"More the hitting," Kate confesses with a quick, mischievous smile. "As I said, we didn't have any of this in me ma's house. We had to fetch the water from the dam at the base of the paddock.

It's worked with chimneys and stoves," she adds, brightly. "Sometimes a broomhandle is best."

She doesn't add insulting it, but then, Kate feels that this is heavily implied.