When I went to my GP this morning the surgery was predictably busy so everyone had a long wait. But I didn’t mind because I’ve learnt over the last few years that waiting rooms can be a hotbed of lovely interactions with children, and today proved me right.

There were three children, all aged about four, waiting with their mums. One of them had a light-up wand that captured the attention of the other two, and they began tentatively to play together.

The girl with the wand was a passionate advocate of sharing. She shared her toy beautifully but she also, gently but firmly, made sure the others shared it properly too.

Midway through the game she noticed that I was saying ‘hedgehog’ and ‘cats’ a lot. She stopped in her tracks, fascinated. She then joined in with gusto, copying my tics with a joyful expression. She particularly liked ‘cats’!

In fact she liked ‘cats’ so much that just saying it wasn’t enough. She turned herself into a cat – getting down on all fours and meowing. The other children joined in too and soon I had a herd of cats at my feet.

It was a lovely, playful response to my tics and it definitely made time pass much more quickly for us all.