Wednesday's were tough.

That's my last Wednesday - a very hard day.
Only a note so I still have repetitive strain injury to my right shoulder, which comes on very quickly when on the laptop..
G has gone to J & G's to look after the twins, whilst Oscar had a hospital visit.
He'll be very late or stay over. I've eaten & had a sleep whilst watching a programme about twins.
I wonder if aj did the same.
I'll check out the Travelzoo E mail, then go to bed.

Happy Birthday to W for tomorrow
Am I really old enough to have a 35 year old son?

Tuesday, Tuesday.

I missed Monday, Monday.
I had a really aching arm on Sunday evening, which I realised was down to too long spent on the laptop, so I gave it a rest yesterday.
It worked, so I'm back.
Two good days in school, three to go.
Not much of interest to anyone else really - at my desk until 6.00pm, marking.
Tonight we were both quite smart as G had been at work as well. We went to The bull at Furnace End (under new management), now quite a smart restaurant,
We had a good meal - crispy duck salad/fish & chips & glasses of wine.
Rather pricey.
A change from the gammon joint that we've been eating since Sunday.Presently we are watching Rebus, before bed. G is asleep.

Steve is staying with W & MK tonight as he is in CPH, working.
Some great photos of the boys on W's LW..

A day off.

We had a lie in this morning, a rare treat of late.
G kindly removed the enormous spider from the wash basin, that had given me a scare at about 4.00am.
Of course, he took some photos first - to be added later (specially for E)
G went to Coventry with a team of strong men & true, to collect a safe & deliver it to church, then on for a pint somewhere to recuperate.
I got the washing out & then went to Knowle & Solihull, shopping, which I thoroughly enjoyed, after a few weeks of abstinence!
My shopping problem for the moment is, what do you buy for a son's birthday when he is an avid shopper & has a good income?

Shopping tips:
Bold tablets, £5 at Tesco,
Butter 84p, canned carrot & coriander soup 39p, at M&S
Green & Blacks chocolate £1.17 at JS

Friday again.

Fred Talbot from the Met Office is doing the evening weather.
He's a strange choice - could scare small children, I think.
We have had a take-away (pp, chicken dhansak & pn), mainly because G bought cheap Cobra beer at Morrisons in Shirley when he & Thomas were out on the town.
I had a good day at school & then went to the Dog & Doublet with colleagues after school, or rather, I went after them as I had some work to finish & then did the washing up.
G was surprised as he says that I worked there for 25 years & never went to the pub after work.
How times change.
In those days I was always too late leaving to go anywhere but home.

A quiet weekend ahead. It will be a pleasure to spend some time at home & catch up on housework with, perhaps, a little light shopping.
G has door building in hand & has a safe to move up to church, ready to take the brass that has just arrived, replacing that stolen a few months ago.

Heritage Day

Well it is in S Africa - a public holiday, instigated by President Mandela in 1996 to highlight the country's culture.
Here, it is another working day, a mere 98 days until Christmas.
I have had a good day - good lessons, bottom year 10 had all done their homework (so well that I gave out 5 praise slips - I rarely give any!) & fun with colleagues in between times.
Wendy, whom I am covering, came in after school to acclimatise, so with that & bus duty, it took me until 6.00pm to finish marking for the day.
G has been busy on the windows & has built a new frame for the garage loft door & has a new door under construction.
He'll be building us an eco-house in the garden next!
He came in & fell asleep before I'd served dinner.
He can have a rest tomorrow, chilling out with Thomas, including lunch out, no doubt.
This evening seems to be a dark period for TV,the news may be the highlight!
Perhaps I'll have a bath & phone aj.

W has a delightful photo of the boys on his blog, which makes me want to go out there asap.

Work, work work!

Yesterday was Mum's birthday, she would have been 99, if anyone is interested.
Today has been hard work - 5 lessons to teach, two with next-to-bottom year 10, 1 with bottom set year 9, then bus duty & marking until 5.15pm.
All I've done since getting home is play on the laptop (Travelzoo day),cook a meal & watch TV.
G has been to a meeting, painted some of the house, finished mowing the lawns & put the bedroom window back.
What energy!

W says that his blog will not just be a boring account of his day.
Oh dear.
His days are interesting, I'm sure.
I'm working on the profound thoughts that may be of interest, but it's 10.20pm & I haven't had any yet.
I did note how much Prince William looks like his mother, when he was on the news earlier, as he "waits to fulfil his destiny"

We now have 2 leverets in the garden, so who knows?

Virgin trains have £14 return fares from B'ham to London, off-peak, if you book at least 3 weeks in advance.
Ryanair have flights to Europe for 2p.
I'm working until next Friday, 2 days overlap to "hand-over".
This is good because Thursday & Friday are my easy days, & I'll get paid.

That's puberty done with. (not the photos!)

A new resident in the garden/field - one of the leverets from the field across the road.

Harriet!

Jessie.

Photos from the weekend.

A fun day but hard work, the same session five times over with different year 7 classes.
Family photos to highlight changes between W & B pre-school & graduation photos, J between 20 week scan & the present.
I realised how much things have changed in my lifetime when I produced a "True/False sheet of facts & myths about development. My mother believed all of the myths & wouldn't have understood many of the facts. She certainly wouldn't have explained the meanings of "erection" & "masturbation", which many asked - many of them really are still little children.
The "SPEC Day" cake in the staff room & the "Be nice to Jamie " cake in the science office went down well.
That's my last baking for the staff this time !
Mick phoned from Holt school in Lozells; they're desperate for science staff.
I want a break & don't really fancy driving into B'ham every morning, despite Mick's assurance that it's a fantastic school to teach in.

G is mowing the lawns, having worked today & re-leaded the dining room window.
I only have the energy to blog, & that's on a good day.
6 days to go!

Monday, Monday,

Was it the Bee gees?

What a fantastic weekend, weatherwise - warm/hot sunshine throughout.
Out in the Lotus, topless!
It was pretty hectic with no real chance to catch up on the sleep today.

I did take a couple of hours off on Saturday morning to have a bath & do my hair, as I felt a bit "neglected", before writing Sunday's sermon, then off to food shop in Solihull.
I did try to take advantage of BHS 20% off day, but the queue was ridiculous, so I looked & left.
I went on to P & A's to Jessie's birthday party, arriving too late for the traditional "putting out of birthday cake candles with spit".
J, G & family stayed overnight, P, A & family joined us for Sunday lunch, which was a noisy affair, involving roast chicken, pudding & ice-cream.
The children had a good scamp around in the garden in the sunshine before J & G left for home, a nice cup of tea & then a quiet evening - we fell asleep!

I took the volvo for it's first MOT today.
It passed, but new tyres needed shortly.

SPEC day tomorrow - off timetable, year 7 puberty all day.
Put your most embarrassing question on a slip, to be answered at the end of the lesson (& there'll be at least one to be laughed about forever)
Must beat 9,set 5 maths!

G has some good photos - later.

TGIF

Well, that's another week done.
I worked all through, including lunchtime, & was still marking at 5.30pm
I'm all set for Monday, apart from a few books still to mark
Tuesday is a SPEC day - a day off timetable for whole school activities.
A prize for the best guess - I've forgotten what it stands for.
I was on careers games with year 8, but it has been decided somewhere that I am the ideal person to do sex with year 7. Others have refused!

It is a beautiful evening.
G is up a ladder painting the study windows, having had a good day with Thomas - the park, (G chatting to the "yummy mummies"), breezing around Solihull & lunch at Mc Donalds again.
I should be vacuuming the bedrooms after G's work on the windows up there, & making up the beds for J, G & Oscar, but I need a break to work up the energy.
We shall have a take-away later, we shall have to spend some time deciding what to order.....

Milan banned size 0 models from the catwalk apparently; London has refused to follow suit, thank goodness, so aj & I are still in with a chance.

A busy weekend looms.
We look forward to seeing some of the family.

Anyone for a bus ride?

Another fine day at KS.
I've cracked the last lad that was giving me hassle so it's all plain sailing now.
I've been asked if I'd like to apply for a job in the maths dept when it comes up at Christmas, & after school the Head asked if I'd be interested in 1:1 mentoring in maths,* which all borderline students will be entitled to shortly.
Just teaching, without the extra responsibilities is so different; work until 5.00pm & you can be on top of the game.

My bus pass arrived today - free passage on any off-peak local bus in England.
I don't know whose photo they have used.
It doesn't look like me, but is familiar.
I wonder how far I can get using joined up local buses.

*I presume by me, not for me.

au revoir, Keith.

We watched a documentary on Keith Floyd on Monday night. He looked awful, at least 90 & very doddery.
This was an astute assessment as he died yesterday, aged 65.
He was a great showman in his day & moved cookery programmes into a new era - outdoors & unscripted.

I am watching the 10.00pm news. Gordon Brown caught out again - 9.3% c.... planned, when he has denied planning any of the c word, repeatedly.
G is working on the window in the spare room, making a brilliant job of it.
I teach all day on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, enjoyable but tiring. I went to Ventura Park after school to collect brochures from the car dealers - VW, Toyota & Jaguar & buy car mags ready for tomorrow for year 11 to work out the costs of car ownership.
The problem with going around car showrooms is that you come away quite fancying a new car.
Jag do a pretty neat open top one & the Golfs still look good.
Keep buying the Lottery tickets, I suppose, although we really don't need another car.

DK is doing well & eating - a family trait!
I hope & pray that this may be all his little gut needs. J is on a residential!
We think twice about taking year 6 pupils away.

The family will be getting together at the weekend for Jessie's party.
Just keep T away from the switches at The Wacky Warehouse or it may never be the same again.

Happy Birthday Jessie.

Jessie is six today.
I went over with a cake after school yesterday & we iced it with red icing & did "High School Musical decorations. Jessie did most of it, with great results.
We both ended up with red stained fingers.
B & A brought Thomas home from nursery, he & Jessie amused each other & everybody else, practising with a hoola hoop & dancing.
I came home at about 6.0pm to cook for the boss, who had been hard at work repairing the window & garage door frames.

I had two very good days at school, hard work but enjoyable, as I get to know the real characters, more names & ability levels.
Nobody falls asleep - perhaps I should encourage aberrant behaviour in church, or start with some mental arithmatic!
I have worked until at least 5.00pm most evenings to mark work & prepare the following day's lessons.
Today's greatest maths challenge was to convince year 11 that it is much quicker , when multiplying fractions, to cancel across the x first.
We'll get there.
Another full day tomorrow. I need to collect car brochures after school for bottom set year 11 to work on pricing car ownership.

G is already snoring at the other end of the settee - chiro tomorrow.

Shopping tip for the more mature - all Dove half price at JS.

Indian summer.

Saturday was fantastic, weather wise.
We sat in the garden at 4.00pm in hot sunshine & had a nice cup tea, as a break from me gardening & G refurbishing the garage doors.
I went for a run around the block first thing & have the aching legs to remind me how long it is since I last went for a run. I was fine at the time, there was a mist over the fields, lots of wildlife about & only 3 cars to be seen.
I spent all morning writing today's sermon - a teaching sermon on James, writer of the Epistle, brother of JC. I found the research fascinating; one person agreed so the fact that a number of people in the congregation at Over Whitacre had their eyes closed, I shall put down to the bright sunlight, the heat, their advanced age & the fact that some people apparently close their eyes to concentrate more fully.
Indeed, at this very moment I am sitting on the settee next to G, watching the Grand Prix from Monza, having coffee.
G has his eyes closed, concentrating!
We are both working tomorrow. I am going to P & A's after school so that Jessie & I can decorate her birthday cake number 1.
I have researched "High School Musical" & think that I have a simple theme of red icing with stars, notes & a keyboard, that Jessie will be able to do.
It is quite breezy here with cloud - I've changed from summer clothes to jeans already.

Lewis Hamilton is in the lead, yards ahead.
W, MK & family should be home today.

All's well.

Little DK is OK & snoring, KP is better so it's a great day.
G has gone to Leatherhead to see the family, I had a very good day at school& look forward to an early night to catch up on the sleep that I didn't get last night.
We have scaffolding across the back of the house where the pointing is being done & quite a lot of rubble/dust on the yard so the housework is on hold until it's finished.
I shall have completed my first full week's work for over two years, by tomorrow evening & enjoyed nearly all of it.

Phew!

The A380 jet has landed at BHX today - a first, a whopper, with twin decks & a bar in first class.
I had smaller fish to fry - teaching all day & preparing lessons until 6.00pm.
Apparently there are lots of activities that you can do outside, on bearings.
I can't think of any!
Not a bad day in all & I get plenty of exercise running up & down to the top floor.
PCC at 7.30pm at the Rectory, so I'm about to have a low calorie, low fat snack.
Perhaps I wont bother.

Day one.

Two free lessons this morning as all pupils were with tutors/in assembly.
I sat in the maths office & prepared lessons for two hours, all written up with objectives for most classes.
I have taught for the rest of the day & enjoyed it - years 8, 11 & bottom year 10, who measured & then drew angles to start the work on bearings.
I have them twice tomorrow!
A full day & then bus duty.
I must admit that I was tired by the time I got home shortly after 4.00pm.
I had a nice cup of tea with Diane & then fell asleep on the settee until G came home at 6.30pm.
Both working this week!

We have just watched a fascinating programme on damns - Big, Bigger, Biggest.
Now watching Lost land of the Volcano, about wildlife in New Guinea. Brilliant.
Do watch them if you get the chance.

Still looking for cheap Nile cruises.
The Co-op phoned tonight with their best deal - £679!!!!!
We'll get there.

First day of term - for the staff anyway.

A few pupils did attend, apparently, but were sent home.
I did wonder what happened to the lad from Coleshill School who was sitting on the curb at the end of Hollylands this morning as I'm sure that Coleshill was a training day today as well.
I suppose that he went home eventually.
It was a good day.
A meeting in the Hall, with the Head outlining the GCSE results - poor, only 31% with
5, A - C grades, including English & maths - & action to be taken to avoid dire consequences on the OFSTED front.
The poor results were largely due to poor English results following staffing problems.

He welcomed the new staff & me & I got a rousing cheer from all of the staff, which was heartwarming & quite unexpected.
I attended the necessary meetings, picked the brains of everyone in the maths dept that I could corner & caught up with friends.
Money for old rope!
I have to teach Pythagoras, fractions, data dealing & bearings to different year groups.
I shall hope to learn a good deal whilst preparing for the latter one as I never have a clue to my bearings.

Yesterday T & I went on our long awaited trip on The Shakespeare Express steam train from Stratford to B'ham, Snow Hill, return.
B brought T to the station & waited to see the train arrive. We had part of our picnic lunch whilst we waited to depart.
It was very relaxing, enabling T to ask questions for 3 hours, unhindered, of me in the main, but all of the railway staff were included.
T clipped the tickets, had an "Engine Drivers hat" & found that the trains live at Tysley.
He was excellent company all day & promised to show me how he makes prawn sandwiches - rather better than the Granny/M&S effort, I gather.
I took T home, had a long cuddle with KP & tea before driving home & falling asleep.

I have checked the old lottery tickets & find that we won £10 on 8 Aug.
Unfortunately we did not win the euro millions with G's impulse-buy ticket, but apparently no-one else did either.

Tomorrow looks like a quiet day as lessons 1 & 2 are with tutors; I am not one (Thank you God)as Wil, who I am covering, has other duties.
I'll check up on Pythagoras & keep a low profile.

We have no basement.

Luke & Lucy'y wedding - the church.

- the guests.

The garden.

The rotten windows - this one's alright really, the lintel has problems.

What you can achieve with a chocolate button - note DK.

I am taking a leaf out of W's book, as he attracts a great many comments whilst no-one can be bothered to comment on my blog.
I note that the secret is to blog about health, bikes & the state of repair of the building.
G & I are both thriving, despite stiffness in the joints in the morning, soon cured by a few stretches & a good deal of flexing under a hot shower.
I shall suggest that we go for a bike ride later (after the lawns are mown).
My blue Raleigh bike remains functioning & has to date required no adaptations to improve its performance.
Admittedly, I do not ride it a great deal, but am well aware that its lack of high speed performance is largely, or, indeed, totally down to user weight : power ratio!
G has gone to Coleshill to collect the new belt for the mower - he has been out for much longer than he anticipated, not an uncommon occurrence.

We do not have a basement, which is fortunate as the water table here is very high & it would only be of use as a cistern - I would suggest an underground swimming pool, but I think that there would be insufficient headroom for such description to do it justice.
The window frames have patches of rot, which G is tackling, slowly, as time & inclination allow.
We have had the pointing done (that is not a typo) & will paint the exterior when G has done the repairs. We do need a new loft door above the garage, but none of those approached have come back to us.
Perhaps I'll make one out of old packing cases.
Are UVPC window frames really as bad as I've always thought.
They don't need paint & must last longer than these we have.

G had a Thomas day yesterday whilst I had a day of indulgence - I caught up with the laundry, played on the internet whilst watching TV (only for an hour or so) & went out at 2.00 pm to take some stuff to the charity shop & go to the gym.
We went to P & J's in the evening for supper, champagne & to discuss the wedding.
I slept better than I have for months. I just have to decide which was the deciding factor.
I hope that it wasn't the champagne!

Home alone.

Today G & I babysat O, H & S whilst James & Gina went out.
It took both of us, full time. G spent much of the morning in the garden with O, which they both enjoyed.
They left after lunch as J had a patient at 5.00pm.

We have had a quiet evening with a takeaway - prawn on puri, chicken bhuna & pashwari naan, followed by coffee & lindt chocolate rabbit.
I have a reprieve - school doesn't start until the training day on Monday. The Friday training day is disaggregated (work at home/scam)
This was not on the web-page.
Thank you God!
I'm going to have a nice soak in the bath, possibly, with my latest pet tortoise.

Pink rabbits.

Well, why not?
We have had a great day with Gina & the children, joined by P & the children for lunch & an afternoon in the garden, on the bikes & the bouncy castle.
The weather has been awful for a lot of the day; it is still raining hard now & the yard is flooded.
J will be arriving later to spend the morning here & take the family home.
We shall sleep well!
Training day on Friday - work to do & maths books to be read before then.

White rabbits.

Tim, having found a way of protecting his "personal space"
DDT is effective in such cases!.

DK doesn't eat chocolate........

Number 8 leaned back on this one - not spotted from the thumbnail - I'll post another later.

J is from farming stock

Oscar, awaiting a chocolate bribe.

These are the adults! (+ number 8, to make up)

Where on Earth did the last week go to?

I have now been a pensioner for a whole week &, apart from the first few moments in the morning when I change from horizontal to vertical positioning, I feel no more than thirty.

Since no-one would believe that I was thirty, I may opt for fifty for a few years.

This will also give aj a reprieve!

We have had a delightful few days with W, MK & family staying. On Thursday I had the boys whilst W & MK shopped, then went to Auntie Norah's funeral at Shustoke Church, followed by a gathering at The Plough.

There was a good turnout of locals & guiders; we shall miss her a lot.

On Friday we went to shop for Saturday's party food, which was a bit fraught at times, mainly the long time spent in Morrisons trying to buy a salmon from a geriatric trainee fishmonger who could neither grasp the concept of a whole fish or find one in the fridge.

M&S was brilliant, as usual, providing some excellent fare.

The afternoon was spent cooking - the salmon had to part company with its tail in order to fit in the oven. Granny's fish kettle could have come into it's own had a hole not appeared in the base as I scoured it prior to use, or abandonment, as it turned out.

Aj arrived just in time for dinner (no change there then!) having taken four hours to travel down from York in holiday traffic.

Peter arrived on Saturday morning, shortly after aj & I arrived home from the hairdressers, looking rather glam (us, not Peter, that is)

All of the families arrived over the next few hours, including all nine grandchildren, all but one of aj's family, all but one of G's family, & some close friends.

We had a great day & evening, G still drinking with aj's sons long after the rest of us were asleep.

W & MK flew home on Sunday morning, Tim left after lunch, aj & Peter entertained us until Monday when we let with P&A to go to Lucy & Luke's wedding at Ansty, a beautiful little 14th century church adjacent to the hall where the reception was held.

It was a delightful event, a really happy family wedding.

Today P came with Jessie & we have had a great day with the children/grandchildren.

We hope to repeat his tomorrow but I'll aim for a more inspired lunch.

T phoned this afternoon & we had a really intelligible conversation. That's a first -always fun but usually unintelligible.

I have just been on the Kingsbury School website & find that we start on Friday, not Monday, as I thought.

What a bl0w!