The effect of rain on slides

Took Stanley out for the afternoon. Went on a big Astroglide, like there always used to be at fairs when I was a kid. You sit on a mat and slide down the long bumpy slope. It was raining and it struck me as odd that rain makes all surfaces slippy, except for slides, on which it has completely the opposite effect…

Things you shouldn’t laugh at: There was a maze in the gardens with hedges you could see over, the aim being to make your way from the entrance into the little walled garden in the middle. A family comes in, the young kids running excitedly down the pathways. One of the kids falls over onto his knees and starts crying, as his mum and dad, in another part of the maze, try to find their way over to him but keep hitting dead ends. The kid was fine – he was just making a noise. It became like some bad comedy, with the parents dashing up and down the hedges getting furious with each other for not being able to reach their upset child.