More Saturday

Would you believe, it is only three forty-five and I have closed the curtains to shut out the damp and gloom.  It's not dark but it's dark enough for me not to want to see it.  Not yet four o'clock!!
It's been a wet day and no mistake.  Fortunately we've not had an awful lot of wind, thank goodness, but it started raining around ten this morning and it really hasn't let up since.  I drove into town to get a few bits and bobs in Staples and there was a lot of lying water.

Still - I've been a good girl and done a lot of work.  I've worked out the numbers of programmes for each show (not so easy when you realise it's two programmes per family and three shows) using what seemed like a fiendishly complicated use of percentages to make sure it was all completely fair.
I've written the letter explaining how the ticket system works with several reminders about Not Losing Your Ticket As There Are No Substitutes and Yes, It's OK To Swap, etc.
I haven't written the letter about How To Order Your Copy Of The Performance On DVD, because I don't have all the info yet.
I've photocopied enough of everything and I've even sorted it all out into year groups.  Yes, I've been into school (via the library) and it wasn't half chilly!
And now I'm home with a wee bit of alcoholic reward for a job (several, in fact) well done (I hope).  And I feel I deserve it.  One thing's for sure, I won't sleep badly tonight.

It's odd, all the overnight fretting about numbers and chairs and room for filming and so on and when I actually sat down and worked out the numbers properly it wasn't too bad at all.  Yes, we will have to nick - er, I mean borrow - some chairs from somewhere in the school (probably year 5 or year 6) on Monday for the daytime performance; yes, the specially ordered and personalised stickers, intended to stop programme copying (yes, it does happen, I said they were like gold dust, didn't I) haven't come yet, but there's time and a way round that, if necessary.

And now I can look forward to our Christmas Staff Meeting on Monday with the feeling that I have everything more or less under control.  I've written the agenda, I've bought mulled wine, white wine, fruit juice, nibbles and stuff to make mini star-topped mince pies, I've sorted out my Christmas CDs . . . and if that doesn't satisfy my lovely colleagues, nothing will. 
No, I absolutely REFUSE to do the whole lot myself, so there!!! (just in case any of them are reading)

Now just wondering what I haven't thought of  or where my mathematical thinking has gone wrong (as it often does, me being mildly dyscalculic) - but not enough to cause sleeplessness! 

I hope!

A totally unconnected photo of an ornamental cabbage type thingy that was in a little bouquet given to me last weekend - and just after I took the photo nearly all the leaves dropped off.

Wednesday

Brrrrrr - wasn't it cold yesterday morning.  The first proper frost of the season and I am sure there are more to come.  The cold brightness didn't last though as the clouds came rolling in and by the afternoon it was raining.  Not hard, despite A's protent that it was 'chucking it down, Mrs Clark, chucking it down' when he was informed that playtime was still on.  My marginally unsympathetic response was 'You'd better put your hood up then, don't you think?'!  I was on duty so it wasn't totally unsympathetic, but one must toe the party line and I had a stout umbrella!

Once I was out there in the cold and wet, with the children brightening the atmosphere with their games and laughter, I suddenly though 'How can I EVER give this all up?'  I guess I may feel different in four or five years' time but right now - well, if I can even enjoy a wet, drizzly playtime on duty, I must be pretty committed!

The other day I took the photo below.  It was a point, zoom and click moment, nothing planned, just happened.  I can't even remember off the top of my head whether it was morning or afternoon.  But I was well pleased with the result - my old camera would never have coped.  I will try this again when the opportunity presents itself again.

Apologies for the lateness of this.  I did write it this morning but didn't send it - silly me. 

Tuesday

As the early morning promised, Monday was a bit of a stinker, weather-wise, although the sun did come out early evening, incredibly!  Wet playtimes lead to restless children (and irritated teachers) so I was glad that mine had swimming to get them moving and keep them active.  It's still cold: indeed, when I went to the freezer to get today's gastronomic stuff, there was a real chill in the air and, looking up, the most radiantly starry night sky I have seen for a long time.  And then the security light clicked on!!

The camera did arrive - just as well, given the exorbitant amount I had paid for a speedy delivery.  First impressions are good.  It feels comfortable in the hand and the controls, though small, are easy to manipulate.  It seems to have a very wide range of functions including a touch sensitive screen which has already caught me out a few times.  I'd post a photo using the panoramic function but it is of my decidedly less-than-tidy downstairs so no way is that ever going public!  I'll try to remember to take one of the school grounds and see how that comes out.
The only thing with which I am not satisfied so far is the wrist strap.  For complete safety I like one that you can tighten around the wrist and my first digi camera, a Sony, had such a strap.  When I got the latest school camera I transferred the strap to that and, of course, forgot to take it off when the camera was sent off for repair, darn it!  With such a strap, even if I fumble and lose grip, the camera still won't fall and I don't really feel that comfortable without it, so heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to Amazon I go! (again)  Something similar to the Nintendo control wrist straps would be ideal - in fact I think that's what I will go for.

Today will be interesting.  I am doing two lesson observations.  I hate being observed with all my heart, but I quite like observing.  I learn such a lot from my colleagues that I can take on board for my own classroom practice.  Today should be no exception!  Writing up the reports afterwards is not so much fun but there you go!  Can't have it all.

Apologies to those of a sensitive disposition but I am fascinated by the markings on this autumnal spider.  This was taken with the Sony, once I had worked out how to get the focus right.  There's still plenty of photo-frogs to each prince, but I'm getting there, slowly.




Monday morning



What a cold, gloomy, miserable day it was yesterday!  Rain, rain, rain with some strong wind occasionally, just to liven things up a little bit.  I turned the heating on in the afternoon because DD was so cold.  I'd just finished moving things around in the shed when it started, luckily for me, or all the stuff would have got a soaking.  Now I can actually get to the upright freezer easily again. 

You should see the inside of said freezer - clean, sparkling and frost free!  Now I have to do an orderly and recorded transfer of stuff from the chest freezer to the upright, which shouldn't take long.  And then I must manage things a lot better!

I made the chicken balti and it's all ready to go into the freezer in single or titchpot portions.  In the end I decided to freeze the remaining chicken in single uncut portions and I cut up the beef and that also got bagged into single portions.  They're now in the freezer.  These special offers can be remarkable useful if you catch them just right.

The other exciting news (exciting for me anyway) is that the camera will arrive today.  Hardly unexpected, seeing as I paid over the odds for a speedy delivery, but I'm excited all the same.  A new toy to play with.  Yay!  If it arrives in the morning I can do a quick battery charge-up and try it out on the children p.m.

Today will be ordinary (I hope).  School, not wet playtimes (although I don't hold out much hope as it's still raining now), violins and swimming (no, proper swimming, not puddle swimming and no, not me, the children).  Days like today tend to pass very quickly.

Friday

I seem to be doing at lot of apologising at the moment.  This time it is for lack of a blog entry yesterday.  There is a reasonably good reason though.  Lack of time/energy/brain power.

Firstly, to answer the question I know you're all asking (yeah, sure), sports day did happen.  We were all on tenterhooks (whatever they are) after some early rain but out came the sun and dried it all up again.  I don't know about incey wincey spider, but we certainly made the most of a very sunny, pleasantly warm afternoon to get our sports over and done with.  In honour of the Olympics, the whole school was divided into sixteen countries and was dispatched to different parts of the school grounds for track, speed, throwing and jumping activities that finally tired out even the most energetic of older juniors.  The infants, especially the younger ones, found it somewhat bewildering, but they joined in cheerfully and the older juniors were very good at looking after them.  And now, right at this moment, it is raining hard, the weather forecast is lousy and everything is dripping wet.  So if yesterday hadn't happened, today (the fall back day) certainly wouldn't have and as the timetable is somewhat heavily blocked with 'things' for the rest of the term, that would have been that.  And that would have been a shame after such a lot of hard work from key staff to get it all organised and ready. 

And I caught the sun!

In the early evening I went out.  Most unusual for me to be going out on a school day but this was an early out, a girly get-together with two dear and old friends (no, not that kind of old, although I think I am the oldest.  Not by much though).  We went back to the Hare which, apart from anything else, is wheelchair accessible and does those lovely 'small plate' meals I mentioned about three weeks ago.  So I had mini-pie (pork, apple and cider and very nice too) with peas and chips (an indulgence) followed by two scoops of absolutely delicious ice cream, which filled me up good and proper.  None of us had alcohol as two were driving and the other can't have much anyway.  They had a fish dish - a whole something (can't remember which fish it was) and I was rather disconcerted to discover that whole really meant whole - head and all.  Being somewhat squeamish, I'm glad I didn't order that!!!  I gather the flavour was absolutely wonderful though.  My pie was very nice but something of a cheat as the filling and the pastry had quite obviously not been introduced until they met for the first time in the little pie dish.  I didn't mind though - it tasted good and that's the most important thing.  And we had such a lovely time, we've set a date for the next one, yay!!!

So when I got home, it was almost straight to bed.  I'd intended to blog in the evening but my brain wasn't working well enough to get my thoughts together! 

Eleven days to go!

Thursday

When I woke up not all that long ago it was dry.  Dull, but dry.  I know it was because I went out to talk to the tomato plants - er - I mean check that they didn't need watering or anything.  Now it is raining rather hard and with an intensity that indicates it isn't going to stop any time soon.  That's a shame as it's probably put paid to any thoughts of outdoor games this morning, darn it.  Maybe this week has been summer . . .

Tomato in the rain.
This is the nice little tumbler I got from Wyvale last week.  I reckon it has almost doubled in size and already has some titchy littly tomatoes.  It's a golden plum variety which should taste scrummy as well as looking interesting on theplate.

Next week may be autumn but it is also Olympic Week so I'm busy gathering together resources.  The normal timetable goes to pot (apart from sundry unmoveables) and we do other stuff.  It should be fun and we are very much looking forward to it - but it will also signal the end of June.  Time is running as fast as the 100m sprint!

Tuesday morning

Did you notice my (cough) deliberate mistake yesterday?  :0)

Despite it being very wet yesterday, we managed to get playtimes in, thank goodness.  Even afternoon play, which was cut a bit short, so they got a bit of fresh air and a run around. 

And it's not promising for this morning either.  It doesn't appear to actually be raining right now, but it is windy and overcast and . . . and . . . the rest of the week's literacy depends on us being able to get out for a 'field walk' this morning.   I've had to think around this so that, if necessary, it just involves a quick jog out and back in again!  It all the years I have done this particular bit of Geography/science, I can't ever remember it being rained off so fingers crossed this isn't the first time.

Right - on with the reports!!!

Monday morning

Guess what!  It's raining - what a surprise!  A wonderful start to the second half of the so-called summer term!  Yesterday morning was so lovely but it didn't last beyond early evening.  I'm going to be grateful and agree that as the experts tell us we still need a lot more rain, it has to be a good thing.  I doubt those caught up in the floods in Wales will agree with me though.

Yesterday was a day of paperwork.  I had a few breaks - I find I cannot keep going as I used to be able to.  After a while my brain gives up and I find myself writing total rubbish which is a sign for a break!  I had intended to do a bit of refreshing gardening in the evening.  On Saturday I went to Wyvale and found dahlias at three for a tenner.  I like dahlias and these were very pretty shades of pink and just right to fit in a space in my middle bed where the bulbs are now dying back.  So I dug some whitebells up, cleared away some leaves and made a nice space.  Ah, well, it won't go away and at least the ground will be well soaked when I do get round to planting them.  I also found some trailing geraniums which will soften the bricks around the beds and a yellow tomato which looks as if it is a tumbling variety from the way it is growing.  I think I will treat it as a tumbler and place it on a few blocks to raise it up - or no, I know, I will plant it in a big pot (for watering) and put the pot in one of my raised planters.  It will make a nice display as well as being useful!

The vegetables in the willow planter are growing like fury and I have had some radishes.  The mini gem lettuces are thickening out nicely and the carrots are also sending up nice green growth.  But, if you remember, I was trying seed tape.  Never again.  Given that some of the seeds didn't germinate, it has made for very sparse lines of shoots and the most recent rows I sowed have been sprinkled seed, not from the tape.  You live and learn!  The other thing I have now done is planted some salad leaves seeds in another pot, so in three weeks or so I should be starting to harvest them (given some warm sun).

And today.  Back to school.  It will be lovely to see the children again and I can hardly believe that the school year will be over in six months!  Amazing!!!

Thursday - and savoury mince

Here we are, more than half way through half term.  At the moment it's not raining but the forecast is dire and I doubt my friends will be able to do what they planned which is a visit to Hyde Hall.  You need dry weather for that really.  Sun can be optional, dry really isn't!

We managed to get into town yesterday afternoon in between showers, and now DG has most of his new school uniform.  Big changes and he looked so smart and adult!!!

The lasagne went down a real treat and I thought I'd post what passes for my recipe for the savoury mince that forms the basis of it.
You need some flavoursome mince (I used mixed beef and pork but you can use any kind really).  Also some chopped onion and chopped any or all of the following (depending on what you have in the house):  carrot, peppers, mushrooms (I use chestnut which don't go slimy and sloppy), sweet potato, celery, sweet corn, peas - oh, just about anything in the vegetable line really.  If you like it, in it can go.  Then I also use red lentils and oats which give flavour and texture/thickening.  The liquids are canned chopped tomatoes and/or passata, wine (red or white) and stock to match the meat and water.  Oh, and tomato puree.  Flavourings can be what you fancy but I usually use garlic puree, chilli puree, some soy sauce and some lea and perrins.  Herbs are bay, thyme and whatever else you fancy.
It sounds complicated but it isn't, it's just whatever is available and is certainly NOT in any way authentic Italian.  Authentic Clark, more like, but very tasty all the same..

Soften the veg that needs it in some oil.  Remove from the pan (I use my nice hob to oven pan) and fry the mince until browned all over, adding the garlic and chili and whatever else. 
Then add the softened veg and stir well.
Add the liquids, the remaining veg, the lentils and oats, any other seasonings and some salt and pepper.  Stir well.  Bring up to a simmer and then either simmer on the hob for ages or ditto in the oven, checking and stirring now and again.  Towards the end, add the tomato puree, adjust seasonings and add more water/stock, if the mixture is thick.  I prefer a more sloppy mixture for lasagne as the pasta soaks some liquid up and it can get quite dry otherwise.  Then use for whatever, it is very flexible.  I've used it for savoury crumble, cottage pie, pot pie, on pasta, on its own with mash and more veg, lasagne, of course, in a sort of hot 'pasty', etc.  It freezes well.

Actually, there are so many variables it's not so much a recipe, more a state of mind .

Bank Holiday Monday morning

I don't think it has stopped raining all night!  The ground is absolutely soaked, the wind is almost howling and it does feel unseasonably cold, but let's be grateful for the large amounts of rain, given the official drought and hosepipe ban that still exists almost everywhere (but not here, surprisingly enough).

Yesterday was grand.  I haven't processed the photos yet but will post a few when I have.  We had a lot of fun and there was a feeling of 'triumph over adversity' which fitted well with the reason for the celebration.  OK, so rain - hardly a danger, but even so . . .  :0)))  I flaked out early (typical) and came in so I am extremely grateful to DD who went out and did my share of the clearing up at the end before she and DG went home.  Looking out now, there's just a few tables, the gazebos and the bunting, flags and balloons to clear away.  Even the ground has been swept and cleared of residual rubbish.  Well done, fellow witches!

(edited an hour and a half later:  in the cold light of day the ground wasn't so spick and span as I thought, but it is now.  I feel I've done my bit towards the clearing up now rather than being a slacker!)

Well, I have a few portions of coronation chicken left over.  I shall have some on lettuce in a salad, as convention states, and the rest could be zizzed into a dip.  I think it would be nice with hot toast and quite warming too.  As the evening barbecue was a bit of a washout, I have rather a lot of sausages and burgers that need either cooking and eating or freezing (they were not frozen previously, thank goodness,  Given that I bought some mince to make lasagne, I think that's me set up for meat for the next week or so.  I quite fancy a sausage meatball casserole!  Must make sure my stocks of chopped tomatoes are high enough!

Apart from sorting out the aftermath of yesterday and a bit of tidying, I intend to do not a lot else today.  Resting, relaxing, sleeping, knitting, watching rubbish TV . . . sounds good right now.

This is actually a photo of a paper plate.  I, always the teacher, looked at it and thought 'useful background picture for a display or display lettering here' and promptly snapped it!  It hasn't been edited so what you see . . . etc.

Saturday morning

Well, here we are at the start of the Jubilee weekend and it's classic Bank Holiday weather.  Raining and chilly.  Poor old Queen, having to sit on a boat and sail down (or is it up) the Thames this afternoon.  If the weather stays like this it isn't going to be a whole bundle of fun for her, or for any taking part in the parade.  It was such a lovely idea too, making a very welcome change from the usual street parade.

And us?  Well, we are carrying on with our cul de sac party tomorrow, although the forecasted weather is even less promising that today's.  We're gathering together gazebos, big umbrellas and hoping.  If the wind gets up, even that will be problematic.  But we're British.  We carry on!  :0)

Today is going to be a busy day.  In a short while I will be having my bath and getting off to Sainsburys to do shopping enough for a long weekend.  After that it's making the coronation chicken and sundry other foody things and then tidying up and generally making ready.

Better get going then!

Nice bright photos to counter balance the dreary weather - some views of my classroom last week!

Sunday morning

Well, I have sorted out meals (Sunday lunch is all ready apart from cooking the peas), the kitchen is a LOT tidier and definitely more hygenic, thge living room is a bit tidier and I had a good rest.  Not a bad Saturday at all.  It was quite warm too, with some sun and a lovely fragrance in the air.

Unfortunately, it is now dull and has just started raining so I guess we are in for a wet day.  I did intend to plant up my little tomato plants, and I may still do it, rain or no rain.  After all, one can only get wet!

We will see . . .

Thursday later on

It was quite a day, but in a very good way!

The rain cleared up well before morning play.  It came back just after the end of afternoon play.  It stopped by the time the children came out of school.  The children had their first outdoor PE lesson for months.
Can't ask for more than that.

As for the lesson observation, obviously I can't say a lot or give details but sometimes, for no perceptible reason, the planning and lesson delivery just flow seamlessly through.  The children get the objective, the learning outcomes are overwhelmingly positive and it's just all most satisfying all round.  Today was such a day and I could not be happier with the final grading or more embarassed by the glowing feedback. 
As someone used to say, 'Oooooh, I could crush a grape'.  However, as that's far too energetic at the end of a busy day, I am celebrating with some results of the grape crushing of others.  Very nice too!

And tomorrow is SEN day!

Tuesday

Back to school.  Long weekends are very nice and perhaps, as a lead in to retirement, at some point I might think about going down to four days of teaching rather than five.  Our senior management seems very receptive to that sort of approach, recognising that a happy teacher is likely to be a better teacher and to give more to the job, I guess.  Something to ponder on anyway.

It's still  raining!  Not hard, but steadily, and everything is dismally dripping down onto the already saturated ground.  It's Tuesday, so my playground duty day: I just hope it's not too nasty by playtime.  I suppose it has to clear up at some point and we do still need the rain, if only to water those gardens affected by the hosepipe ban.  It's not really the purely or mainly ornamental gardens like mine I'm thinking of here.  I know of several families who are financially fairly dependent on produce they grow to eat in their garden or allotment and to have to watch these shrivel up and die or to spend hours they cannot really spare with a watering can must be a real problem.  Life is so fast and furious nowadays, paid employment sucks in so many extra hours, that the gentle, slow activity of filling a watering can and watching the sparkling droplets landing on the soil seems a lifetime away.
No problems that way right now anyway!

Yesterday was pleasant.  I didn't do much really - just a bit of this and a bit of that.  Very lazy really.  Back on the working wagon today!

Thursday

Another nice day yesterday, and by that I mean a 'not raining' day.  The children got all their playtimes (always a good thing) and the parents didn't get wet at drop off and pick up time. 

Today is Thursday.  Outdoor PE day.  So, of course, it's been raining, continues to rain at the moment and the forecast is for - guess what - yup, rain!  So yet again outdoor PE will be cancelled in favour of maths.  Oh, dear!

Yesterday we (and I include me in this) finger printed blossom on our tree skeletons.  No-one made an almughty mess, everyone was more or less careful with where they placed their blossom and the results were pretty impressive.  This afternoon it is the leaves!  And planting beans!  I have a lovely mum helper so it should all get done, hopefully.  Fingers crossed!

Wednesday

Well, it did rain a lot yesterday but, by playtime, the rain had virtually ceased so we all piled out to play and splash in th . . . er - I mean avoid the puddles!  By lunchtime the skies were clearing and in the afternoon it was sunny.  No indoor playtimes, thank goodness.  :0)

We got our tree skeletons finished!  Today will be gloriously messy: finger printing the blossom is guaranteed to need painting overall protection.  With any luck they will all get it finished too!

And we're off into the ICT suite to explore a simulation, that being what we are supposed to be doing this term.  Thank goodness there's a pause button they can use while they take their screen shots.

First of all it is PPA though.  Seeing as the maths has been done for two weeks, we will have time to sort out other stuff and maybe even to get across the road to Morrisons to get what we need for bean planting.  Yes, gentle reader, it is that time of year again, when the beans take over the asyl - classroom and life revolves around the length of ones root or whether ones bean has gone mouldy!  Such jolly good fun, it is!

More birthday flower!

Tuesday

Diane always seems to get the pinch and punch in before I do so I will come up with 'white rabbits' instead!  May has crashed in with more heavy rain here and flood alerts in many parts of the country: after a gloriously sunny day yesterday, the clouds gathered and the rain started in the evening and it's now raining hard again.  The iGoogle forecast has been changed from 'chance of rain' to simply 'rain'.  Ho hum!!!  Indoor play beckons!

Yesterday afternoon, inspired by the blossom along the main road of the estate, we started our multi technique pictures of trees in blossom.  As a starter we were talking about blossom.
Me:  Trees do have flowers but we don't always notice them (etc, etc, etc, blah, blah, blah) . . .  Who can tell me what 'blossom' is?
Slightly Scatty Little Girl:  It's flowers!
Me: And what happens to the flowers?
SSLG:  The insects come along and po . . . pol . .  polish them.
Me:  Yes they come and pollinate (said with emphasis) them.
(children explain what pollinate means)
Me:  And once the flower has been pollinated, what does it become?
SSLG: (triumphantly)  A BUTTERFLY!!!
Practical little boy:  Naaaah, that's cabbages!
Bewildered teacher: (speechless)

Once I had untangled this somewhat surreal conversation with an internal giggle, we painted the tree skeletons, and very good they were too!
(And you should hear them trying to remember 'photosynthesis'!)

Owly gift tag - they were all similar and very attractive.

Saturday

Not exactly a restful day today but it will be very pleasant.  Nearly all the family are converging in Chelmsford for a nice lunch together.  It's going to be great!

Yesterday was so busy I didn't have time to feel my usual Friday afternoon tiredness.  Plenty of paperwork to be getting on with, three meetings and then more paperwork as a result of that meeting.  Next Friday will be no better - two meetings with 'outside agencies' - people from various support services assigned to a particular child - with resulting paperwork attached.  Stll, it keeps me out of trouble, doesn't it?

It's still raining.  Not right now but on and off.  Yesterday we got lucky.  They got all their playtimes fore and aft and it didn't rain at the beginning and end of school either.  Plenty in between times though, some very hard.  Proper April showers and no mistake!  No need to use the hosepipe although, in fact, we don't have a ban around here, much to everyone's surprise.  I'm really not sure why not but there you go!

My grafted tomatoes have arrive.  Titchy little plug plants that I need to get into pots this morning and then keep indoors (on the window ledge, I guess) until frost danger time has passed, whenever that will be.  It's still jolly cold at night but because of the cloud cover there's been no frost.  I wouldn't like to bet on the chances of no more frost this spring though.

Well, better get going.  There's a house to dust and sweep!

Thursday

Well, blow me down, after a night of howling winds and lashing rain, I have just looked out to see that the clouds are clearing, the rain has stopped and there's a blue sky.  Not only that but the iGoogle forecast says only 'chance of rain'.  You never know, maybe we will get our playtimes today.

Yesterday, being Wednesday, was library day.  We are very lucky: as we have our local library sharing the same roof as the school, once a fortnight every class has a session in the library.  The little ones find and read books to themselves or to each other, finishing with a story from Jenny, the librarian, while the older ones start to learn library and research skills.  My library time clashes with outdoor play in the afternoon so the children miss play.  However, as they had been stuck in for much of the day, the rain had cleared and the sun was shining, I took my class out for ten minutes of run around before going to the library.  And they were much calmer, settled and engaged in the library than they usually are.  I think I'm going to do the same thing each time it's library.  They obviously need that little break beforehand.

Yesterday turned out to be a special day for the school.  One of our parents is a policeman and will be escorting the Olympic torch as it travels through this area.  Yesterday he brought the torch to school, took two assemblies (one for the Infants and one for the Juniors) to talk about it, show a film about the concept of the Olympic torch and then bring it round to each class so that all the children could hold it and have their photo taken.  They were all thrilled to bits.  It's a lot heavier than I would have thought and anyone running with it needs a very strong arm indeed!

On Tuesday, as I said yesterday, I received an invitation from the family to a birthday celebration lunch.  It's at the South Lodge Hotel which looks lovely from the web site.  If the weather's anything like, we can wander around the grounds too.  I'm getting quite excited about it now!  Roll on the weekend!

Friday

. . . and while it's not actually raining right now, it quite obviously has been and it still feels jolly cold.  May 20th and the heating is still clicking on morning and evening at times.  Hopefully it will warm up soon as the evenings are lighter and it would be jolly nice to sit out in the garden.  In the meanwhile, inconvenient as it is, the rain is really rather welcome and the sensible part of me wishes that it would continue for some time to come.  Drought is not a good word and while it's nothing in comparison with the difficulties it causes in some countries, I want to be able to water my garden with a minimum of effort.  Yes, lazy, I know, and I/we have an awful lot to be thankful for, don't we?

I was right about yesterday - morning play was a washout, they came in early at lunchtime and five minutes before home time, as the parents were gathering outside the classroom, the skies blackened ominously and down it tipped yet again!  So outdoor PE was washed off, substituted by maths and I was able to get the science assessment done in the afternoon.  Yay!

I was pleased that my small hob to oven casserole dish arrived.  It should have, given the price of the extra postage for next day delivery, but you never know with our postal service, do you.  I'm really pleased with it and will christen it as soon as I possibly can!  It's plain white so will double as a serving dish as most of my tableware is plain white (not the china though).

As for today - SEN day, loads of paperwork to get sorted, end of the week.  As I'm up stupidly early, I will finish off next week's planning and that will get it off my mind for the weekend!!  And the kitchen needs a tidy and wipe over.