Rain.

The rain set in during the morning and has been pouring down ever since. Our sports' day would have been a real wash out. We had another lovely morning at school doing more art based on London's buildings. Today the children created a London skyline cutting buildings out of black paper and sticking them on to a 'sky' background and then added details with pens. Because it was an activity that I wanted them to complete in 1 morning they didn't use watercolours to create their sky but instead they had a selection of grey/blue/cream paper which they then shaded with pastels. The finished results looked really good and the children were justifiably proud of their work. When I started getting ready for the lesson I had a problem finding any black paper as our Headteacher has banned sugar paper and we are not allowed to order any. I agree that it isn't right for mounting work but for collage and tearing work there is nothing better. Instead we have some nicer coloured paper but the weight and surface are totally different. The only black we have is some card and rolls of nasty slightly textured plasticy backing paper which I avoid like the plague. This morning I was going to have to compromise by using black card which is harder for the children to cut but then I realised that the pages of the scrap books we have to stick the children's topic work into are black sugar paper ........... so now we have a couple less scrap books. I left work at lunch time but the last few days have left me so tired I have done nothing but yawn this afternoon. Even the flapjacks were baked by Linas under my instruction. That's me training him to be an all round cook.

Full Circle.

I've been teaching all day. We had a lively day with the children making models of some of London's bridges using various construction toys, sticks, straws, cardboard and lots of tape. It has been a very muggy day and the rain finally arrived about an hour ago. We had already cancelled tomorrow's sports' afternoon because even if the forecast hadn't been for rain the field was so sodden that many of the activities would have been quite hazardous.

After school I collected Linas from the train station. Then it was back home to unload his bags, a shower for him and off to the Saunton Sands Hotel for his interview for a job as a wine waiter. View from the hotel car park.

It looks as if the interview went well and although they will phone him first they have already asked him to come for an induction day next Monday! The initial contract will be for the summer season but then there is the chance of having that extended. If he does get the job it will be like going full circle. We first came to North Devon on family holidays to Saunton Sands, the first year when Linas was a toddler staying in a holiday flat just along from the hotel and then staying in chalets on the sand dunes below. We continued with our family holidays on the beach until we got the chance to live here 18 years ago. Now after 5 years down in Plymouth Linas may be back at Saunton once again. Even in this rain there were people out on the beach.

A Magical Evening.

I've had another full day at work. In the morning I took my class to the Leisure Centre for their swimming lessons. We had a bit of time before we went so some of the children were finding places on a map of the UK that were relevant to them such as where their relatives lived or where they had been on holiday. I was surprised to see one boy had labelled Birmingham and written 'God was born here'. He was quite sure that this statement was correct and it took me a while to realise that he was thinking of - Bethlehem. Starts with B, ends with M and is 3 syllables, an easy mistake to make. After lunch it was Shuffle Up Afternoon, with all the children moving up to their new classes including the very young children who will be starting in September and the Year 2 children going across to the junior school. It was my afternoon to be in the Year 2 class so I had a visiting class of Year 1 children who just happened to be the class I teach several times a week anyway. So at least we didn't have to get to know each other.
Peter came home from work and went straight out again. We had both been invited to a barbecue and watch the football evening but I had declined the offer as I am not that interested in football and when I am working full days I don't like to go out in the evening. Instead I washed my hair and had an early supper.

As I sat down at my PC I glanced through the window to see a deer in the wet meadow. It wasn't until I looked closely at the photo that I realised it was actually a unicorn. I also realised that it was a beautiful sunny evening, far too good to waste sitting indoors. Instead I grabbed my camera and some binoculars and went out for a long stroll.

Leaving the house, the garden was a cacophony of bird song. This died away as I walked up the hill, maybe because there are far less trees. Eventually all I could here was the occasional bird, the buzzing of bees and the wheezing of some cows on the other side of the 10ft hedge.

This is one of the things I love about living here, the fact that I can, on a whim, walk out of the door and go for a beautiful country walk. I have even been known to end up half-way up the hill in my pyjamas when a stroll up the garden gave me the desire for more fresh air and far reaching views.

A Special Visit.

Strange weather today, a bit of everything. I left home in bright sunshine but as I drove along the top of the hill I could see low clouds all around trailing wisps of swirling vapour towards the ground.
It was overcast in town until mid afternoon when the sun broke through. The temperature shot up and then to confuse us a very heavy shower fell just before it was time for the children to go home.

We had an exciting visitor this morning in school - one of the Olympic torch bearers, along with a man from West Country TV (must record the news). Rick was chosen to carry the torch because of the charity work he has done for the local children's hospice, Little Bridge House. His little boy Kieran, came to our school when he was well enough but sadly passed away. Since then Rick has worked hard to fund raise for this amazing hospice which provides care for both the terminally ill children and their families. At school we have a tree and a friendship bench in memory of Kieran.
Rick talked to the children about the torch and then let them all hold the torch. Group photos were also taken of the children with the torch. We thought that parents could buy the photos as a fund raiser for the hospice.

I'm not that into any competitive sports and I wasn't too fussed about missing the torch relay through Barnstaple, (that was the day I had an appointment in Exeter), but I still took the chance to have a photo taken with the torch. This is the most sporty I get.

No Rain.

It has not rained today, not one single drop. And we even had sunshine in the morning! It was lovely to have breakfast basking in the sun and unexpected heat. Yesterday we were back in winter clothes with 2 fleeces but today it was up to 15C. Not exactly a scorcher but very welcome nonetheless. After sitting out in the sun doing some planning for school it was time for a bit of gardening. The small pond needed some attention and I waded in and pulled out a lot of the grass that was taking over the small patch of water. Then it was time to mow once again. Peter was out rowing with the gig club, helping with local hospice floating bye ceremony http://www.northdevonhospice.org.uk/event/event/floating-bye2.ashx . They had to use the gigs to tow a raft of commemorative flowers up the river ready to be sent off to sea at sunset.

Correction - we had a light shower at 6.00.

Drip, Drip.

Another day of rain, rain and yet more rain. The dreaded inertia set in as soon as my eyes registered the grey sky and lashing rain. Logically I know that not being able to go outside does not affect my ability to work inside the house but there is this trip switch in my brain which doesn't turn on without the sun. Fortunately backache drove me from my bed - see there are some advantages to my bad back, and once I had given myself a stern lecture I decided to blitz the sitting room. Armed with my high tech equipment, a bucket of soapy water and cloth and the hoover, I set to work and now the room is sparkling. A bit of a once over for the rest of the downstairs and my need to 'have done something' has been assuaged. Peter was set to go rowing this afternoon but the high wind made the river conditions too rough to get the gigs out and rowing was cancelled for today.

For supper tonight we are having a cheese stuffed crust pizza with a salad. Take-away pizzas are tasty but expensive and full of salt and additives so we never have them. Shop bought pizzas are still pretty expensive and with 3 hungry boys at home I always made my own but now there are just the 2 of us I sometimes buy them if reduced. Cheese stuffed crust is my very favourite so when I saw some half-price in the Co-Op I couldn't resist. An added bonus was that they were on a 3 for 2 offer which was still in effect even though they were reduced so I bought all 3 and the other 2 are now in the freezer.

Gig Club Evening.

It's official, there will be no summer. The weather for the next few months is forecast to be dismal with the possibility of sunny weather returning in September, but don't hold your breath. So I shall try and ignore the grey wet days and take advantage of even the briefest of sunny spells.
This evening we were down in Pilton for the gig club's photo night at Pilton Hall, home of all community events in Pilton. It was great to relive our trip to the Isles of Scilly by watching a well put together slide show, with amusing captions, on a full-sized film screen. There were also several video clips and once more we were back at the Wolf & Bishop joining in with our enthusiastic rendition of old sea shanties. At the end there were joke awards given out eg The Construction Award (a tent peg) given to someone whose tent fell down. There were fines as well and Peter had to pay up for breaking a pin in a race (he wasn't the only one) and he also had to pay up for having the most clothes on before a race on and nearly delaying the start when he had to take off his jacket.

Pilton Street looking down towards town (Barnstaple) which is hidden behind the trees.

The top end of Pilton is a maze of little lanes cut into the top of the hill. I tend not to use this road to get to work as it's a long way to reverse back if you meet someone coming up the hill at you.

It was so chilly this morning that I had to put the heating on in the classroom. Just for a short time to take the chill off. The children had yet more SATs in the morning and then it got so wet they had to spend most of the day in the classroom. It has been a busy teaching week for me and I will be teaching for most of next week as well. So I shall make sure that I try to have a relaxing weekend.