Success! (Nearly)

By the turn of the fifth page of her sketchbook, Tiger is accepted on interview into college to study Art, Art, and More Art.

She doesn't have the Art GCSE, but it doesn't stop her taking the A Level, so take this as evidence that home ed kids can footle around with this'n'that and still be happy achieving what they want.

Actually, Tiger is only partly happy.

For a start, she does not seem able to believe that someone just said 'This is your offer if you want the place. Go home and fill in the Application Form.'

Nooooo. There's a catch, right? This is like someone wheels a barrow to your door filled with sweet fresh pineapple, perfect ripe mangos, juicy grapes and finger bananas. Free. You squeal No! There's a bag of sour lemons here! I've only got to find them! Then off you go, tossing the ripe fruit to the floor until you find the manky lemon. The one that sits there, in your imagination, stinking mouldy green.

For another thing, Tiger actually wants to go to Cambridge and study their Old Norse, Anglo Saxon, and Medieval Welsh. That ambition started when she taught herself Anglo Saxon, with the aid of half a dozen books and the ever-fragrant Mr Sweet.

Certainly, she's taking a long way round on her route to Cambridge. Mostly by indulging herself in Art, completing her Latin A Level at home, taking A level language as a private candidate, and planning an A Level in Geography in her non-scheduled time.

She is possibly a bit bonkers. At which the family chant, All the best people are.