Month: March 2025

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Birthday boy!

Friday was my birthday – 56! – I was at work for the day, and home alone when I first got home as Becky and Sophie have been away in Italy (Florence and environs) since Monday morning. But they flew back for my birthday (!!!) and joined me about 7pm

And knowing how to party, the next night I spent with 200 teenagers! It was the Year 11 Formal Dinner – not the perfect timing given my birthday, and tiredness at the end of another busy week, which had been compounded by a bit of a cold.

Any 50 (not quite 56!) helium balloons blown up, and the dining room was transformed. It was a good evening – my main criteria being no dramas or poor behaviour, but I would say it exceeded that and was a lovely evening for the students, if if it did mean a 10pm finish – with very aching feet – for a very tired Jeffery! (I rewarded myself with a snooze of in excess of an hour this afternoon.)

The weather has remained largely dry, with mild temperatures, ending with a sunny day today (and a week that is set to get warmer)necessitating me dead-heading a number of daffodils, but they are replaced with blooming, red tulips.

Had a minor panic today as all my websites had stopped working, but a quick “chat” call got them back up and running – it was the php version causing the problem (it was obsolete), and then the Jetpack plugin causing further problems on my About Stuff page.

Also on Friday, perhaps somewhat aptly, the RAF retired its Pumas after 54 years surface. Over 30 years ago, my first RAF posting was to RAF Laarbruch as OC PCMF – Puma and Chinook Maintenance Flight and ever since I have had a soft spot for this flying Landrover. Whenever I heard a helicopter over head on Thursday and Friday I gazed skywards, hoping I would catch a final glimpse of one of these “cabs”, but it seems we were not on the farewell flypast route, and all I saw was navy helicopters flying out of Yeovilton. I found this pic on Twitter, as a pair of Pumas flew over Duxford on their final flight, with, appropriately, a VC10 (albeit a civvy version, not a K tanker) sat majestically in the background.

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Tired, and Tulips

The first tulips are beginning to bloom, bringing a splash of red to compliment the magnificent yellow of all the daffodils that are in flower. Wednesday, and particularly Thursday, we had a burst of warmth and it was wonderful to see the sun shine and feel its warmth permeate through winter cold bones. The temperature has dropped back to more seasonable norms, but pottering around outside today it did feel like we have moved into a new phase, and with lengthening days and a more tolerable temperature it does feel like one can venture from indoors, and start to contemplate all those spring and summer projects.

The tiredness reported last week has embedded itself further this week – I have just woken from a delicious 40 minute nap, a real Sunday treat. I go to bed at a reasonable hour, and sleep well, and don’t necessarily feel tired but I’m conscious that I’m just a little slower in mind and body. I ran today, I enjoyed it, 7K, but each k felt slow (and was slow!) on my heavy legs. Anyway, last full week of the term to come – grind it out, and from this time next week its downhill all the way to Greece!

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7K

After the blue skies and warmth of last week, this week we have still had the blue skies, but not the warmth – in fact its been positively cold. Its stayed dry all week, but the wind has whipped up and the temperature has plummeted making it much less pleasant to be outdoors.

Although I did, this morning, take to the outdoors, running my first 7K of the year! It was clear, cold and still at 8am when I set off optimistically this morning, having decided to run 7K. It all started well, I was feeling fit , if not fast, and enjoyed bounding along the pavement. After about 4 and a half Ks I was tiring, and beginning to rue my decision to run 7, not 5k, thinking that if I had done the latter I would now be on the final stretch. But I wasn’t, so I kept on plodding, lost myself in my thought and those final 2 and half k passed before too long. It wasn’t quick – I ran in just of 35 mins so averaging about 5 mins per K, but on getting home I was pleased that I’d done the extra distance, had pulled nor tweaked anything and I just need to start getting some miles in.

The pic above is from Friday, when we had a beautiful moon shinning over us. A “dark” pic of the week is perhaps appropriate – I’ve felt tired this week, classic three weeks into (a half) term tired. However, I can now glimpse Crete on the distant horizon, I’m very much looking forward to that.

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Sunshine!

It has been a week of wonderful weather – the sun has shone, the skies have been blue and, during the day, the temperatures have crept up. Today has, perhaps, been best of all, and after a morning pottering outside (and washing the cars!) this afternoon it was warm enough to sit outside for an hour or so, all enhanced by the beautiful yellow daffodils blooming proud in all areas of the garden.

My calf muscle has been feeling better, and this morning I braved a run. Having done little running since Christmas, the 5K I covered was a bit tough, but most importantly my legs held up! Now (and to coincide with the improving weather, although next week is set to turn chilly again) to get back into my stride and run more regularly.

On Monday the carpet fitters came and laid the carpet on the stairs – it looks good and feels good underfoot, to!

Dad is back home from hospital (came out on Monday) and seems to be making a good recovery.

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A new hope

At last the weather has changed and blue skies and sunshine have arrived with the start of meteorological Spring on Saturday (1st March). The start of the week was wet, wet, wet, but by Thursday, for what seems like the first time in ages, we have enjoyed a period of settled sunshine, and it promises to continue into next week.

The daffodils are beginning to bloom and they make such difference to one’s mood. I did think to myself in the week that the £100 or so that I spent on bulbs in late summer/autumn is the best money I spend every year. The flowers, the light, the blue sky and sunshine give sense of hope. The winter has seemed long, grey and boring – not exciting storms, or extremes of cold, just a deep, penetrating cold dampness that persisted all the way through to half term and beyond, but now we have stepped through the door into brighter and better days to come.

Today I spent a while enjoying the sunshine and pottering in the garden, continuing to cut things back. I took more off the top of the buddleia, took a lot of ivy off the “post” at the bottom deck, and cut the Miscanthus (the swishy swashy grass) back, ready to grow again for the new season. I suspect that we are on the cusp of a green explosion – everything still seems dormant, but I am sure growth will be rapid over the next few weeks.

On both Wednesday and Saturday I refereed 80 minute games without trouble from my calf. I did “feel it” after 50 minutes on Wednesday, but yesterday was fine throughout – although I was aware of a tightness last night and this morning – it was good to get some exercise again, still not running, maybe next week.

On Friday Dad went into Taunton Musgrove hospital to have a polyp removed. I don’t think it went as smoothly as had been hoped, but now he seems on the road to recovery. They have kept him in over the weekend for observation, I suspect he will return home in the next day or two.

And today we booked our ferries for our summer trip to Greece – looking forward to it!