Entry for 26th April, 2008

Welcome to the Blog of the Kindly Cuppa
40 Cups of Tea With 40 Friends
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And it must be done before 10th July.
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No. of QCTs to date: 14
The arrival of the Small Round Faced People has brought many wonders into my life. The sight of them arriving all new and blinking in the world. The utter joy and surprise of their first giggle. The little look of terror then delight upon their first mouthful of ice cream.
But there is one wonder above all others that you learn about when you have children. It is a marvel. One of mankinds crowning achievements. An invention that makes the wheel, the telephone and penicillin pale into insignificance.
I speak of the baby wipe.
Yes - the baby wipe. A little rectangle of strange contradictions. Ii seems to be fashioned from some strange substance that is neither fabric nor paper. It is deliciously moist, yet endlessly absorbant. Insignificant, yet it is the centre of the parent's universe.
This little cloth has no end of purposes. The term "baby wipe" seems to small. "Miracle wipe" would be better. For yes, it can indeed wipe babies. And every part - every crevice - of them too. But it does so much more. It seems to be impregnated with some universal solvent, for it can remove every stain known to man. It leaves work surfaces sparkling clean. It doubles as a handy plaything for grasping little hands. It mops the brow of stressed fathers. It lifts hairs from tired looking work suits.
I suspect that, if they ever do solve the middle east crisis, then a baby wipe will have been involved at some key moment of the peace process.