The boys exchanged glances of despair.

"And who have you brought with you ... er... Elsie?"

"Your grandsons," said Mum, "Jodey and Nip."

"Hello boys. Would you like something to eat? I've got some chocolates, and fruit, or would you like a drink?"

"A drink please," said Jodey.

"Everything!" said Nip. Mum shot a stern glance at him.

But granny didn't seem to notice. Her conversation wandered about, almost as if she was talking to herself. She chatted on about the weather, and how her cat enjoyed its sleep and what she had seen on television (how terrible it was, not like when she was a girl), and how her canary was almost a year old now (did the boys know that?), and was Mum going to sit on the couch or the big chair (which, did te boys know, came from the farm when she and her husband were out there visiting). And so on.

Eventually Mum got a word in and asked granny if she remembered old Mr Smith. "Little Johnny?" she said, "Of course I remember him!" she said, "I was just a girl then, sixteen or seventeen. That was my first full-time job as a nanny. He was a dear wee mite too. Made me wish I could take him home with me, but of course I couldn't. Mum told me off for talking like that. Unprofessional she said it was."

"We went to his funeral," said Jodey.

"Whose funeral?" asked granny.

"Mr Smiths."

"But you can't have," said granny, "He's just a wee baby. He's asleep in his cot. I just checked him five minutes ago?"

"You've confused her," said Mum, "She's not living in our time at the moment."

"Who are you?" asked granny, looking at us as if we'd just appeared, "What are you doing here? Do I know you two boys?"

"They're your grandsons. We're visiting you," said Mum, "Come to see the new baby."

"Oh yes," said granny, "He's asleep at the moment, in the other room."

"What a little darling he is," said Mum.