Blog Archives

2021 - Nonetheless!

31/12/2021

It will be another quiet new year - which is not necessarily an unwelcome thing now that I am embracing my bah-humbug guise!?! It has been an odd week insofar as many of our plans were abandoned due to positive PCR / LFT tests. I think the current isolation period finishes on Tuesday - just in time for the kids to go back to school. Typical! However, we managed to meet up separately and celebrate nonetheless.

** (right) The dog and Christmas tree is nothing to do with us! It just makes me laugh.

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Moving on up... down... sideways?

31/12/2021

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Nice new year resolutions!

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Christmas Carrots

24/12/2021

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Don't worry everyone!

I have a dug up some carrots and there are plenty for Rudolf, Dancer, Blitzen and the rest of the herd, so they will be full of vitamins A and C, and will display a lot of energy for delivering all the presents this evening.

PHEW!!

You're welcome!

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All Change!

24/12/2021

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It has been a l-o-n-g couple of weeks with a few ups and downs. I shan't go into it all but suffice to say, I have had little time to reply to a number of messages and texts so I do apologise for my tardiness.

For example, recently it has been a combination of travelling between Manchester and Romsey on separate occasions, sorting out furniture collections / removals, attending a few full-on induction days for a new school job, and a MAD last day of term with another primary school, as well as the normal run-up-to-Christmas nonsense.

My eldest niece flew back from Kazakhstan last weekend and is being the hostess-with-the-mostess for some of the family for Christmas Day – including me and Paul. However, other events have been cancelled or postponed because the other branch of the family are currently keeping the PCR clinics busy, and three individuals have tested positive. This is such a shame as they had plans to spend Christmas in Cornwall but that has to be abandoned. We are also postponing our whole family get-together (scheduled for the 30th) as it falls within the recommended isolation period. We were also hoping to experience the Festival of Lights at Sudeley Castle but, again, that had to be cancelled.

Paul has been working throughout, looking after the Enchanted Lights Trail at Cotswolds Farm Park (check out his handiwork). The Trail has proved to be popular, and I hope to go next week…. restrictions allowing!

Everyone – we need to be philosophical. It is wasted energy to get riled. Maybe that will be one of my new year's resolutions…?

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Beautiful Cotswolds

16/12/2021

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Advice for Gardeners

12/12/2021

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School Dinners

11/12/2021

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I can’t remember what I have reported regarding the latest news, but my portfolio of job roles now includes another twelve hours work at Andoversford Primary School. Andoversford (APS) is a small village about ten miles from Cheltenham (on the Oxford Road) and the school roll is just 81 children. Although the new job starts officially in January, I am covering some ‘induction’ time before the end of term.

I will generally be covering on a Tuesday (part of the day) and a whole day on a Wednesday. My other school (Temple Guiting – “TG”) is usually a full Friday. The schools are of a similar size but are as different as chalk and cheese by way of management and administrative structure.

But kids are the same wherever you are in the world!

Yesterday at TG we enjoyed our Christmas Lunch and, of course, it was absolute carnage! Noisy with a large dose of high excitement to complement the Christmas crackers, poppers, paper-hats and jumpers! Afterwards, in the playground, one small child quizzed me as to “why are you shaking that tree?”. He did seem perturbed.

I gently explained that I was, in fact, attempting to straighten it up as it was very lop-sided, in danger of falling down and losing all its decorations and baubles. To which he looked at me askance, rolled his eyes and nonchalantly walked on…

Later in the afternoon and after my colleague (the School Business Manager) had left for the day, another small boy came into the office to collect some material off the printer / photocopier. Without ceremony he barged into the office, looked at me and said with a suitable amount of awe “Mrs Green, are you pretending to be Mrs Jameson?”. To which I replied, “Well, Henry, I am pretending that I actually know what I am doing”, and he nodded in agreement, picked up his paperwork and left the room, seemingly satisfied. So, that told me!

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