The scenario

Mark Chard is in the pharmacy, having already dropped off his children at school.

"I think I’m losing the plot, or I’m getting too old to cope with change," he groans to technician Vicky. "I’ve got into a complete muddle with the kids’ flu jabs. Are they even jabs any more?" queries Mark. "Last year I took William to the GP surgery and the nurse gave him an injection because his asthma means that if he gets flu, it’s more likely to be nasty. But Hattie doesn’t have asthma, yet they seemed to do all the kids at her nursery last year, and this year we’ve had a letter saying that she’s having it done at school. But Hattie called it ‘a squirty thing up my nose’. To be honest, I’m not sure how good that is, I mean what if they sneeze afterwards?"

"OK, so Hattie must be four," responds Vicky. "Remind me how old William is?"

"He’s nine," replies Mark.