Another late night.

We have just returned from The Wheel at Ticknall, where we have enjoyed an excellent meal with Judith, Peter & friends to celebrate their 43rd wedding anniversary.
J & P are coming here to dinner on Monday, along with the Wheelers, which seems to be an interesting combination.
I did spend the day polishing the silver & the surfaces to put it back again. The results are pleasing, even in poor light, so the time & aching shoulder are worth it.
G is still suffering & popping painkillers every couple of hours.
Does anyone know any other cures?

Question Time is on with some really obnoxious people, Diane Abbot certainly wins top place .
Time for bed.

Back at the chalk-face.

Four science lessons & an RE lesson on The Easter Island statues. Lovely classes &thoroughly enjoyable.
The effort of a day's work took it's toll ; I came home & fell asleep for an hour before getting the dinner - stew & dumplings - just the job on a cold wet day.
G has been suffering with jaw/tooth ache since the abuse of his jaw last Friday & is rattling with pain-killers. I hope it passes soon.
So, big brother David has declined to stand for the shadow cabinet.
I think that he is probably their best man.
What a shame.

WE have a day off tomorrow; I hope to do some housework & clean the silver & brass, which is a disgrace. I think "hope to" may not be the true feeling. "Ought to"

We are watching "Foyle's War", two hour sessions each evening.
It's brilliant, but why are the advertisements so much louder than the programmes?

No takers on the poem?
Come on aj.

There's only one F in OFSTED.....

There's only one F'in Ofsted

There's only one F'in Ofsted,

But that's quite enough for us.

If there's no F'in lesson plan,

There's one hell of an F'in fuss.

There's an F'in form to fill in,

For everything that's said.

There'll be no F'in future,

If that fails to please the Head.

Sounds like one F'in photocopier

Has died from overheat.

There's no F'in chance at all

To keep the worksheets neat.

There's no F'in inspector

When your lesson is first rate,

And there's no F'in good excuse

To explain why you were late.

There should be an F'in handbook

For everything to do.

Tell the R.I. you left it

For light reading in the loo.

There's no F'in parking space,

For half the F'in staff,

"RESERVED" for F'in Ofsted

Who have the last F'in larf.

There's no F'in spiritual,

Or cultural education.

No F'in equality,

But much in differentiation.

There's only one F'in Ofsted,

With its "Education Speak".

Thank God there's an F'in Friday

To end the F'in week.

All of those in education will remember this poem from the early days of OFSTED, when too many people put in two "Fs"

I think that there should now be a follow up, with the first line:

"There's only one L in Miliband"

Go for it, all of you aspiring (even published) poets out there.

We've had a busy day with Thomas & Jessie & taken their trampoline down for the winter.This wil leave the pigeons with nowhere for their sh...ing practice. Good.

I am not a fan of pigeons, but they are nowhere near as unpleasant as magpies.

G is still on painkillers, but improving.

I am working at KS tomorrow. Whoopdede

A day in Brum.

We are reconnoitering places that T & B may enjoy when they visit. Last night we searched the internet to find places of interest in Birmingham.
There aren't that many.
We listed them & visited as many as possible today, fitting in taking G's new suitcase back to Debenhams for an exchange, as the stitching is faulty.
We started at Aston, past the Villa ground to Aston Hall, which looked good, but closed on Mondays.
We went on to B'ham University to the Winterbourne house (art & crafts), the Barber Institute, a amazing little gallery with works by every artist you've ever heard of. On to Cadburys, where we bought a large bag of misshapes. I had forgotten that these bags always have 80% the same - caramels in this case. Not good after serious dental interference, so they'll last a while.
We went on to the Museum & Art Gallery in New Street, through the ICC & along Gas Street Basin.
I feel ashamed that I've not visited some of these places ever before, accepting that some are quite recent.
It was a good day, despite G suffering with jaw ache. I hope that this settles down soon.

Does Ed Miliband look like Bernie Winters?
How could he take the leadership from David, who looks almost normal & has a good track record.
Read the Yahoo article on bacteria. Fascinating. You will change your habits
- put the toilet seat down before flushing - droplets carry for 6ft onto taps & toothbrushes, etc.
-wash at highest possible temp as bacteria transfer in wash. Use bleach if possible. Lots more.

I'm watching "Spooks" - it needs my full attention, even then I have problems following it.

Thanks for the harvest.

J, G & the family didn't materialise on Friday evening, due to a back problem & colds - I'm sure that J will know someone who can help!
The result was that G & I have had a great deal of choice for our meals this weekend & have a full freezer. We have enjoyed the company of P, J & T for lunch, & sent A a plated - up chicken dinner, minus sausage, as T ate them all!

Yesterday we had a relaxing day; a lie-in, trip to Coleshill,a few hours in the garden then a walk down Castle Lane, where we picked 3kg blackberries. Yesterday's Telegraph had a recipe for the perfect pudding - blackberry & pear crumble with an oat topping - ideal as we had some wonderful pears from JR's. It was very good, or I thought so.
JR's tree is dripping with really big luscious pears, we will pick more next week, then G will be into stewing & freezing.
We had a packed church for a united Harvest Festival this morning,a rare sight these days.
The average age is pretty well advanced, 70+, I would guess - I could have worked that out during the sermon if I'd thought about it.

We are watching "Downton Abbey" on ITV, written by Julian Fellowes, who wrote Gosforth Park. It 's brilliant. An "Upstairs Downstairs", in technicolour. Filmed at Highclere Castle in Berkshire.
The new Macdonalds bad isn't bad either - perhaps it's not new - we watch BBC usually.

Out to lunch.

T joined me at 5.00am!Snugglimg down for more sleep is not an option, so T opted for reading a map of Oxford, then reading his Junior Bible, in rhyme, to me.
This was entertaining, especially the commandment "don't make any false goods" - one for the consumer police!
We had the curtains open & local radio on before 6.00am.
KP & I are waiting for the air to warm & dry a little before attacking the day - we've put the ingredients together for making gingerbread ladies, when T's home & are now "surfing" to CBeebies.
KP's title was "Everyone's orange"?????
We're going to Flunky monkies for some monkeying about.

Home from Rome.

The view from the cupolla of St Peter's.

Obelisk (one of quite a few) outside the National Monument - our least favorite monument - an enormous pile of stark white marble.

A beggar by the Coloseum.

Peter, Paul & Mary......

We have just had a great a great six days in Rome, with visits to JR at either end, including a visit to Peter H & a celebratory lunch in Harwich.

We arrived back at Shardelows at 1.35 am yesterday, entered quietly & had a good night's sleep. We spent the day with JR, including a trip to Bury, arriving home about 7.00pm.

Today we shall be embedding ourselves into home, including food shopping - we don't even have milk for a cup of tea. I'm off to Bicester at tea time, for a sleepover & a fun day with KP & T on Friday whilst G has fun with Thomas.

J, G & family are coming tomorrow evening, for the weekend.

Rome was fascinating. It was my first visit. We stayed in the centre, two blocks from the station, well placed to walk everywhere, which we did. We walked about six miles each day, stopping for the occasional drink or light lunch in beautiful Piazzas & street cafes.

The churches were all amazing, the architecture beautiful & the weather good - only one wet afternoon.

G took 600 photos - visitors beware!

Another Grand Prix.

Lap 52, round & round - no wonder that the drivers are all male - all that driving with no stops for coffee, shopping or even a passenger to chat to, not to mention the same scenery over & over again.
Stuff that for a game of soldiers, McClaren, Williams or whoever, need not contact me.
Fantastica!
Apparently Alonso has won, so we can go out in the sunshine & pick some blackberries.

I spent Saturday morning preparing a sermon (Luke 15, the lost sheep/the lost coin), which I have preached twice this morning - Shustoke & Over Whitacre, to a total of 18 people.
No comment was made, so I have no way of telling whether I was effective or not.
The usuals nodded off, but I put this down to age & partial deafness rather than boredom.
We have eaten jacket potatoes for lunch & I have a little sewing to do, while it is still daylight (a new zip in some very classy trousers I bought very cheaply in a sale, thinking that the zip was repairable. )
Mum used to make such comments (re daylight, not zips - she never wore trousers)
Is this a sign of the times?
I used to replace zips in trousers for Dad. They were long & curved, a real work of art.
I must stress that I am not touting for zip replacement work - it's a horrible fiddly job to do.

I slept really well on Friday, having avoided the stress of the Telegraph crossword & had a cup of ovaltine.
Last night was not so good.
I skipped the ovaltine & the crossword then spent 3 hours of high stress listening to G snore & grunt, avoiding the flailing left arm & twitching legs.
This probably continued for the remainder of the night, but G woke up as I eventually tried to turn him (I'll never make a nurse!), gave me the expected reprimand & went to the spare room.
It still took an hour to nod off due to jaw ache & indignation.

I've just booked "Westwood", or e-mailed an offer.
Start the diet now, aj!!

Is there anything worth watching on TV this evening?
We were reduced to watching fairy-footed John Sergent, travelling around India by train, on the computer last night.

Stress.

We went to see JR on Tuesday, lunching in St Ives en route, before visiting Denny Abbey, an English Heritage property that I took JR to see a couple of years ago, on a high ridge of land, standing above the fen land between Ely & Newmarket.
It was built as a Benedictine monastery in 1189 then went to the Knight Templars, then became a Convent of the Poor Clares, until dissolved by Henry v111 in the mid 16 century. It then became a farm for the next 400 years.
EH have revealed the details of the original building - arches & windows, jut bricked up/plastered over. It is fascinating, honestly.
On Wednesday we sorted out affairs for JR, mainly in Bury St Edmunds, where we had lunch at The Angel. Fantastic light lunches. Highly recommended. I had an hour off to potter.
On Thursday I took JR to the doctors , then to JS before we left at 11.30am to go to Banbury for G to go to his old bosses funeral at Brailles.
The journey across country is dire - heavily used two lane A roads, with many overtaking!
G dropped me in Banbury, where I pottered then caught the train to Bicester & went to see B, who was working from home. Tea & biscuits then we walked to collect T & KP, in the sunshine.
They had a lot to say!
G picked me up to go to J & G's, where we played with O, S & H & then had a meal before coming home.
I went to the dentist this morning, as an emergency, having had a dull ache in my jaw for a couple of days & fearful of something gnawing away at my innards under a cap somewhere.
After tapping, probing & an x-ray I was declared fully fit but suffering from stress & so grinding my teeth at night & putting pressure on the back molar.
I felt better immediately, but have the concern of chilling out before bedtime.
Any ideas?
I'm aiming for Ovaltine & an early night.

Wet, wet......

Actually, it was a very good drying day until early afternoon, since when it has been wet & windy. G is pleased because it will be "good for the garden".
I am pleased because there is no compulsion to dig the garden & my back needs a rest.
I had some citizenship work to complete for Jamie/school, which I eventually did this morning & took in to school to photocopy & put in order.
Exam results were better than last year - 62% with 5 A* - C grades, 42%, including maths & English. I was very disappointed that none of my maths group achieved a C grade.
Either I'm a crap maths teacher or they lacked motivation.
Oh well.

We had an Alms Houses trustee meeting this evening, at the Rectory, so ate late - cold roast leg of pork, jacket potatoes & coleslaw, followed by bread, butter & jam pudding.

I apparently need to make highly controversial statements, as I did yesterday, in order to warrant comments.
Having commented on the presence of either paedophiles or chiropodists in the Catholic Church on W's blog, I think that I may have exhausted this subject.
On a more hilarious front, T Blair has had to cancel book signings to avoid vast bills for policing the events, as so many people want to throw things at him. People are encouraged to move his book to the "Crime" section in bookshops.
Yes.

Phew!

We have done a great deal of gardening since I last blogged - I have the aching right shoulder to prove it!
The garden is actually looking quite good, but the more you do the larger the area to be watered & looked after.
J & G came for the weekend, we babysat the children on Saturday night - they slept through until 8.30am on Sunday, with one minor blip at 4.30am when S lost his dummy.
I did crack the shopping - in Solihull by 8.30am on Saturday - easy parking & no queues, even in M&S!
I intended to write something interesting & controversial.
I can't think of anything.

Waddesdon.

We spent yesterday slaving in the garden, to good effect, there is still more to do, though.
I gave up , showered & left for Bicester, in the lotus, at 5.00pm, so that I would be there this morning to spend a day with T & KP, J & Th before school tomorrow.
G brought J & Th over this morning.
I made a picnic, then we set off for Waddesdon, with T in the lotus, the rest in the volvo.
We spent a great day in the sunshine, back by 4.00pm for a nice cup of tea.
T & J had a disco, KP & Th sat on the garden seat & put the world to rights.
They were all delightful all day & really sweet with each other.
We were both home by 7.30pm, G arrived first & prepared a meal.
We are ready for bed - my alarm went off at midnight, T got in bed with me at 6.20am, for a chat.
A lie-in is on the cards for the morning - I hope that J & T have fantastic days at school, both in class 2.