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together before. It seemed that separation and divorce had never caught on in Willowcombe Clatford.
    “Right,” said Mrs Laskaris eventually. “We need to get some vegetables first. There’s the greengrocer. In we go.”
    Pandora looked at the shop. It was a double-fronted affair, each side made up of large panes of glass on which was etched Roger’s Greengrocer . Outside the shop were sacks of potatoes, parsnips, carrots, sprouts and many other vegetables. Fruit stood on tables on each side of the door, including huge red apples, long curved bananas, slices of moist watermelon and grapes so large and perfectly round that Pandora could scarcely believe they were real. Unlike the cheap produce on sale in Lowell, which was always bruised, tired and borderline rotten, the fruit and vegetable here did actually look good enough to eat.
    “Can we have some of those grapes, please?” asked the twins simultaneously.
    Mrs Laskaris looked surprised but pleased. Ordinarily, her family preferred crisps and chocolate. Not that she’d ever done much to change that.
    Over the following twenty minutes, Mrs Laskaris brought many different types of fruit and vegetable, despite Pandora’s concern that her mother had no idea how to prepare the vegetables adequately, if at all. It seemed that in Willowcombe Clatford, Mrs Laskaris was determined to cook for her family rather than heat up microwave meals.
    After a busy two hours, the shopping expedition was over. The family began the walk back to their new house but were inadvertently blocked by a dozen children, accompanied by a small terrier, running along the path. The boys all wore grey or black shorts and short-sleeved shirts, while the girls wore frocks. Everyone in the group was wearing old-fashioned sandals or plimsolls.
    “Hello,” said one of the boys.
    “Teddy!” said one of the girls. “You know you shouldn’t talk to grownups like that.” Teddy merely grinned as he looked at the Laskaris family.
    “Hello,” said Sarah.
    “We’re Sarah and Anne,” said Anne, finishing the sentence.
    “I’m Teddy and this is Patch,” said Teddy, indicating the white dog, which had a single patch on its face. “Are you coming to play?”
    This time, it was one of the boys in the group who looked horrified. “Teddy, you can’t just ask that, it isn’t right.”
    “Why not?” demanded Teddy. “We’re all going to the quarry and they might want to come too. What’s the harm in asking?”
    “Can we go, Mum?” asked the twins in unison.
    “Well, I’m not sure,” said their mother.
    Pandora gritted her teeth at her mother’s reaction. It wasn’t that she didn’t know–she always had to make any decision seem like a big deal.
    “I’ll go with them,” said Pandora, taking control of the situation. She didn’t want her sisters’ chances of making new friends being spoiled by her mother’s selfish character.
    “Good idea,” said Mr Laskaris, recognising what Pandora was doing and agreeing with her. “Fresh air, just what you all need.”
    Mrs Laskaris looked rather put out at having the decision taken from her. “Be back by four, sharp!” she said to regain some control, despite the fact there was no real reason for anyone to be back by four.
    Mr Laskaris watched his children run down the road and wondered if he too could escape anywhere for the afternoon.

Chapter Ten
     
     
    Having continued down the street and across the green, carefully skirting the village cricket team, the children ran along Sampson Road which led to the brand new housing development, some of which was still under construction. The new houses were all modern in that they were small, boxlike and rather mean looking.
    Pandora glanced back, and it flashed across her mind that the new development looked completely different from the old-world style of the original village. She also saw that the people already living on the development weren’t going into the village to do their shopping,