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!