as a character in Ash and the Favour-Man.
Back to washing the dishes then...
Washing the dishes was a pocket-money job - I enjoyed it, I suppose. It meant I had a little money and I saved it and bought a CB Radio. I was still at school then, didn't have a boyfriend and was still a skinny, gawky teen trying to find my place in the world.
There are deep sinks in the kitchen of the restaurant and I had plenty of work to keep me busy all day. My mother was the cook and I went in with her to help prep the food. As soon as the other staff arrived, I'd be 'locked in place' at the sink as they brought the dishes in from the customers of the restaurant.
I remember long days and hard work. My feet ached from standing all day and my hands were often sore (no gloves).
Sometimes, friends of my parents would come into the restaurant for lunch and they would often linger after the staff had finished their work and gone home.
Of course I stayed behind because my father fetched us and took us home.
One day, he was chatting to a really large guy at one of the bars. He saw me and called me over to meet the giant man.
I wasn't sure what to make of the huge, powerful man, but he said hello and chatted a little with me.
"Michelle, what size waist are you?" my father said.
"Twenty-two inches," I said.
He nodded and both men laughed. I was puzzled. I was obviously missing out on the joke.
"Dave is a weight lifter," my father said. "His thigh measures twenty-eight inches."
Dave's arm was bigger than my thigh and there was a lot of laughing. I didn't get the feeling that I was being picked on or mocked, just that my skinny frame was being compared to his mighty frame.
A few years later, my friend Cathy and I went to a gym and met him again. He remembered me and we had another chat. He gave us some hints and tips on our work-outs. We didn't go to the gym for long, we were both trim and fit and didn't think we needed to work out. We didn't, of course, not then. It's not so easy now.
Dave Hancock wasn't just a weightlifter. He represented Great Britain at the Olympics in 1972. He died of cancer in 1993.
Truth or fiction?
Tell me in the comments.
