Category: Pic of the week

Pic of the week, 16/2/20

Friday brought both Valentine’s Day and the start of half-term. Clearly a bit of a theme in the cards that Becky & I exchanged!

February half-term is always an important milestone with, possibly, one of the toughest periods of the school year completed and life seems to improve from here on in. The longer days and (hopefully) improving weather, coupled with the blooming of early spring bulbs is a part of it – a significant part – but not the whole.  With GCSE and A level classes reaching the conclusion of their syllabus, teaching tends to get easier as one begins to regularly reach for those past papers. Plus, the last half term was the last six+ week-er of the school year: its now two fives and a four – much more manageable timescales that the seemingly interminable Autumn term.

But the weather is yet to do its bit. After a battering from storm Ciara last week, we had a brief respite on Wednesday and Thursday, before storm Denis barreled into our lives, delivering a maelstrom of wind and rain from Saturday morning. I had a game on Saturday afternoon, which survived due to being on astro (but, annoyingly, my observer who was due to come and do the final assessment of my promotion year didn’t make it to the game) which I enjoyed despite the wind and rain. My game this morning was cancelled so it was another 50 lengths of Strode pool to start my day today. After a brief couple of hours late this afternoon when the rain stopped and the sun shined, as I write the wind and rain are back. Looks like a wet week ahead.

Sophie is back home for the week, on a reading week from Reading University, and Sam should be knuckling down to do some work. I think it has finally dawned on him that time is beginning to run out – the intentions are there, but the actions have yet to match.

And my experiments with my longer hair continue. Still undecided, so have to spend much time looking in the mirror to help me make up my mind …

Manana, tengo mi primer clase por hablar espanol con mi maestra de italki. Yo estoy un poco de nervioso, pero seguro que voy a disfrutalo.

Hasta luego!

Pic of the week 2/2/20

And so time marches inexorably onwards, and January has become February – normally a minor milepost to celebrate passing and, indeed, the weather is, perhaps, improving (certainly better than 12 months ago when we lay under a blanket of snow) and the evenings are noticeably lighter but, this year, the transition from January to February has left a hole in my heart and a heaviness on my soul.

I – we – are no longer Europeans, and that saddens me.

OK, so we are now in a 12 month transition period so we’ll not notice much different just yet, but we will. Perhaps not perceptively, perhaps the sky won’t come crashing down, but we will be poorer, we will be more insular, we will be more restricted in what we can do. We, as a nation, have done ourselves enormous and lasting self-harm.

But, in the words of that great soul song smith Marvin Gaye, change what you can, but what you can’t leave it alone and have the sense to know the difference between the two.

So upwards and onwards in to the Spring sunshine. Today did feel warm and there were times as I refereed on a very muddy Pawlett Pavilion pitch today that the sun shone that one got the sense that back of winter has been broken. Brave clumps of daffodils are beginning to burst into bloom, including a handful in our front garden.

But one must note that February has arrived and I’ve still to shed all my Christmas excess weight. Although the scales have been inching downwards, they still sit stubbornly above the 13 stone mark and that does need to be addressed – I can’t march into March still carrying winter fat.

Pic of the week 12/1/20

Its not been a cold autumn & winter, but its been a wet one and its only mid January so there is still much bleak weather to come.

But I can’t help but sense Spring may be on its way. Its 4.30 pm as I type and its still not dark – what a difference that makes. And there are lots of bulbs poking their heads up already. Still a while ’til they’ll flower, but they provide a sense of hope, of better days to come. I often think it is these green shoots that are the main joy of the daffodil, rather than their yellow flowers (but I like them too.)

Its been a busy first week back at school, and I’m back in on dining room duty in 45 mins, so not a long post today. Sophie went back to Reading on Thursday, I received the report from my referee assessment last Saturday (all good – “above standard expected”) and the luxury of time is a distant and ever fading memory. I hope the week coming won’t be so busy for me (last week I had a pensions meeting and was involved in three interviews for the Director of Football) and I do like the rhythm and routine of school life, but I can’t help but feel the balance isn’t right: either full on (term time) or full off (holiday time.) Oh well, nothing I can do about that, so no point dwelling on it.

Pic of the week 5/1/20

A new month, a new year, a new decade has dawned.

I must do a “Goal, Aims and Targets” post, but a first, and pressing, need is to bring my weight back down to pre-Christmas levels. My festive indulgences have seen my weight climb to 13 stone 5 pounds + and I now need to swiftly address that. Each day on the scales since December 25th has seen the dial sticking stubbornly to that figure, although today, for the first time, suggested a hint of a move in the right direction.

Refereed my first couple of games of the season, including an observed/assessed game yesterday (Strode v Manor) which went well. Achieving/completing my promotion to level six will be one of my goals for the year.

Term starts back tomorrow – now it is nearly upon me, I’m quite keen for the routine to commence.

Although the rest of the family claim not to notice, I am starting the new year with a new hair style – gone is the quiff, I’m now swooping my hair in the other direction and slapping on some gel. I’m liking the results so far.

Aprendo espanol ahoy, lo disfruto.

Adios!