Just some things I've observed over the past few days:
I heard a loud banging and when I looked down onto the street from a top floor window I saw a young lad, perhaps 12 years old, hitting a flint wall repeatedly with a long stick. Standing next to him was a much younger boy, perhaps about 6 years old, watching, motionless. The older boy was putting all his effort into attacking the wall although there was nothing to be seen on or around the wall that might have been his target other than the wall itself. When he had done enough hitting with the stick they both walked up the road a bit until the older lad stopped near a grass verge and with great concentration ground the toe of one of his shoes into the ground flattening the grass. He did this calmly several times on the same small patch of ground until he felt he had stopped the growing.
A tiny boy about 5 years old dressed in an immaculately pressed bright white karate suit flew by me silently on a scooter near the seafront road. Several times he measured out the breadth of the car salesroom forecourt with his two small wheels. The words 'avenging' and 'angel' came to mind.
Outside the Londis shop a cluster of adults laughing happily after their meal out in the Italian restaurant next door kept an amused eye on the two boys. Imitating computer game fighting these two were extremely skilfully raising clenched fists and pointed toes to each others chins without ever as much as touching each other and equally skilfully ducking to avoid the acted out blows. The sounds coming from their mouths were aping simulated explosion noises and imagined gasping reactions to violent hitting. "Ah", the adults' faces said, "look at the boys enjoying themselves".
In the park earlier this evening, three boys, around 8 or 9 years old walking conspiratorially close to each other. As I overtook them one was twirling a gun around his middle finger. Presumably a replica, but by the evident weight of its metal in his small hand, definitely not a toy. I stared long and hard at it in his hand as I passed them, as if to say "I can see what you've got, I've noticed you" but didn't say anything to them. A bit further on up the path I turned to look back at them. Looking slightly more agitated now, the one in possession of the weapon was stuffing it into his little backpack whilst his friend was saying something in a raised voice about his big sister.
