Ian,
You know, you really should learn to read
I SAID, the instructor asked her/his brothers whether 'it' was a he or a she. Naturally his brothers (who were in the same ski class as well) knew that he was a 'he'. The worst of it was that they said they'd tell him that I'd thought he was a girl all week. And they were absolutely rolling about laughing at me.
I couldn't tell because 'he' was only young, and 'he' was called 'Fred' which I thought was short for Frederica, because my morning ski instructor was called Fred and she was definitely female - French and short for Frederique.
It was quite one of the most awful things I've ever done, and should he ever read this, then he has my most abject apologies - I am a very stupid person.
Ally