It would be wrong to say nothing surprises the Paradocks, Bro and Middie. It's just that they take in their stride the things that would surprise us. The elephant in their garden, for instance, has actually been ordered, but this year the shop has made a mistake and sent the wrong size.

The arrival of Uncle Ted does cause Middie to raise her eyebrows momentarily, for he has become bored with being a he and is now an elegantly dressed young woman. Their social habits are different from ours and their talk satirizes the life of suburbia, and in the intervals, turns a mildly disconcerting eye on all of us.