Over tea last night J said something about Gloucester and I asked him if he knew how to spell it. This led to a discussion of place names and how you can sometimes guess that the Romans or Vikings lived there by the form of the name. This turned into talking about the reconstructed battle of York at the Festival of History, between the Saxons and the Vikings, and how the Vikings came from Scandinavia to the north part of the country. J then asked “Why did the Vikings come and attack England?” to which we replied they wanted more land and to be in charge of somewhere else too. J then asked “Why do countries keep on taking over other countries, and why do companies keep on taking over other companies?” (We’ve talked about things like Nestle buying Rowntree in the past.) Katy replied “Because they want more money and power” which I think was a very good answer, but he didn’t ask any more questions after that. I imagine the gogs started whirring inside his head, and look forward to his revolutionary manifesto when he hits 15.
