To the Imperial Twins, the Chinese ambassador’s wife is like a family member

Today was ‘open day’ for parents at San Anton School (the junior years). Each class had worked on a project exhibition about a different country, and today was viewing day.

One class was given China to work on – obviously, we have to swim with the tide. The Chinese ambassador’s wife was a special guest. As the children of the ‘China’ class were mid-flow, giving her their presentation, the prime minister’s wife barged in with the Imperial Twins racing ahead of her, rudely oblivious to the children who were engaged in talking about their work.

Ignoring the rest of the class, or perhaps treating the other children like the audience to which they have become accustomed, and not reprimanded by the mother from whom they are learning their bad manners, Soleil and Etoile Muscat ran straight to the Chinese ambassador’s wife, hugging her and kissing her as other children would a much loved aunt or grandparent.

Young children never do that with anybody they do not consider part of the family, which tells us a great deal about how much time the prime minister, his wife and his children are spending with the Chinese ambassador and his family.

The girls are pupils at the same school, but for some reason were allowed to leave their class and parade about the school with their visiting parent, who apparently did not understand that she was there in the role of visiting parent and not visiting dignitary.

The Chinese ambassador’s wife then brought out a bag of toy pandas – she could hardly hand out stuffed miniature reproductions of exhausted factory slaves – and gave them to the pupils of that class to distribute among themselves, warning them to make sure they kept two aside for “the prime minister’s children”.

Meanwhile, a troupe of bootlicking parents had assembled themselves at the door, keen to take pictures with the prime minister’s wife and the Chinese ambassador’s wife. On hearing this, I was left with one thought: how the school has changed. The parents of my day would have carried on regardless – the thought that any of us would have smarmed round the prime minister’s wife or an ambassador’s wife, whoever they might have been, is ridiculous.