number 1 came home one day from school with a letter for a school trip. the usual routine – “can you sign this letter” said in a grumpy-ish tone.
“sure, what is it for?” is the usual reply, with out trying to sound to desperate or bothered so that she won’t get the pleasure of knowing we are really interested in what she is doing.
“oh, some sort of trip about women, some where.” was the detailed description we got this time.
the letter was about a trip for girls (young ladies) , to one of the world’s top universities, to try to get them interested in engineering, as part of Women in engineering day. www.eng.ox.ac.uk/national-women-in-engineering-day
obviously we signed the letter pretty sharpish, and wished her luck.
The day came and off number 1 pottered to the trip.
On her return we had to broach the usual inquisitive questions with care. Hopeful that we could get enough information to piece together what had happened without being accused of running the Spanish inquisition and invading her personal liberty.
“how was the day?” I asked gingerly
“quite good” was the reply from number 1.
Something was strange, was this the same trip that was about calculations with a load of clever people? This did not compute. At all.
“what was good about it?” I said with a bit of surprise.
“the food!”
“the sandwiches were great”
“chicken, pesto and salad” said with a real sparkle in her eyes.
“delicious”
Ok. The food was good. But what about the female empowerment and career prospects? I was not sure which order this should be in, but getting the correct hierarchy was not my top priority in that moment.
“what about the rest of the day’s activities?” there was a bit of impatience creeping in.
“quite boring” quipped number 1.
Normal service resumed.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel is safe, but at least we discovered a new favourite sandwich filling.
