There is a half finished boat

in the workshop. It is, thankfully, a model boat. My father started it but never finished it. He was using it to teach a cousin's grandchild how to do certain things. I never inquire too closely. I have no particular desire to make small wooden boats with smaller electric motors.
There was more work done on the boat yesterday. A friend's grandson came to spend a day in the shed. He is eleven and likes to make things. He is intelligent but has some quite serious learning difficulties. Dad suggested several things he could do. One was do some work on the boat with a view to eventually keeping it for himself. Great idea!
They disappeared to the shed while I did some work with his grandmother.
Much later the "two boys" had to be prised from the shed so they could be fed. They had spent the morning making the rudder. It had been designed but it had to measured and cut and put together. This involved learning to solder two pieces together as well as using the small metal lathe.
"Look! I've learned heaps too." It is a very neat, almost professional, job. I have seen many first efforts. All too often they are uneven blobs. This is an almost smooth line between the two sections. I am genuinely impressed by his skill.
"More than me. I have never soldered anything," I tell him.
He looks at me and I think, "Now please don't say something about being a girl."
He does not. He grins, immensely pleased with himself,and says, "I'll show you if you like."