Technology failure.

Another school day has flown by. The sun has been shining outside and we spent a happy morning at the Leisure Centre where the children have their swimming lessons. There is so much to get through that we have to have a packed afternoon even though some of them are quite tired. Handwriting, yes with those books with the little blue and red lines, followed by the story of Rama and Sita with the children all participating with puppets they made the other day though I'm not quite sure the gun fire sound effects for the battle against Ravanna were that authentic. My boys get rather enthusiastic about battles. And then they sorted Indian animals into herbivores and carnivores. The big Smart Board is so easy to use. I can draw, add text and as many pictures as I like from the net and then the children can move them about on the large touch screen. After playtime the children had a phonics session before finally going home at 3.30. Tomorrow we've got a visiting puppet workshop so I've planned a far more relaxed arts based day. The sunny evenings make driving home such a pleasure so I thought I'd show some of the typical views as I drive along.

There is a gateway here on the left where I usually stop to check out the sunset over the sea. This was also the road I walked down in the dark when it was completely iced over after having a hip injection under x-ray at the hospital last December. Happy memories!

At least my pc is working tonight. Yesterday I was filling in a job application form (for next January) and although I've got several printed off copies I thought it would be better to fill in the form on the pc and print it off filled in. I found the form, spent a long time filling it in and then the whole thing froze right up. I now know that I should have down loaded the blank form and then filled it in which is what I am about to do now. Also our Sky box has given up the ghost and despite having 24 hr cover they can't bring a new box until Monday. We have Freeview in the kitchen but it's not the same as sitting on the floor (my most comfortable position) with some hot milk and a few squares of dark chocolate. I'm such a creature of habit but at least there is nothing special that I was planning to watch.

Autumn Sunshine.

It was another beautiful afternoon and evening. Now that we have the heater for a morning boost of heat my classroom is a lovely place to be. We have windows down the length of 2 sides and it feels so bright and cheery. I finally feel that I am properly organised in the classroom though there are some cupboards that need to be tidied. The art supplies cupboard under my sink is a veritable Pandora's box. Everything has been shoved in there and I only dare slide the door open a little and pull out the things I need. I'd love to have the time to drag everything out and get it all really sorted. Views on the way home.

Two Bridges.

It has been another dry day, a grey start and not quite so sunny and warm as yesterday but not bad. I had my PPA time changed to today so I spent the afternoon mainly sitting at the pc typing in information to the on line pupil tracker we are using. Tomorrow I've been persuaded to play the piano so that the children can learn The Farmer Comes To Scatter The Seed for our Harvest festival next week. It's only a simple tune but I've never been very good at playing in front of other people. I've practised at home so many times I can play it with my eyes shut so hopefully I won't go wrong. Luckily for most of our singing we have cds or on-line music.

I haven't taken any photos today, instead I offer some taken last Sunday. This quay was the heart of Barnstaple from Roman times as it is here that the ships were loaded before making their way all around Britain, to Africa and in later days across the Atlantic. Barnstaple was a thriving port and all sorts of goods including the famous Barum pottery were exported from here. Barnstaple has in the past been invaded from the sea by the Vikings and even slave traders. At the site of the original ford is the Old Bridge, from where we watched the fireworks,
and this is the new bridge built only a few years ago to keep traffic away from the heart of town.

Misty Morning.

It was one of those beautiful mornings when the mist lay blanketed over all the valleys with the hill tops peeping through. This was the view to the east with Arlington Court hidden under the mist. When I had travelled a little further along the road I had similar but far reaching views south all the way to Dartmoor. When the road dipped a little before Shirwell I could see the mist skimming the tops of the hedge and making a fluffy bridge across the road. There was more heavy mist on the final approaches to Barnstaple, all very eerie. At school we finally had a man come and sort out the heaters, thank goodness because 50F in the classroom was far too cold. The day then brightened up to lovely warm sunshine, oh to be at home and working outside! Another staff meeting this evening and then home to discover that my neighbour has actually paid out to have large portions of the road down the hill, resurfaced. His customers must have been complaining about the large number of pot holes in the road. Otherwise there is no way he would have paid out all that money when the top of the drive isn't even his but belongs to another farmer who doesn't need to worry about the potholes.
Only half a pound lost this week but every bit helps. I just want to get down to 10 1/2 stone plus a few pounds under to give a little leeway. So only 3 or 4 pounds to go.

All Spotty.

Today was the first time that the gig club was able to row from Barnstaple so I went along with Peter to watch him out on the river. It looks like a lot of fun. Quite a few people have joined the club so each group only had half an hour on the water. While Peter was rowing I walked up to the High Street where most shops are open on Sundays. As I crossed the Cattle Market car park I noticed a parking warden putting tickets on those who had dared to park without paying. It used to be free on Sundays but now the council tries to make as much money as possible. I had parked in the civic centre car park by the river and I double checked that it was still free on Sundays.
After rowing Peter and I drove to Woolacombe for a walk on Barricane beach. It was great to let the wind blow away the cobwebs. The tide was coming in but it didn't matter because.......

.... I'd found a reason to buy those spotty wellies I'd been eyeing up last week. I never think to bring my clumpy builder's wellies to the beach but these can live in the boot of my car for such occasions.

After watching the waves and picking up some shells we retired to the cliff top to do more wave watching. The surf was up and there were plenty of surfers in the water. When the sun shone through the clouds it was quite warm so we sat, chatted and longed to be once more on Lundy which we could see clearly even though we had forgotten to bring our binoculars.

Back home for a final bash at the paperwork. Peter will be off out soon to play in his pool team and I'll have a quiet evening.

Saturday!

It was so good not to have to get up early this morning. Peter and I went into town this morning to chose a jacket from Tog 24 the shop where I bought my fluffy fleece last week. After a quick trip to the supermarket to use a £6 voucher they had sent it was back home to more paperwork while Peter went out to look at someone's laptop and the gym. He returned bearing an orchid, fruit and some chocolate as it is our wedding anniversary today, 38 years and still going strong. We didn't want to go out so we're having an evening in watching Strictly and Casualty. I haven't spent much time in the garden but there are still plenty of flowers around in all the damp foliage.
This scrambling geranium is pretty invasive but worth it at this time of the year.

Friday Fatigue.

Lots and lots of rain today. It was only as I was driving home that a merest glimmer of sun appeared. Not the best day for wearing my shalwar kameez with sparkly flip flops but I did anyway. My class are so used to me doing mad things that they didn't turn a hair and even suggested that I should be wearing a bindi. I had bought some glittery bindis for our display so they helped me chose one to wear. I did get some nice comments from my colleagues about how elegant the outfit was. I stopped on the way home for a quick glimpse of the sea.
At the bottom of our hill the sun broke through the clouds to light up this yellow rowan tree that always looks cheery in the autumn. Peter asked me if 'I'd had a good day?' and my response was that work is always too busy for it ever to be a good day especially as now the pressure is on to be tracking and targeting and to be aware of all the figures and stuff in case we get asked about them. Off for an early night I think.