His name was Emannuel, he was roughly six, and he was peering at me from under the computer screen on the counter. First he started throwing garbage at me. A straw, which I flicked back at him, only to have it returned again. Then we graduated to bottle caps.

Kingfisher beer, to be precise, bearing the slogan: "Most Thrilling Chilled!"

Anna also received a bottle cap.

Then we moved on to less damaging items. Paper. Balls of paper were propelled over the counter at random velocities. Anna and I sank into conversation.

Moments later he came barrelling around the counter to exclaim, "I gave you money in that paper!"

Lo and behold, when I unwrapped the balled up paper I discovered a copper penny nestled inside. It seemed that I was being courted. Folling this was another gift containing metal. Sadly, it was not platinum. It was, however, a shiny row of staples.

He was adorable, and when his baby sister fussed, he rocked the cradle a little to calm her down without being prompted by an adult. Either really good, or really well trained.

Either way, I kept the penny, the staples and the bottle cap.