A mixed bag of science tricks

The Edinburgh Science Festival. It had been a long awaited event, and was happening for the first time in India, brought to Bangalore by the efforts of mycity4kids.

We went on Sunday, with some friends - a couple with two children. It was quite a long drive to Bhartiya City, which had rented out their extensive grounds. The directions were easy enough, and when we reached there around 11am, there was already a crowd, and a long line at the ticket counters. Fortunately we had booked tickets online the day before, so we had to stand in a much shorter line to get them. Fortunately, too, as the tickets were sold out just around noon, and many people had to be turned away despite having come long distances, if they had not booked in advance, online.

First, the good.

There were large tents around, which housed the different exhibits. These were arranged quite far apart, with plenty of open space, interspersed with pavilions that had small tables and plenty of chairs.

Drinking water and large garbage bins were placed at convenient places.

There was a food court at one end, with plenty of eating options, from pizza/ sandwiches/ burgers/ frankies, to dosas, biryani, parathas, fried chicken, some Chinese stuff (that didn't look too good), as also tea/ coffee/ fresh lime sodas/ ice cream. You don't have to carry any food or water at all.

The exhibits themselves were in three categories.

There were the shows that were put on every hour - two different shows that alternated throughout the day. These were on an open stage, with plenty of space to sit/ stand in the front. In the format of a play, many scientific principles were explained, and the children in the audience were encouraged to participate and interact with those on stage. This was easy for even 5-6 year-olds to understand.

Next, there were the exhibits which were in tents, but open to both the children and the adults. Many of these were presented by some wonderful people from Indian organisations like mylearnbuddy, Fun Lab, ScienceAdda, and ScienceUtsav, whom I discovered thanks to this festival. The presenters were very knowledgeable, and could satisfactorily answer any questions, and had a way with words that kept the children engaged. Since parents were at hand, even little kids were permitted inside, and yes, they, too, were encouraged to interact and ask questions.

Third, were those that were only for children. These were the most interesting, and the most in demand.

1. Forensic Science - Be a Spy, was presented by Indian Forensic Organisation. The children went in here immediately upon entering the campus, and thoroughly enjoyed solving a murder mystery.
2. Emergency Room. This was facilitated by Columbia Asia Hospitals. Children wore the disposable green gowns that most hospitals use these days and actually performed surgical procedures on life-size rubber dummies. Removing a cyst, removing gallstones using scissor forceps and a laparoscope, and cleaning and treating a realistic deep thigh wound were some of the things that A reported doing. The gowns were their souvenirs.
3. Splat -Tastic. What child does not enjoy playing with something that adults find slimy and yucky? This one was about physics and chemistry dealing with viscosity and stickiness of substances. The kids even created some of their own and came out with slimeballs in paper cups to take home.
4. Pongy Potions. The very name got A thinking of Harry Potter, Severus Snape, and Potions classes. Unlike those, though, these were great fun. This one is about scents and smells. Fragrant and stinky. The children had great fun messing around with them, and came out with fragrances that they had created using veg oil base, and an array of essential oils. What did A use? Lemongrass, vanilla, and patchouli. Why? She said she liked them the best.
5. Sound and Light shapes. This was very interesting - at least what the children described was. One of the things here was a row of flames that were connected to a recording of a piece of western classical music, and the flames danced in response to the decibel levels. Sounds interesting.

Next, the not-so-good.

The above-listed ones were what the adults had been looking forward to most, but we were disappointed to be kept out of all the fun. These also had the longest lines. After sending the kids in for Be a Spy, we adults had chilled out under one of the nearby pavilions with some cold drinks. That was our mistake. After a while, we realized that the lines at all the exhibits were beginning to grow like Hanuman's tail, and if we didn't do something about it, we would end up having a wasted day on our hands. So we decided to make full use of our mobiles, and stood in line in pairs. The husband and his friend together, and the friend's wife and I together. As soon as the children got out of one place, they were ushered in for the one where we were closer to the entrance. Lunch time meant that I went to stand in a very long queue at the frankie counter (the children's choice of meal) and got one for each one of them. A quick munch between two exhibits, and they were sent on to the next one. As soon as we were sure they would be able to enter The Emergency Room, that had the longest duration, of 40 mins, I went to stand in a food line again, this time for parathas for the adults. We had our picnic sitting on the grass near the tent when they went in to do their operations. Hot sun above, shamianas for shade for those standing in queues not yet put up at all places - it tired us out a lot. Between us, we consumed more than 10 litres of water (we bought the water bottles there, as the drinking water drums were set up sometime around 4pm, and I kept a count), probably the only reason we lasted out there under the blazing sun all day. We hadn't checked the festival site properly, and had not carried the requisite caps, etc.

Verdict.

We were there from 11am to around 6pm. The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves, no doubt about that. They learnt much of science in a fun way, as science should ideally be learnt.

There is stuff for younger kids as well as for older ones. Actually for most 6+ year olds. Some, like Be a Spy, are for 8+ kids.

Be ready to do the kid-sitting. No use trying to get into exhibits where adults were permitted if you do not have a person with you who is not really interested, and who will agree to stand in the queue while you go take a look. Or at least be prepared with a book, to take turns at queuing up and going to learn some science.

Take caps, hats, sun protection - we've come back with some really painful sunburns. Unless the weekend was about teething troubles and the shade-providing shamianas for queues are now up.

The shows, though very kid-oriented, can get kind of boring for adults. Be ready to sit through it with your children, or sit it out at a pavilion with a cold drink and a book/ some socializing, while the kids enjoy themselves.

Book your tickets in advance online. So that you don't reach there to find them sold out.

Weekends can get a bit crowded, but most exhibits can be covered in the whole day. A visit on the weekday may not really work if the venue is very far for you. The day is for schools exclusively, and the gates are open for families and the general public from  4,30pm to 8pm. That might not be enough time. Not unless you study the list of exhibits at the festival website, choose what interests you most, and target those in the time you have. Evenings can also mean rain, so although the exhibits are in covered, enclosed spaces, arm yourself for the rain while you sit it out at queues or having a drink.

The actual festival in Edinburgh is a much more extensive one, with more than 200 exhibits, with the whole town joining in joyfully. While the one in Bangalore is nowhere near that, it is at least a beginning.

I also wish more people were interested in this sort of thing. I expected more familiar faces. Among all those who attended on Sunday, the only other face I recognised was that of A's science teacher at school. While malls feature high on most people's lists of places to go to on a weekend, science should, but doesn't.

One thing that struck me was - if we develop a similar infrastructure, and if there is political will, we have our own wonderful scientific communities, who can put up something comparable. Now that's a thought worth mulling over.

The tie that binds...and is cherished

pic courtesy google images

Today is rakshabandhan. A day for celebrating the bond of brothers and sisters. The tradition is that a sister ties a sacred thread on the wrist of her brother, praying for his long life. In return, the brother promises to care for and protect the sister. 

Sexist, isn't it? I thought so, too, until quite recently. I would tie the rakhis to my brothers' and various cousins' wrists every year, and they would make snide (to my mind) jokes about 'protecting' me. I would get angry, upset, and just trouble myself. Despite being in a very traditional, patriarchal household, I was a closet feminist, and all this made me chafe.

Over the years, all these brothers and cousins have gone their various ways, the trajectories of each one's life different. Many ups and many downs. Circumstances change. People evolve. A person does not remain the same person that they were 20 years ago.

Today, I came across this wonderful article by Natasha Badhwar in Livemint. She has two brothers, and she, too, chafed under the connotations of this tradition. She says,

"I have value for tradition that binds. That underlines how we are equals despite differences. Not one that imposes roles and choices that feel blatantly false, that don’t fit the reality of our lives. I own my relationship with my brothers. It is the purest thing in my life. Underneath the obvious one, is a secret bond."

 

So true. I, too, have two brothers. We have spent the larger part of our lives away from each other. One in the US, one in Mumbai, and I here. Yet, our shared history means we can pick up seamlessly from where we had left, and rakshabandhan is just another bond that binds us closer. Despite all the fights we (still) have. These brothers have given me sisters-in-law who are more friends than relations by marriage. Isn't that relationship, too, a creation of the sibling bond?

So even as I chafe at the idea of 'protection of brothers', I revel in the tie of the rakhi - one that is for ever. The protection, as I have realized, goes both ways. And I encourage the same bond between my daughter and her boy-cousins. Wherever they are. Wherever they will be in the future.

 

Happy Rakshabandhan.

Bitter Sweet

First, the bitter. It has been fourteen years today that my beloved grandmother, the lady who was the first person to introduce me to the beauty of stories and songs, passed away after a full life. I wasn't near her at the time, but had met her just two weeks before she breathed her last. I cannot say that I remember her only on certain days; she is never far from my mind. I have a picture of her just inside my wardrobe, where I can see her in the privacy of my mind. For some strange reason, this year, I can sense her love very close to me. Maybe it is my imagination, but it feels very real. As if she wants to convey something to me, her favourite and oldest grandchild. Maybe it has something to do with getting older. My oldest memories of her are of when she was around my age. She would have been close to 90 if she had been alive today. She could have been.

Next, the sweet. Today is Sankranti. The day is celebrated all over India in different forms of the harvest festival. Sankranti, Pongal, Bihu, Lohri- all forms of the same joyous feeling of plenty. Plenty to eat, after a long, cold winter. The hope of spring and new beginnings.

The kid and I made tiL-guL today, a sweet made of roasted sesame seeds and jaggery, both rich in nutrients, warming foods. She wanted to actively participate in the making, so she cleaned the sesame seeds, broke the jaggery up into pieces, greased the plates, helped stir the roasted sesame seeds into the melted jaggery, and patted down the hot mixture before cutting it into squares. Maybe we could shape the mixture into laddoos next year or the next, as the mixture was too hot for her to handle.

So, as we say in Marathi, tiL-guL Ghyaa, goD goD bola!  A Happy Sankranti to all.

Of Ganesha, Sweets and a Story

pic courtesy redbag.in

Ganesh Chaturthi. The 4th day of the 1st half of the Bhadrapad month. The birthday of Ganesha, as A knows it. The benign elephant-headed god who is also the deity of learning and intellect, as also the deity who is believed to remove all obstacles from our path. The scribe who is supposed to have broken off one of his teeth to use as an instrument to write down Vyas' Mahabharata - as the only one who could keep pace with the great seer's pace of narration.

pic courtesy google images

Ganesha is a deity about whom children learn very early. His place in our mythology as the destroyer of all obstacles means that we invoke him as 'Shree'- the beginning of everything. In the olden days, a child's education would begin with making a slate of rice grains in which the word Shree is inscribed holding the child's hand. This word is written at the beginning of any good that is undertaken.

The form that has been given to this deity is symbolic of the place he has in our society. There are many stories about this symbolism, most of which are stories told to children from a very early age. There are many variations on many of these stories, as befitting tales that have been part of our great oral tradition. There are many new spin-offs on these stories too. In the time homoured tradition of storytelling.

Here's a lovely book that has one such story about a naughty Ganesha, who was outwitted by his mother. The book has two award-winning stories, which were selected in a contest by Unisun Publications in collaboration with Reliance Timeout.

The Story Lady
Written by Shruthi Rao

Meenu is a little girl who loves stories. She is annoyed that her mother cannot think of any new story. How could she? For the Story Lady's bag of stories is empty. The bag that has the wispy stories that she blows around.

'Whenever a story touched a person, it dissolved into his mind, and he said, "Hey, I just thought of a story!"
People who looked for stories attracted more stories. So a great number of stories found their way to storytellers and writers, and of course, to people who have small children to look after, because little ones are always hungry for new stories."

I agreed completely with this statement. If I have a rupee for every time the kid asked me for a new story, I would be a rich woman.

So how does the Story Lady get her bag full again? How does Meenu help her? And does Meenu's mother 'think of a new story' at the end of it?

Blanket of Stars
Written by Rachna Chhabria

This is our story about Ganesha. Little Ganesha and his older brother Kartikeya both had lovely warm, soft blankets that were studded with gems. As any mother of more than one child will recognise, the younger one was not happy with his blanket, and thought his older brother had the one with more gemstones.

So one night, the naughty little Ganesha summoned all the stars and the moon from the sky to his blanket, and locked it up so that Kartikeya would not be able to get them.

Now this was a very fine state of affairs indeed. Night after night there was no sign of the moon and the stars, and all people and gods began to get worried. They thought that a very powerful creature had attacked heaven, and went to Lord Shiva for help.

'"This powerful creature will not listen to us,' Lord Shiva said. 'But, it will definitely listen to its mother.'"

So what happens next? How does the powerful creature's mother manage to retrieve the moon and the stars?

Two lovely stories, by writers who are worth watching.

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And how did we celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi? I made Ukdiche Modak, or modak as they are commonly known, in the typical Marathi style.

And here is a video from Sanjeev Kapoor's Khana Khazana that demonstrates how to make this delectable sweet.


  
   

Enjoy! Ganapathi Bappa Morya!

Cross-posted at Saffrontree.

CROCUS 2011 at Saffrontree

In Urdu, one of India's many languages, there is a couplet-

Tanha hi chala tha main janib-e-manzil magar
Log milte gaye kafila banta gaya
(I set out alone for my destination but
people kept joining on the way, and we became a multitude!)

Saffrontree turns five this year. What began as an embryo of an idea, is growing up to be a strong tree, showing a lot of promise for the future. It has been a long and interesting journey, begun by Prabha Ram, the others joining enroute. The kafila now includes our family of fifteen, our guest posters, who add richly to the eclectic mix of posts, and most importantly you, our readers who visit us regularly and encourage us on our bibliophilic journey.

CROCUS 2011 celebrates our journey so far, the graduation out of babyhood. A delectable spread is promised. Nothing can showcase it as well as our banner, already unveiled by the Mad Momma.. Made by our own artist-in-residence, Lavanya Karthik.

Fittingly, our theme for Saffrontree's fifth birthday is the five elements.

Earth, solid, and the basest, can be heard, felt, seen, tasted, smelled. Water, fluid in nature, can be heard, felt, seen, tasted. Fire, very elusive, can be heard, felt, and seen. Air, fluid like water and ephemereal like fire, can be heard and felt. Space, there, and yet not quite there, is just a medium for light and sound.

All ancient civilisations have spoken about the five elements. Everything we know, or know of is essentially made up of these. Everything material. Or not. Even the abstract...imagination, ideas, stories...all of it can be surmised to belong to the realm of Space.

Each of the elements has to be in a balance vis-a-vis the others, for harmony to exist. Balance within each living being- as an imbalance could lead to dis-ease or even death. Balance between all living and non-living things- for a harmonious ecosystem. Balance between consumerism and conservation.  Balance in our lives, the activities we indulge in. Work-life balance. A balanced diet. An inner balance. If any one element becomes dominant it will throw the whole system into chaos.

Any one element getting out of line can create disorder, disharmony, disease, distress. Tornadoes and cyclones. Earthquakes and landslides. Floods and tsunamis. Volanoes and wildfires. Black holes. Epidemics. Spectacular, yes. Desirable, no.

Balance- we bring you this balance even in our festival. A balanced spread of reviews of books, each of which showcases the power of, beauty of, exploration of, or activity by one particular element. A balanced choice of interviews showcasing the work of worthies associated with these elements, all of who will also bring home to us the importance of this balance in our lives. All this is counterbalanced with art and craft activities that children can participate in. A competition- yes, we have our Crocusword too- a crossword with a difference. Prizes? Of course. How can we have a festival like this without goodies that can be won?

What about you, our readers? Go on, spread the word. On blogs, social networking sites, your local school...wherever you can. Feel free to use our banner. More power to our kafila!

So, get ready for the countdown. Three days to go. Visit us here as often as possible from 23rd Oct - 30th Oct. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Crossposted at Saffrontree.

Friends, birthdays and gollus

The kid is safely back at school! So what did we do during these hols?

Attended in all 3 birthday parties. We were all invited as a family to all three, so they were family outings of a sort.

The first was at Gerry Martin Farm. Enjoyable as always. It was Gerry's mother-in-law's 60th birthday. She is a good friend in the complex, as is her daughter, Gerry's wife Yamini.

The next too was at a farmhouse we have been to earlier. Geese Haven is a wonderful farmhouse and homestay just an hour's drive from home, near the Art of Living centre on Kanakpura road. It was A's best friend in the complex, W's birthday. Her mother Jamie had arranged a fun treasure hunt for the kids, which is always a good idea at a place like this.

The third was at my dear friend P's home, her daughter's 11th birthday. We were 6-7 families, all close friends of P. Her cooking is yummy, and as usual we had a wonderful time.

It being Navratri time, there were of course the gollus to visit, as also many kanya-poojas. We were invited to a total of 8 gollus, of which we managed to make it to 6. Actually, I found it a bit unbelievable that this year was just the second time in all my years in Bangalore that I actually went for a gollu! Must thank the blogosphere for that.

Some gollus we visited.

Pic- Artnavy's album

Artnavy's. We had been invited here last year too, but could not make it. Made it a point to go there this year. 

Art had made some yummy payasam that we enjoyed. A and Anush hugged like long-lost sisters and promptly sat down to a spot of artwork- a picture of the Devi mask to be coloured. It had been Aditi's birthday just the week before, and we had not been able to be there for the party, so I had carried a book as a gift. Aditi was thrilled. She sat down cross-legged next to me with the book on her lap, and insisted that 'Aditi read.' I thought she wanted me to read aloud to her, but she demurred. 'Aditi read' meant exactly that. She sat there, turning pages, moving her finger down the text, making 'reading' sounds. It was so hilarious! 

Pic from Sangi's blog

The other notable gollu we visited was at Sangi's lovely home. Visiting Sangi, along with a visit to the famed kilo bookstore, has been long on the to-do list. The kilo book store has been postponed to another date (say when, Sangi. After diwali?) but the gollu was an iron-clad excuse to go over to her new place. It is a dream house, built at many levels, full of natural light, the woods peeping in - there is a wonderful wood-jasmine tree bending over the balcony, showering the balcony with its flowers, and bringing in the fragrance every time a breeze blows in. Went there with Choxbox and her brood (another reason to do this- what A wouldn't give to spend the day with her dear friend, Choxbox's FB, and of course, LB) and had a fab time. Great company, great conversation, lovely coffee, and of course, Loopy! Checked out the book shelf, but forgot the potter's wheel.

There were some gollus we couldn't make it to. Sorry Swapna. Next year! Also wanted to visit the gollu at Dhaatu, which Choxbox has been raving about. It is on till the 21st of October, 3-8pm, so we still have a chance of going. Should certainly try to make it.

Honorable mention under the gollus- the one put up by Choxbox's LB, and to which we were so lovingly invited.



Soft toy and doll gollu at Choxbox's

Pic from Google Images
Search "Diwali killa"

There were three more that we made it to- two in the complex, and one at another of A's friend's home. All of them transported me back to Diwali celebrations of my childhood, when we would make mud and rock forts (Killas- similar to complex sand castles). Work on these would start a week or so before diwali, and we would sow mustard and coriander seeds on it to depict the crops and plants. Toy soldiers on foot and horseback, farmer dolls, domestic and wild animal dolls would be placed at strategic points to complete a picture of the rural lands of Shivaji's time. The fort would be complete with a flag on the top, and would be lighted up by diwali lamps during the festival. Just like the navratri gollus, we would visit each other's houses to see the forts. We have these every diwali at my parents' place- now it is made by my nephew and niece!

Of course there were many play-dates through the holidays- either A had to go to a friend's place, or the gang would descend on our house.

We also watched some long-awaited movies-- something that we do not have much time for during school days. So we watched 'Gods must be Crazy 1 & 2,  'Born Free', 'Beautiful People', 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs', and re-runs of Harry Potter, all on DVD.

Books- of course, again. Any free time A had, she picked up a book. I've lost track of all those she devoured.

We also engaged in some mother-daughter cooking sessions, and every day she would decide what she wanted for dinner, and we would proceed to cook it together. A surprised her father one day with a breakfast of aloo paratha, nicely stuffed and rolled out round! I would, of course do all the work at the gas.

All this hectic activity was tempered by holiday homework, among which is a detective story written by her, inspired by a chapter in the curriculum from Emil and the Detectives. Needless to say, the book, too was read- at one sitting. (Thanks, Chox!)

And now, we look forward to a new term at school.

Of Halloween, Diwali and Injuries that are inconvenient!

That has been a veeeerrrryyy long break from blogging even by my standards! I have been kept otherwise busy- by the expected and the unexpected!

Every Diwali, I make a lot of traditional goodies like besan laddoo, chiwda, shankarpaLe, karanji, shev, etc. So shoping lists were made for the ingredients, and a visit to my regular grocer's carried out. Then came the long weekend, with a holiday on Monday. Now, weekends are a bad time to plan any extra work. There are so many other things to do with A and the husband at home, that sometimes I do not even have a longish stretch of free time in which I may read the newspaper. Not that I am complaining. I always love to have time with her, just to loll around and chill, catch up with our reading aloud sessions, or do some activity, something that we had put aside for 'later'.

Pic courtesy here 

This weekend there was the excitement over Halloween. Arrangements had been made so that all houses ready to trick-or-treat had a bat cut-out stuck on the door. The children were to go from house to house in groups led by teen volunteers, as some of them were as young as 3yrs.

A wanted to be a witch, but not just any witch. She had recently read a book on Russian Tales written by James Mayhew, and was most impressed by Baba Yaga, the fearful witch in Russian folklore, that ate children, lived in a house with chicken legs, flew around on a black broomstick, but was also revered for her knowledge, helping lost souls. 

So she planned her own costume, using pieces of clothing we had, as the one stipulation I had made was that we do not buy or hire anything, but make do with what we can find at home. So she decided on a European looking long skirt in stark checkered black-white-red, a full sleeved black t-shirt, two black dupattas for a cape and cloak, and a pointed black witch's hat she made with black paper. She also made a broomstick of rolled newspaper covered with black paper, with a tail made from black garbage bags. Scary makeup with black and red acrylic paint completed the outfit. We had a very scary looking witch ready for trick-or-treating, who joined a very excited group of ghouls, ghosts, skeletons, witches, devils, mummies, etc. for an evening of fun. And the witch came home after around 2 hours with a bag-full of goodies which she claimed would last her the whole year!

So the weekend over, I decided to get my Diwali cooking on track on Tuesday. There was something that I needed to get from the grocer nearby. It had rained in the morning, and I decided it was a fine day for the kilometer or so to the shop. Wrong decision- I should have just ordered in. On the way, I slipped over a wet patch on the uneven pavement, and the next thing I knew, I was performing a Sashtang Namaskar right there, the wind knocked out of me.

I got up gingerly and tried out all my joints to check that they were still functional. The husband had had a fracture with just such a fall last year. Fortunately my joints were all fine- but I had had a severe bruising and scraping on my knees and hands nevertheless. Getting up, I limped to the side and debated on what I should do next. I was too far from home to walk back in that condition, and there was no auto coming along for quite some time. I then called up a friend staying at my building, who, God bless her, came promptly in her car to take me home.

It was not a debilitating injury, but was enough to ensure that I slow down in my work, so that I could not do all that I wanted to do for Diwali. That put paid to my plans, also giving me not much time to go online. (You can imagine how that could have given me serious withdrawl symptoms, considering that we are just post-CROCUS.)

Technology did help, though, and with the help of the newly aquired microwave (Oh, yes, I'm quite backward that way. I didn't get one till now because I can manage quite well without it, thank you very much. Even this one came along when A voiced her grouse that I don't do any baking like her friends' mothers, and could I also begin baking at home, please?), my indispensible maid, (Amma has been a wonder at this time!), and a very enthusiastic kid at home (I'll help you roll the laddoos, Aai.), I managed to make besan laddoos and some very yum chiwda. Sent some freshly made to some friends too. And one of them got back saying she had made short work of them.

There was a laugh in the whole incident too. After her initial horrified reaction on hearing of my fall, and seeing the more obvious injuries, A asked me if anyone saw me fall. I was smiling at such a reaction so typical for her age! And all my mothballed salwar-kameezes got an airing as I couldn't- still cannot- bear the chafing by denims over my poor knees.

To their credit, both A and the husband have been very helpful around the house, putting their things away, helping in the kitchen and otherwise. A especially loved doing the round of putting out the diyas every evening with my supervision.

I was a bit better towards the Diwali weekend, and A and I spent a very enjoyable time one morning packing Diwali sweets and going to our friends' houses in the building with them, while the husband cooked lunch.

And went to a cousin's house for bhaubeej on Sunday where she, her daughter, A and I had a great time exclaiming over the gifts we got from our respective boy-cousins.

All in all, a good Diwali, though a bit inconvenienced by injury. Anyway, here's wishing you and your a belated Happy Diwali.

In the meantime, can anyone tell me how I can use an otherwise good but seriously torn on one knee pair of jeans? And no, it is not fashionable for me to walk around with a fancy patch on my knee. I'm at an age where 20yr olds call me aunty!