Lest We Forget

Deck yer balls with bows of holly
(Fa-lalalala lala la la)
It is prickly but it's jolly
(Fa-lalalala lala la la)

My mum wrote those muckier lyrics to the popular carol some time in the early 1990s. I sang them to her yesterday and she told me off. When I pointed out that she'd taught me the song in the first place, she denied ever having heard it, insisting it's not the sort of thing she's come out with.

Later on, she was talking about a BBC adaptation of Othello. I asked her who starred in it, and she said 'That black guy'. I laughed - it seemed a funny comment to make - but when I explained why I was laughing, she swore blind she'd said no such thing. Less than 20 seconds after she'd said just it.

Nothing to worry about, that. Is it...