Charlie happily added to her group of friends and often went out at the weekends. I had met most of the group she hung around with and they seemed a nice enough crowd, although it is always a bit difficult to tell in a large group of gabbling thirteen-year-olds. Charlie decided she couldn’t take the accent any more and had taken it upon herself to teach them ‘proper English’ as she called it, consequently her closest friends now switched between barth and bath, Carstle and castle, glarss and glass with equal enthusiasm. Sam on the other hand had taken to the local lingo like a pro. Asking him on one occasion if he would like ice cream after tea he responded with an enthusiastic ‘wae’aye mun’. Geoff howled with laughter. I didn’t find it funny at all and had to go and have a sit down. Geoff, seeing I was upset, came and sat beside me. ‘What on earth’s the matter with you?’ He handed me a coffee. ‘You can’t expect him to live somewhere and not pick up a couple of the local sayings.’ He frowned.
