EDINBURGH & Half term

We kick started off the half term break with an evening out in Bristol (again)!

The second time this month with Jeff!!

We had a fabulous meal at a family run Italian, halfway up Park Street 

Molto Buono

Would highly recommend if in Bristol and wondering where to eat.

The main event was to see Chicago!

We last saw it together 19 years ago in London, for our 10th wedding anniversary. We'd left the children with my mum and dad and went up on the train, all the way from Redruth in Cornwall. I just remember it being really hot!!

It was great, a really excellent show.

I guess we got home just after 11pm and met my friend on the driveway. 

She was staying the night, as we had a 5am alarm in the morning.....

.....and it was back at Bristol airport!

Jeff very kindly dropped us off. He was home alone for a few days. My KA was in for it's MOT and he was going up to Cardiff to collect the first of Sam's stuff, so was busy, whilst I was off for a few days in....

.....Edinburgh....

....visiting old school friends.

I have known them both since I was 11. They had both been together at primary school. We've met a few times, after reconnecting over the past 10 years but Em lives in Edinburgh and it was about time we headed there. Mel unfortunately couldn't make it but we probably made up for her, talking 10 times over!! I think the first day, we managed 14 hours solid!!!

Em very kindly hosted us for the 4 days and it was lovely to meet her family and fill in all the gaps. She was also the perfect person to show us around Edinburgh. The first day we pretty much stuck to the centre, taking in the 'must see' tourist bits. I remarked that I knew of one person in Edinburgh, my friends daughter is a student there....and who did I see!!!!? I hope I didn't embarrass her running across the road to give her a big hug!!

We were lucky, the forecast for our trip was wet, very wet, but the biggest downpour happened whilst we were inside eating lunch!

Day two and we went to look around the Royal Yacht Britannia. Not something I would have chosen to do, but my friend Ju's dad served on the yacht, so she wanted to go and see it and see his name listed on the crew sheets. 

I was more impressed by the Anthony Gormley sculpture at the end of Leith Pier.

Before heading back, we walked to the top of Calton Hill, for fabulous views across the city, Leith, Arthur's Seat and Holyrood Palace and the Parliament buildings. I LOVED Edinburgh and actually, would happily relocate there, but it would have to be warmer and drier!!!

A fabulous sunset to round off the day!

Our last day and Ju and I went off solo. Em was going on holiday the following day, so she dropped us off in Stockbridge, another beautiful part of the city. We had a mooch around, admired the houses that sell in excess of a million pounds and headed to the river, to walk the Waters of Leith.

It was a beautiful mile and half walk along the river, passing through Dean Village...

...to another Anthony Gormley sculpture. 

From there, we headed up to the Gallery of Modern Art for lunch. And, yet again, dodged another heavy downpour. We did have a brief look around before getting the bus back to Em's and said our goodbyes.

We had a fabulous stay. Loved spending time together and catching up, meeting her family and sharing the 'missing years'. And it would have been perfect, had our flight home not been delayed! We arrived home with 6 minutes to spare, from the 3 hour compensation mark!! Poor Jeff, collecting us from the airport!! We got home at 2am!! Ju stayed over and then headed home the following morning....

....whilst I dashed over to the Newt, to meet up with my Uni friend and her husband. They were staying locally and wanted to go to the Newt, but you can only get in as a member or as a guest of a member. So I met up with them for a coffee, got them in and then left them to explore at their own pace. To be fair I was knackered after four days of going to be bed after midnight, so headed home for a quiet afternoon doing very little.

We haven't done anything in the latter half of this week, just potter around at home. The garden is looking lovely, especially the wild lawn area. Jeff has planted out the sunflowers, geraniums, lobelia and pumpkins, so fingers crossed they now establish and do there thing!!

Pinch and a punch.....

.....hello JUNE!

It's back to school/work tomorrow. I have two and a half weeks of full on exams ahead. I am doing all 10 available slots next week and clash supervision and I think it's a further 8/10 slots the week after. Then a final two days in the third week, but the possibility of a couple of days helping out doing gallery stuff. So a busy 3 weeks ahead, before a calmer week to pack and get ready for our Greek adventure! And that'll be June done!! It's frightening when you think of it like that. We do have another night out in Bristol and a meet up with my mum and dad to look forward to, too. Sam has his last exam on the 6th and will then be leaving Cardiff. Packing up 4 years worth of stuff and doing a couple of runs back and forth, as he only has a Micra or a KA to transport everything! Although that said, it all went up in a Micra with room to spare!! So, a busy month ahead and lots to look forward to.

A quick round up before half term!

I'm away for a few days from tomorrow, so a quick round up of the week before half term! 

The week started with taking Sam to the train station, returning to Cardiff for one of the last times.

Tuesday and a rare day off!! 

So Sophie and I met up at Cribbs for a little retail therapy together. 

It's pretty much halfway for us both, so a good meet up place.

Neither of us really found anything to purchase, other than a much needed replacement pair of DM's!! Although, I do intend to try and keep them until September and the start of the new academic year, IF my olds ones can keep going that long. A new school term and a new pair of shoes, just like school days! Ha!

The weather this week has been mixed and as always, as a holiday approaches, so the good weather disappears and makes way for a wet, unsettled week ahead.

Jeff did manage to plant out the sunflowers one dry evening. 

Let's hope they put on another magnificent display throughout the summer.

It's hard to believe that these tiny seedlings will end up 5/6ft tall!!.

I had a little anniversary this week. It's 10 years since I lost all my weight and 10 years on, I've managed to keep 4 of the 6 stone off. I'm pretty chuffed with that. I won't say that it's been easy, in fact it's taken up far too much headspace over the years. But, the older I get, it's even more important to keep going. Health, strength, mobility, etc are far more important than being thin!!

I've had a super busy week of exam invigilation and Jeff has been super busy as this term comes to a close. He's just returned from the Summer Celebration and Prize Giving and is now officially on half term, with 4 weeks left of the school year once he's back! We've both pretty much been flat out this week and have both had to make the effort to venture out to the garden in an evening to appreciate how lovely it is looking at the moment. The Alliums are at their best.....

...the Hosta's are at their most lush and unspoilt.

My fig is doing fantastically, laden with fruit ready to be ripened and....

....the geraniums and honeysuckle are full of flower.

So half term plans..... we're off out tonight to the theatre and a meal. Then a 5am alarm in the morning, and a trip to Bristol airport, as I head off to Edinburgh for a few days to meet up with old school friends. Jeff is home alone, but is up to Cardiff one day, to start packing up Sam's stuff and bringing it home from Uni! My car is going in for it's MOT and he has lots of bits to keep him busy, before I return late Wednesday evening. The weather the past few weeks has been glorious up in Edinburgh, so of course it's forecast to rain!!!!!! Sigh!! Packing has been tricky, what to take??? I last went to Edinburgh when I was 16, the summer after my O'Levels. I travelled by train from Redruth in Cornwall, all the way up to Dundee and then onto Edinburgh, with my Granny and her neighbour Enid!! We went to see the Edinburgh Tattoo. I just remember it being the journey from hell, so I'm hoping the flight tomorrow will be far less arduous. I will report back next weekend, have a good week x

Out on a school night!

We started the working week with a night out in Bristol!

We sat out on the street enjoying a beer, pretending we were in Italy or Greece HA!

Then on to St George's......

....to see the talented Tony Ann.

I started following him in Lockdown, when he would sit on his balcony, with a keyboard, videoing himself composing and playing. He is now on a World tour and has amassed over 100 million views over social media. Go and see for your self over on Instagram @tonyannnn 

We have been enjoying the most glorious sunshiny weather, which was temporarily disrupted by the threat of a thunder storm mid week. Thunder rumbled around, the skies darkened, but it amounted to nothing and very little rain. We have apparently, had more hours of sunshine this Spring, than we had the whole of last summer!! Which I can easily believe. Let's hope it lasts, although the forecast for half term week is looking extremely soggy x

I had a rare morning off on Thursday to walk with my friend. We usually walk every week, but my Thursday mornings have been filled with exams. When I gave my initial availability, I kept Thursday mornings free, but this is the last remaining free Thursday until the end of June!! 

So we decided to head up the Tor as we've not done that for a while. 

9000 steps in the bag and a nice coffee reward at Middlewick cafe at the end, 

before going back in to do another exam in the afternoon. 

After a full week of exams, it was lovely to come home on Friday, to Sam waiting for us, wanting to know what was for tea!! He's finished his last assignment, got 3 weeks until his FINAL exam!!! So has come home for a few days. Normally, he'd be here, there, and everywhere catching up with friends but he must have been in need to chill, as he's pretty much stayed here. We walked yesterday afternoon, up and around Compton Dundon Beacon....

....and then after tea, we did a 'Boris Walk', once around the block, for old times sake!!

Sam and I walked every day together in the first lockdown, as Jeff preferred to use his allotted time to run. We mended a lot of bridges whilst walking.

 During his GCSE's I came down on him like a tonne of bricks, was very much the 'moany mum' as he is a bright boy but extremely lazy. I made him sit down at the table to revise, as he'd have done next to nothing left to his own devises. We didn't really like each other much by the end of it. BUT, during lockdown, we started to enjoy each other's company a little more with each walk, and it's still something we enjoy doing together now!

It's been lovely to see him. Jeff is dropping him off at Bridgwater train station tomorrow evening. He's back in Cardiff for a few days before heading back to London to see Poppy. He needs to start sorting out his stuff, to pack up and move out. Jeff is heading up in half term to collect a car load and he'll probably get insured on the car to do any other runs he needs. We only have a Micra and a KA, so not big cars and Sophie has a Fiat 500, so four years of accumulated 'stuff' may take a few trips!!

Next week is the final flurry before half term. To be fair, it's all gone by pretty quickly. I'm in all week, except for Tuesday. Sophie and I are meeting up for the day, a little retail therapy!!

Have a good week, enjoy the sunshine whilst it lasts!

No phone zone!

Well what a long week!

A full week of exam invigilation. Most people think exam invigilation is easy, boring, what do you do? There is so much responsibility once you flip from mocks to 'real' exams. 

I tend to be with access arrangement students, often on laptops at the back of the main hall, often ×10, or sometimes in a separate room as a 1-1 reader/scribe, or with a student with rest breaks, or a combination of it all!!......there can be a lot going on and it has to be right!! As with anything I do, I take it seriously and am dependable to do a good job, so am now often a lead, with new invigilators to train too! And any spare slots I'd kept free for the occasional coffee date or walk with my friend, have rapidly been filled!! So I am in pretty much every day am and pm, for the remaining four and half weeks of exams. Add in a few clash supervision sessions too, there isn't room for much else!

The school is a no phone zone, exams are no phone zones, my phone has been in silent mode all week and it's actually been quite refreshing, but as a result I've not a lot to share!!

Annoyingly, the minute you commit to something 'inside', the weather is glorious!! Thankfully it has remained so for the majority of the weekend and we've been able to enjoy our meals outside.

I've even been reading!!

One of the many symptoms of menopause, has been my ability to read a book. In lockdown I read loads. I used to always read in the summer or whilst we were where on holiday, but for the past few years I have just not been able to focus/concentrate/enjoy reading a book. I have tried! At night I'd read a few pages, the following night read the same few pages, and so on. In the day I could just not concentrate or retain anything that I had read. So I gave up! Jeff and Sophie have been giving me books they think I'd enjoy and I've tried a Kindle, which didn't flip any magic switch either. But whilst we were in Crete, I did manage to read a book and I've got half way through this one which I'm enjoying. Although it's been in bursts at the weekend, as my ability to read at bedtime is still absent!! I just need to get to grips with reading on a kindle, ready for our summer travels!!

The forecast for the week ahead is sun filled!! 

So I will have to enjoy it in between exams. 

Sam hands in his final assessment this week and is coming home for a few days next weekend. He has had to work through all this glorious weather, poor boy. But, the end is in sight, with just one more exam to go and then his time at Uni will be over. Something I wasn't sure he'd achieve, more than once over the past four years. My niece starts her GCSE's next week and as Jeff is Head of Year 11, his next few weeks will be dominated by exams!! I actually hate exams!! Was never any good myself, hated seeing Sophie so stressed by exams, clashed with Sam terribly when he was doing his GCSE exams, so doing exam invigilation is possibly an odd choice, but I just try and make it as stress free as I possibly can for the students I've been allocated. I imagine it's my two and just try to give them a calm, organised, stress free experience. Good luck to them all xx

Sunshine makes all the difference!!

What a week of......

....the most glorious sunshine!

Warm, sunshiny days and blue skies. 

It certainly makes a huge difference to everything!!

8pm and the doors are still open!

I have had to work this week and it is always hard, knowing that whilst you are sat inside, it's absolutely beautiful weather outside. The trouble with this country is, the minute you get good weather you feel you have to enjoy every minute of it, as there are no guarantees that it will last. Unlike our trip to Greece last summer, when every day was beautiful blue skies and sunshine and when one cloud appeared near the end of our trip, it was a talking point!!

The garden is loving the sunshine.

My fig tree is absolutely laden with fruit. 

I'd say there's over 200 figs on there. 

If they all get pollinated, I'll be eating figs all summer.

It's been a fabulous start to the month of May!

The alliums have started to flower. 

They do seem a little late this year but it just means we'll get to enjoy them for longer.

So yesterday, I headed over to Bristol to meet up with Sophie. We did a little shopping. Cancelled our lunch reservation and opted for a takeout, which we enjoyed sitting out in the sunshine on College Green, as we then spent the afternoon indoors!!

I bought these tickets over a year ago, so obviously had no idea it would be such lovely weather. I last saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang back in 2007, so Sam would've been 4 at the time. We had seats up in the Upper Circle. I remember it so well, as Sam was sick and I caught it in my handbag!!! And my poor Dad ended up taking him out and buying him new clothes and they both missed the rest of the performance!! Sam really suffered as a child with Heightened Senses and one aspect was body temperature control and his default was to be sick!! I sat yesterday, thinking about him as a boy and how hard he had it, eating, sounds, textures and how he would have loved to see the car fly. I did offer him a ticket for this time round, but at 23, the moment had passed HA!

The weather has cooled today. It's dry, cloudy and sunny but not as lovely as last weekend. It's Bank Holiday but both Jeff and I will be working tomorrow, so its just a regular weekend to us. He has to go in later today for a duty, so is out in the garden making the most of the time he does have. It's 8 weeks until we go away. The countdown for me is my nod to lose a few pounds. For Jeff, it's a way to pace himself through the term, knowing he has a holiday to look forward to. 

Yes, he does get longer holidays but during term time he works hard. As it's a boarding school, he works six days a week. He's a Maths teacher, Head of Year for 250 pupils and has a sport commitment. Football during the first two terms, volleyball during the summer term. He has to do additional duties and as Head of Year, the expectation is to show support to his year groups wider curricular events, so is often in school in an evening too. That's why we moved to Street, to be closer to school, so less time was wasted travelling back and forth too. And that's why we do very little in term time, because during his one day off, he likes to potter around at home. We do joke, but during the summer term he doesn't  even have to use the car or leave Street!!! As we get older, we often discuss his exit/retirement plan. The Head of Year roll definitely takes up a lot of his time and as it's so reactive, it's harder to pace yourself through the weeks. His evening naps become more frequent, as the term progress!!! HA!

Anyway, I'm about to take him out a coffee, see what he's up to. Planting sunflower seeds I think!!
Have a good week, enjoy the sunshine whilst we have it xx