So Cathy came to visit yesterday.  Pauline dusted the house and baked scones.  Apparently this is normal behaviour before someone comes to judge whether you are good potential parents or not.

We had warned Cathy that we had a dog.  Was that a problem, I had asked on the phone?

"No.  Most people wanting to adopt have cats or dogs.  I don't like cats."

You know that feeling when you realize you are not an individual, you are typical of a demographic group?  Like when you love reading a magazine that combines recipes, restaurant reviews and travel (Olive)?  I had that feeling then.  But I was glad we didn't have a cat.

She was very pleasant, and seemed to enjoy her scone.  We worried afterwards that the kitchen chair might not have been very comfortable.  But we talked about the adoption process, and what she said seemed to confirm that Thailand had an excellent system, probably more child friendly than China.  But that children from Thailand were often products of the sex industry, not just poverty.  And that the waiting time in China is likely to fall as a result of more stringent conditions, meaning that couples will switch to Thailand.