Thursday

Good morning!  The morning sun is shining for the first time in several days which is most cheering although it's not all that warm and I was happy to snuggle under the quilt overnight.

The biggie this week is that Alex has done his last A level exam and has now officially left school.  Ten years ago, if you had asked me if Al would ever do A levels, let alone have plans for higher education, I'd have laughed in your face and then hidden in a corner to cry, but since then he has transferred from special to mainstream schooling, doing five years at Baddow High, creating a niche for himself and winning several awards along the way and is now hoping to read mathematics at uni.  Absolutely amazing.  He has confounded expectations all the way along and, whether or not he actually gets the required grades, he has been brilliant.

Enough of that!  In allotment news, it looks as if we have a new neighbour.  On one side, the plot is very well cared for but the other side has been ownerless and is rather a mess.  We have strimmed over it to keep the grasses and weeds down but nothing else and I had hopes of harvesting the brambles that are growing there!
No more though.  Last night Beth went along to do a few things and there was the allotment manager with an elderly gentleman, showing him his 'new' plot and, I gather, saying some extremely nice things about our plot.  The difference three months makes, eh?  Beth seized the moment and now has permission for me to be a key holder as well as her.

Veg wise, Beth picked another courgette and says that by the weekend there should be some for me too.  Cheers!  She also picked some chard leaves for the guinea pig - no, not ours, we don't have one, a little friend's pet.  I wonder what chard is like - must look up some recipes.  Diane, do you have any nice cooking ideas?

As for me, I spent the day feeling better, did some work around the house, caught up on some sleep and did the usual tuition plus one swapped from today!  After a great night's sleep, I now feel ready for anything which is just as well because I have a very full day.  This morning is a governors' course on the needs of the most and least able.  That's in town.  Then I'm nanny helping in school after which I am straight into a meeting followed by two lots of tuition.  I'll be ready for bed tonight, that's for sure.  It's just as well tomorrow is relatively clear, isn't it?

Given that it's such a busy day, I had better stop now and get going with the usual.  Bath, dressed, breakfast, bit of housework!  See you tomorrow.