Learning gives such pleasure. Clearly, I am not talking about ‘learning the hard way’ where a new idea comes out of some adverse event and leaves a bitter association. Rather, I am referring to the discoveries that open the mind and give new insights or skills that delight. This blog is about two such discoveries: one was by my grandson, the other by me. For River, it was learning to play dominos; for me, and of a very different order, it was discovering how to use a whetstone.

This is the fifth blog I have written about River – the first was about his birth in 2018. Many might see my writing about him again as an indulgence; my excuse is that each time I write it is a different story because he is a ‘different’ boy. Since my last piece, he has spent a year at primary school and is beginning to read, loves numbers (maths), kicks footballs with great force and walks miles whatever the weather. He is also alert, precise and assertive; who could not be impressed by an overheard conversation between him and his father which ended with “No Daddy, it was not about Charles Dickens but about Charles Darwin!”

Back to his discovery. Six weeks ago, River and his father came to stay with us in Brittany. On a table, Rohan had put a set of adult dominos with dots, rather than pictures, on the face of each tile. Initially, River took no notice, but with Rohan’s gentle prompting he became interested and soon learned to recognise the number of dots on each tile end without needing to count, and also to realise how, in the game, like numbers had to be matched. 

Soon he was obsessed with his new discovery and played again and again. In no time he had grasped the notion of random as he was ‘dealt’ his six initial tiles. Then, using his ‘hand’ he mastered the tactics needed to outwit his opponents. Importantly he enjoyed when he won and didn’t mind if he lost. 

After a week, the day before he left, I challenged him to a best-of-six ‘world championship’ series. He won, and in the first illustration the pleasure and pride in his face is obvious; it was taken during the championship’s final round when a win was imminent. 

And his win was no fluke. A month later, this time when I was on a fleeting visit to England, he challenged me to a second ‘best-of-six’ championship ‘decider’. The scores were close but again he won. For both of us, his mastery of the game was a delight and for me there was an added bonus that made his discovery particularly special – as we played we were equals and there aren’t many other circumstances where this is the case.

Now to my whetstone insight. I pay a lot of attention to the knives I use in the kitchen. Before I buy one, I check for a comfortable balance between the blade and the handle; I ensure that the blade is made of good-quality steel, and I require that the knife’s cutting edge is neither bevelled, serrated nor scalloped, rather it is fine and symmetrically honed and also straight throughout its length. But all this is only a start; to be of use, the knife must be sharp – blunt knives cause problems! 

In Brittany, for years I have been sharpening my knives on a hand-me-down whetstone that I never cared for and which recently warped and became unusable (see the whetstone on the left in the second illustration). At the hardware stall at our local market I found a replacement (see the one on the right). 

After my purchase, the man who sold it drew me aside and told me, almost in confidence, “Remember, this pumice stone is alive so soak it for twenty four hours before you first use it and then for a few seconds beforehand each time thereafter”. I have never thought of a piece of molten rock that was once spewed out of a volcano as being alive but suddenly I could see it as a part of nature to be treasured and respected. It was the strangest of discoveries and one of which I am reminded each morning as, for instance, I peel and core my breakfast apple. And, by the way, the new and wetted whetstone sharpens beautifully!

As I see it, opportunities to learn never stop. Aren’t we lucky!

The first illustration is a photo of River playing dominos and about to win. The second is a photo of my two sharpening stones. On the left is the one that is old and warped, on the right is its pristine replacement.

For helping write this blog I would like to thank River, Sarah, Jean-Claude, Rohan and Vivien.