Mild.

The mild weather continues though probably not for long. It certainly doesn't feel like winter, today at school most of the children weren't wearing their coats at lunchtime and some had even taken off their jumpers. All that running around must keep them warm.

I made an early start today and was able to fit in a couple of hours of outside work. First thing was to scrub down the garden chairs in the scree garden shelter. I had taken them up there some time ago intending to give them a coat of teak oil prior to putting them away for the winter. Before I could do that some birds must have been roosting on them as there were white splash marks over the backs of the chairs. When I was scrubbing the chairs I noticed a white mould growing in places probably due to the constant rain leaving everything damp. Once the chairs have dried I'll oil them and then wipe them down with some fungicide.

Then I cleaned up the last of the pointing I had done yesterday. The slabs are too rough to clean straight away with a damp sponge so I've been waiting a day then using an old kitchen knife to scrape off some of the excess cement. Funnily enough my knife has changed from an ordinary round ended knife to a pointed one. 

I also did some leaf clearing from the stone bed I can see from the kitchen window. There are still more wisteria leaves to fall but at least I've cleared one lot away. My school afternoon with the Reception children was fairly uneventful; phonics, singing and handwriting. 

One of the chili plants I grew from seed.

I stayed on after school to write comments in the handwriting books (for 4 year olds who can't read them anyway). However yet again I managed to forget that it is my day to turn on the dishwasher in the staffroom. I keep on forgetting even though I write it on my hand. I remembered while I was in the classroom, went up to the staffroom, made some posters of the RE work I did with the Year 1 children last week and then went straight out to the car park.