Daughter 1 and I took the children to the Botanics again yesterday. Granddaughter slumbered, wrapped up in two Dianne-knitted afghans and wearing a hat knitted by her mum.
Grandson decided that he would sit for three seconds on each of the very many benches in the gardens. He can't climb up by himself so this was a full-time job for his doting granny. My back is now killing me... .
Ducks, he observed. Wack wack.
At this point, Granddaughter awoke and suggested that it might be lunch time, so Daughter 1 returned to the car with her to provide this. Grandson and I admired the rockery. Water, he said. True.
After a while, I realised that my parking ticket was nearly up so we left the rockery. Or, we almost did so. He had other ideas. It's amazing how fast small people can move if they want to. Grannies, however, can also put on a turn of speed, provided the distance is fairly short.
Parking ticket? We laugh at parking tickets. Or as my mum might have said, san fairy Anne. Or that's what I used to think she said. Later I realised that it was "Ca ne fait rien" (imagine the cedilla, please) - but it was mispronounced deliberately to suggest something slightly different: that someone was blithely uncaring: "She just went ahead, san fairy Anne." Was that just an our-family thing or is this familiar to anyone else?
We made it, though, with three minutes to spare.
Oh, isn't life fun when you're one?
I, too, made my parking spot with minutes to spare. I am usually late. Yeah for us!
ReplyDeleteI think san fairy Anne is WW2 slang. My mother used to say it too. Perhaps the shift of meaning indicates British disapproval of insouciance.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have your own fitness regime going on there.
ReplyDeleteYou'd best keep up the fitness regime as you'll have two to run after before you know it! Enjoy! xCathy
ReplyDeleteI first heard it from a lovely lady in Darlington when we moved there in the 80s. Hope your back is better!
ReplyDeleteI love seeing the pictures of that happy young chap! Truly handsome.
ReplyDeleteSmall children are like greased lightning as my Mum used to say!
I knew an older chap who used to say san-fairy-anne - I like it.
ReplyDeleteLucky baby girl to have talented people to knit and crochet for her. And a cute older brother.
ReplyDeleteHad to tell you I came across a sentence in a book set in Edinburgh.
'The whole process is outwith your control' Thanks to you I knew it wasn't an error but a Scottish word.
Even though the parking ticket nearly defeated you it's wonderful to be able to give a small child the time he needs to explore thoughly - it's important to test every bench.
ReplyDeleteRE SAN FAIRY AN -just found this on t'internet - thought you would find it interesting!
ReplyDeleteBritish soldiers in World War One soon found out their French counterparts had a phrase that resembled "it doesn't matter" but that sounded much more satisfying, dismissing a problem out of hand. The expression was "Ça ne fait rien" and was anglicised into "San Fairy Ann". Google searches for the term often focus on this origin, labelling it "soldier slang". However, its use became far more widespread than that.
Both my parents used to say "San Fairy Ann". Thanksto Chris B for interesting info.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, very interesting!
ReplyDelete