Fair play

I was running the Whack-the-Malteaser stall yet again this year. My sister put me on it the first year I helped out at the ‘fun day’ she organises every summer at the day centre for people with learning difficulties, and I’ve been running it every year since. This year I asked if I could go on the lucky dip instead, but she said no. Her clients don’t like change, she said. Because they are used to seeing me on the Whack-the-Malteaser stall, they expect to see me on it again this year. This is true, I suppose. People with learning difficulties are remarkably conservative. In fact, one could almost say that conservatism and autism go hand in hand.

Basically, the Whack-the-Malteaser stall is a wooden table, which I stand behind. Fixed upright to the table is a clear plastic tube with a short curve at the bottom, like a drainpipe.