Category: Family

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Lawn, swimming and Corvid-19

Pic of the week 8/3/20

We live in unsettling times.

But the weather is trying to improve and we’ve had a couple of spring like days this week, days to lift the soul and lighten one’s load, although they have been the juicy filling between the limp, stale white bread that is the sandwich of the current weather. Still too much rain, still to chilly (not crisp cold, just a cold dampness that permeates to ones bones.)  But today, there where bright spells and I even managed to give the lawn a mow, the first of the season.

It was needed. The lawn is not currently in a healthy state, it seems to be as much moss as grass. And (I think) nesting blackbirds are busy plucking the moss to make their nests, leaving, well, just mud. Anyway, having mowed and raked, hopefully the grass can begin to out-compete the moss and we’ll be rewarded with a beautiful sward come those long summer days …

This morning was a first for me, my first swim in the school pool. I was taking part in a sponsored swim organised by the Lions and my team of 4 had 25 minutes in the pool to swim as much as possible. I must confess I was a little disappointed to find that the pool was split in half – we would be swimming 25m lengths rather than the full 50m, but I’m pleased with the 50 lengths (= 1.25 Km) I managed in the allotted 25 mins.

Becky went to see Sophie in Reading yesterday (hence the pic), Sam continues with his new found work ethic. I head off to Milton Keynes tomorrow to watch the 1st XI in the ISFA Final.

But we live under the question mark of Corvid 19, or the Corona virus. At the moment, nothing tangible has happened – these are teh figures as I write (8 March 20) from the Government’s website:

As of 9am on 8 March 2020, 23,513 people have been tested in the UK, of which 23,240 were confirmed negative and 273 were confirmed as positive. Two patients who tested positive for COVID-19 have died.

So, not sure where and how this is going to end. Will we end up in lock down – or even just more “minor” restrictions such as school closures, or will this all just be yesterday’s news in a few weeks time? I don’t know. I suspect we (the UK) will ride it out for a few weeks and then life will continue as normal.

But I’ve been known to be wrong before …

 

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… and its over

Pic of the week 23/2/20

I’m not sure whether to say the half term break has been blown away by the gales, or washed away in the rain and floods, but either way, the week draws to a close.

Its been a wet and windy week with very little “usable weather” so most of the time has been spent indoors. My Spanish has, therefore, improved enormously and I have taken the brave step to begin spoken lessons, via iTalki. My first lesson with Luisely was OK, but not what I’d hoped it would be. So then I tried another tutor, Daniel, and he’s great. Its difficult, trying to speak and listen to Spanish for 30 minutes, but so worth it – I feel I am making real strides in my studies.

And speaking of studies, it seems the penny might have finally dropped with Sam and he does seemed to have upped his application in preparation for his A levels. I think it is a combination of many things – having a tutor (John) to help him with his physics has given him a real boost, as, I think, has passing his driving test, and I think he finally begins to see a future beyond school. Let’s just hope he maintains his efforts, and they are enough to open the doors he wants opening.

Its been lovely having Sophie back for the week, she returned to Reading on Saturday. Its hard to think that she is a significant way through her second year of university.

On Tuesday, Becky & I went to see 1917 at Strode Studio cinema – an excellent, if not easy to watch, film. Glad I’ve seen it, but feel its to be watched more out of duty than for entertainment.

On Thursday we had a tracker fitted in the car, which is generating a lot of interest and competition to see who can get the best score; and on Friday we took delivery of our new fridge freezer.

So, a busy week. Wet and windy, but enjoyed. Five weeks ’till the next hols!

Manana, voy a volver a trabajo a mi escuela.

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Passed!

Pic of the week 9/2/20

He passed!

On Friday, Sam successfully passed his driving test. Today he has proudly pootled off to work, behind the wheel on his own for the first time, ever.

Very proud of him and, unsurprisingly, he’s as pleased as punch.

Not the best day today for driving though: we’ve been battered by Storm Ciara and the wind and rain has – at times – been pretty immense although (touch wood) we’ve escaped anything more damaging than our garden furniture being blown about a bit on the deck. My game today was a victim of the weather, so, after receiving the cancellation text at 8.05 am, I headed down to the pool and swam 50 lengths. I’m enjoying swimming again, and will do more of it this year, but this week I have signed up for the Glastonbury 10K in May, so can’t abandon the running entirely!  But with half term now just five short days away, I’m looking forward to being able to do a bit of both.

The original flower from my cactus (blog-post of a couple of weeks ago) didn’t last, but has now been replaced by three new flowers, with more on the way. Outside, too, there is plant life beginning to emerge from the winter slumber. In the front corner of the drive, a number of daffodils, buffeted in the gale force winds, bravely sport their yellow flowers and in the back garden, the peony roots I planted last autumn are now poking through, suggesting the promising of a summer yet to come, and a self-seeded sweet-pea plant has hung on over the cold, wet winter and is now beginning to put on a growth spurt.

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2019 – A year of music and travel

Pic of the week 29/12/19

And so Christmas (pictured above – the the four of us at home, a lovely day) marks the beginning of the end of another year.

Thinking back across the last twelve months, and reading my blog posts for the year, I think 2019 can be best characterised as a year of music, and perhaps the start of a new decade (OK, so a little early) of travel.

We’ve been to see a fair few musical acts this year, listed in chronological order:

  • The Specials
  • James Taylor Quartet
  • Take That (with Rick Astley supporting)
  • Paul Young
  • Scouting for Girls
  • New Order
  • Lisa Stansfield
  • OMD
  • Scouting for Girls (for a second time)

and each one, brilliant.

I have several times tried to rank them in order of preference, but have failed.  I think I can just about come up with a top three of JTQ, New Order & OMD, but not necessary in that order, and it can change with the weather.

Travel: we had a wonderful family holiday in Soller, Mallorca in July. The villa was great, the town wonderful, the time fantastic. And then in October, Becky and I headed of to Girona. I think those few days were the highlight of my year.

The city is great, the coast an achievable hour or so away by bus – swimming in the sea in late October is a real treat. Just to be in a different land, enjoying a different culture, language and – yes – climate was something special. I think an appetite for travel has been whetted.

Other notable events of the year – I turned 50, and had a fantastic day. I was made to feel truly special and loved. I’ve begun to learn Spanish – it started with me downloading the Duolingo app to see what it was like and maybe pick up the odd word before we headed to Mallorca, but I’ve really enjoyed it and am continuing to teach myself.

This term (ie September onwards) work has been dominated by my role as Common Room Chair and the consultation to withdraw from TPS.  At least the outcome from that should come within the first month or two of the new year.  Politically, its not been a good year – following a disastrous general election earlier this month, Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party ( a more right wing incarnation than either May’s or Cameron’s) gained a significant majority. It looks like Brexit will happen, and lying, misogynistic racism has been vindicated.

But on a positive front – I have been relatively injury free this year. I finish the year at a frightening post Christmas weight of 13 stone 4 pounds, but I’m putting that down to Xmas excess. For the rest of the year I’ve been sub 13 stone – oscillating around 12. 9 and 12.11 – and I’m quietly confident I’ll soon be back under the 13 stone mark.

2019 has been a good year – I’ve loved the music and travel, but its not been a stellar year, so I shan’t cling on to it, happy to wave it good bye and look forward to what 2020 has to offer.

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A busy week

Pic of the week 15/12/19

Its been a busy week.

On Tuesday, Becky & I ventured out to Bristol to see Scouting for Girls. As ever, they were excellent.

On Thursday I  had a dental check up – all good.

Friday morning I ran my 400th Km of the year (have just looked back at last year – ran 424 Km in the year, so will hit a similar amount this year.

Also on Friday we went to Reading to collect Sophie. She had an exam in the afternoon, so Becky & went shopping before meeting Sophie “for tea” in “The Real Greek” (v. nice food) and then heading home through the dark and rain. Always nice to have the whole family back under one roof for Christmas.

On Saturday I refereed my last game of the (calendar) year – Wells City U16 v Saints South West. Cold & windy, but stayed dry. Was due to ref today (Sunday) but game was off due to a wet pitch. With the Y&DL and Bridgwater Sunday league both now on their Christmas breaks, I think I can now rest my whistle until January.

Oh, and Thursday was General Election day. The Tory’s romped home with a massive majority. Looks like we’ll be out of Europe by the end of January. Whilst a Conservative victory was expected, no-one expected it to be by so much.

I crunched some data and wrote a blog post on my maths teacher writes site but here’s a chart that shows the seats won.

 

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O.N.S

Pic of the week 24/11/19

Well, what a busy week that was.

On Wednesday Sophie had an interview at the Bank of England (right in the pic above) She says it went well, but won’t hear for a while.

But not to worry as on Thursday she was offered a placement year job at the Office for National Statistics (O.N.S) (above left in the pic) which needless to say she is delighted about. For some time this has been her number one target, and she’ll be spending next year working in Newport.

Still on the job front, on Thursday I interviewed for the Head of Maths post at Millfield. (A little annoyingly) I’m still waiting on hearing whether or not I’ve been succsesful. They say they are not sure about the structure of the department, and need to get that right before offering any posts.

On Wednesday (great interview preparation!) I fixed the Micra wiper blades which had stopped working (on the way back from Sophie’s interview at the ONS last week.) Once a special tool had arrived for removing the wiper arms, it was all fairly straight forward. Took about an hour to remove wipers & scuttle panel to access the wiper mechanism. Was instantly obvious that my diagnosis was correct that a linkage had popped off a ball joint. Remove the whole mechanism, fit a retaining clip and put it all back together. Rather enjoyed the job.

On Friday I failed to get Killers tickets, but Becky was successful, so in June we are off to see them (Manic Street Preachers supporting) at Ashton Gate.

And on Saturday, I refereed our 2nd XI v Marlborough in front of quite a big crowd, including a certain someone …

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Looking ahead

Pic of the week

Ok, so this blog is supposed to be an online diary where I record events of the past week for future posterity, but Becky put together the above montage of what we’ve got to look forward to in 2020.

This week I booked two tickets for Deacon Blue on Nov 14th 2020 in Plymouth and three tickets (one for Sophie!) to the Bath Festival in May to see McFly, supported by Scouting for Girls.

This evening I’ve booked two EasyJet flights to Barcelona (total cira £180)

We’ve also got Glastonbury Festival and a week in Pollensa to look forward to, along with Becky’s 50th, Sophie’s 21st and Sam’s 18th. A busy year ahead!

This has been another busy – and wet – working week. Sophie cam home on Wednesday and then went of to Newport on Thursday for an interview for a placement year at the ONS.

(On the way home, the Micra windscreen wipers stopped working. Tried to fix them today, but can’t get the wipers off.  Need a special pulling tool – ordered one today from Amazon, should be here tomorrow … hopefully this time next week I’ll be writing of my successful motor mechanic skills …)

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El bambino es un perro de booze

Pic of the week 13/10/19

So Sam had his first encounter with gin yesterday, and lost.

Out with his pals in Shepton yesterday, I got a text at circa 8.30 pm – can you pick me up? (He was supposed to have got the bus, bit had missed the last one.)

The smell of booze in the car was intense. He fell asleep on the short journey home. Under the white light of his mother’s interrogation, looked green. He took himself off to bed.

This morning he was woken, ready to go to work. Oh what a sorrowful, pitiful sight! I ended up calling in sick on his behalf and he shuffled back off to bed.

We’ve all been there, schadenfreude is a wonderful thing, and (out of his eye-line) I had to suppress the odd chuckle. He’s mopped all day, “I’ve learnt my lesson” – well, time will tell!

 

Other news – it continues to be wet, wet, wet and more rain is forecast for tomorrow. Cleaned the deck in a break in the rain this afternoon, unable to mow the lawn which is beginning to reach “untidy” heights. Weather warning for more rain tomorrow – will it ever end?

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The new normal?

Pic of the week 22/9/19

Yesterday, Sophie went back to uni for the start of her second year. It doesn’t seem like a moment that we were dropping her off in the pouring rain last year. (Fortunately, this year the weather – at least yesterday – was much better. Scorchio)

It’s also quite frightening how Sophie not being at home has become the new normal. It has been lovely to have her home for the summer but, unlike this time last year, it does not seem odd her not being home. Not quite the circle of life, but certainly the passage of time and confirmation that Becky and I are now well into a new chapter of our lives.

In other news, the weather of late has been fantastic, wall to wall sunshine and pleasant day time temps, although getting chilly in the evenings. However, rained this morning and that is, apparently, the precursor to ten days of rain. Quite a pleasant evening now, though.

Has been exeat this weekend, and I’ve enjoyed a complete break from school, listened to a lot of music, refereed a couple of OA games, tidied the garden (a bit) in preparation for autumn and winter – planted 50 allium bulbs and x 6 bare rooted peony plants. Still mowing the lawn. Mini rumbles on, quite literally, Sam has had his first couple of “proper” driving lessons, and Becky continues to be as beautiful and wonderful as ever.

Oh, and I nearly forgot, my (other) blog was mentioned by Rob Eastaway in a recent interview – rather chuffed and proud!

Whimsical and self-deprecating

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Stuff

Pic of the week 8/9/19

Buenos Dias. Mi llamo Jeff, y yo soy un maestro de mathematicia. Yo vivo con mi esposa, mi hija, y mi hiho. Yo quiero hablas Espanol.

Term has begun, Becky and Sophie have enjoyed a few days in Paris (Sam and I somehow survived in their absence) and I am continuing to learn Spanish. I’m rather pleased with myself in that I wrote that entire phrase above and, when I checked it using google translate it said what I wanted!

My Sunday league refereeing has begun, have done a couple of games now – I particularly enjoyed today’s game, despite it being all the way over beyond Burnham. Floodlit league starts this Tuesday with Glastonbury v Wells.

Mini making an annoying (worrying) rumbling noise, definitely something to do with the wheels/tyres as its frequency changes with speed. Hoping its just a tyre (to be fair, did drive for about 15 miles the other day with one of the run flats, flat so could be the cause.) Will swap the front wheels tomorrow – if the sound changes side it will confirm tyre/wheel problem (hoping for this easy/cheapest fix) if not, its probably a wheel bearing – not a disaster, but I’d prefer it to not be. Hopefully next week I’ll be able to update with some positive diagnosis.