We’ve spent the last week in Crete – flew out on Saturday 5th April, and returned yesterday on Saturday 12th April. The weather wasn’t wonderful – had a couple of days of chilly rain, whilst the UK enjoyed unseasonal warmth – and the bits of Crete (Rethmyno and Heraklion) are not the prettiest parts of Greece, I still had a lovely time, a week away to forget about the trials and tribulations of work. I blogged on Hap-pea-travels, you can read it here: https://hap-pea-travels.co.uk/greece/a-cretan-recharge-day-1/
This picture ^^^ was taken as we flew back. that is Milos and Kimilos, two of our favourite islands from our summer trip across the Cyclades.
Sophie, Sam and Poppy all came “home” on Friday, Sam & Poppy were here when we got back on Saturday evening, but have today headed back to London. Sophie was at a friends in Andover on Saturday, but is now back for the week, and will work from (our) home this coming week, until she stops for Easter.
On Wednesday, Becky and I went to Bristol to see Deacon Blue at the Bristol Beacon. It was great – perhaps not as “high energy” as the other times we’ve seen them – although they did still belt out the old ’45s – but given that this was the last night of term, and hence I was a little lacking in energy myself, it was a perfect night out. Really enjoyed the evening: great music, in a great venue, with wonderful company (and the added bonus of knowing that by lunchtime the next day I would be done with work for the term.)
Am posting a little early this week – its Friday evening – as tomorrow morning we jet off to Crete for a week. Although the weather has been gorgeous here today, and promises to be good for the foreseeable future, I’m really looking forward to getting away to Greece, a change of scene and a change of pace. Kalispera!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
Half term comes to a close and its been varied and full.
On Thursday we went up to Cardiff to look round a few houses with Sophie (whilst it proved valuable in helping her understand what she actually wants, she didn’t end up putting in an offer on any of them) but first we met up at Llanishen resevior for brunch, meeting with Sam as well. The pic above was taken with my new phone – with which I am pleased, and also I woke up on Tuesday morning to find that Lebara had resolved my problem and internet was restored to me.
All week Becky has been painting the stairs and it is finally coming together. Looks good and will be even better in a little over a week when the carpet gets laid.
Thursday was wet – we spent much of the journey up to Cardiff, and quite a bit of it back home, in the rain, but it did mark a change in the weather, and it has warmed up a bit and, on both Friday and Saturday, we did see some sunshine. It is grey and v windy today (and rain is forecast, but not yet arrived) but it does feel like we are entering a new, more hopeful, phase. I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the garden, and have been quite vigorous in (some of) my cutting back, particularly the ivy on the back wall, but also on the raspberry/blackberry bed by the side door, much to Becky’s chagrin who thinks I’ve been too vigorous and ruined any potential blackberry crop to come. The bulbs in the lawn are looking good, and those in the pots and front wooden trug are showing great promise. Hopefully over the coming weeks they will burst into bloom, giving a much needed lift was we march through March on the way to Spring and greater greenery. I also found some bulbs in a box in my shed – these would have been from the wooden trug from last year that I hadn’t planted out – that were sprouting, so I planted them out in various places – nothing ventured, nothing gained ….
One negative by product of my gardening yesterday, as we were finishing lunch I felt something in my eye, probably a bit of leaf or twig from my mornings labours. I tried washing it out, but couldn’t seem to get rid of it. I got increasingly irritated by it, stripped to the waist I went outside and poured bottles of water over my eye to no avail. Had a shower and basically forced/held my eye open in the water stream, but I could still feel something in my eye. I found if I sat still it helped, so read for a bit, then had a snooze. Awoke to it feeling a little better, but still not good. Becky & Sophie had been to the cinema in Wells to watch Bridget Jones (they both said it was very good) – Sophie then kindly took me to Glastonbury Minor Injuries Unit. I was seen in about 10 minutes, my eye was examined, nothing in it, but their had been and my cornea was scratched. I was given some cream to apply four times a day, for five days, and by the evening was feeling much better. I’m still “conscious” of my eye, but it no longer hurts and is well on the way to being fully recovered.
Whilst on my “health” (and as I age, it seems that more and more I am reporting weekly on minor ailments and the weather – is this my future?!) I’ve done little (no) exercise this week in an attempt to give my calf plenty of time to recover. This morning, when I got up, I spent 10 minutes doing stretching exercises – I still wouldn’t want to push my calf too hard, but I could stretch it without pain when I couldn’t last Sunday, so that is encouraging.
And just a little follow on note from last week – the repair of my car tyre went well, easy to do and (I’ve just checked!) the tyre is maintaining its pressure of 30psi.
At last, half term has arrived, but not before I was the victim of an industrial accident! On Thursday, I was in the staff room, chatting away, when I felt a heavy blow to the back of y head. Someone had accidently knocked over one of the vertical speakers, which swung down and hit me. It was a surprise, and it hurt! I wasn’t sure if I was concussed – I didn’t think I was, but wasn’t sure. Anyway, I had myself checked out and certainly by the next day I didn’t feel any the worse for wear, just waiting for the half term to finally end…
Yesterday I pulled up the carpet on the hall staircase. 90% of the job was easy, but its always that 10% …Where the carpet was furled up under the top and bottom step it was an absolute pain removing all the little hooks that had been used to secure it. But I’ve done it.
(Annoyingly, on returning from B&Q to buy some paint, I spotted a screw in the rear left tyre of my Micra. Have bought a £10 kit of Amazon to repair it – I’ll give that a go tomorrow.)
On Friday I ordered a new phone – a Motorola G34 – which arrived on Saturday evening. Unfortunately, on Saturday afternoon my Lebara sim stopped giving me data which was annoying and that, coupled with not having time today due to having to take up more carpet, meant the excitement and fun of getting and setting up a new phone has been lost, becoming more of a chore to fit in around everything else. Anyway, other than not being able to get mobile data, the new phone looks nice and appears to be a definite upgrade on my old phone, but I haven’t really had the chance to explore it properly yet.
This morning I went for a run – was only ever planning a slow 4 or 5k-er – but about 1K in I felt my calf “go” again (not as bad as before, but a definite moment) so I looped round and came home, which is a shame as I was enjoying pounding the streets again.
The weather has not been good so far this half term – yesterday was wet and miserable, today has been cold, v cold with a biting wind, not what I’d hoped for for this week.
Although the weather remains cold and claggy, I had a happy couple of hours today pottering around outside. Seeing the sun and some blue sky, I was tempted out to the front garden to clean my football boots – all togged up in my warm “outdoor jobs” tops, and enjoying the sun I continued with some tasks in the back. First, I chopped back a bit more of the buddleia – I would have done more, but my garden waste bin if full! – then I had a little tinker looking at, and lifting, a couple planks on the deck path by the side of the house that need replacing, some prep. work ready for half-term in a week’s time when I will replace them.
I also cut the planks ready to re-surface the workbench, and removed the old planks from that table. Removing the wood was fairly easy, the rusted, stubborn coach bolts less so. But I enjoyed being outside, and am in a position to fairly quickly complete this project next week.
Whilst most are still some way of blooming, the first one or two daffodils have flowered. The pic above was taken at school today – the crocuses are giving a bit of colour, but still we await the grand symphony of spring flowers to come.
My calf: yesterday I ran the line for the 1st XI. The first half was problem free, but soon into the second half I “felt it” again. Not as bad as last week, but still not 100% either.
Half-term beckons at the end of the week to come – looking forward to it!
