What a Day!
I decided to go down to Worcester to see my mum and get all the gardening things sorted out before the beginning of term - the compost for the huge numbers of bulbs that we have ordered, the wall flowers and primulas planted etc etc. "I will be organised - and so will my mother" - do you recognise that desperate kind of comment? Hmmmm, well.....
We had a lovely lunch together which she had prepared and I bought some yummy cherries which we devoured for pudding. Livvy was meant to be joinng us which she did, then we started. First of all we went to Roots, the local farm shop which has delicious organic meat and veg, so we all had our trolleys and barged around there - you have to barge with my mum 'cos of her eyesight (or lack of it!), then we set off for Laylocks to get the compost. Just down the road we passed the Art Gallery where mum bought her lovely cherry wood chair - Foalyard. They have some lovely stuff in there, I looked at mum, she said "We haven't shown this to Livvy have we?" and miraculously, my car - called Blue, drove right around the roundabout and went back to Foalyard all on its own!! Would you believe that??? Livvy was extremely grateful for this because I had been a bit naughty and driven around corners rather quickly, she was a slight shade of green by this stage.... OK, not normal motherly behaviour, so I'm not!
Back to the Foalyard, you park on a rough courtyard, so by the time we had got mum into the gallery safely we were all ready to stand and look around. They have some lovely stuff in there - everything from pictures to glassware to lovely japanese noodle bowls to furniture. Are you with me?? Sitting in the far end of the gallery was -- yes, my sofa. Aaaah, bliss. Mum and Liv sat down on it and felt so comfortable, they insisted I sat too. Room for three at a time easily, very comfortable and the covering material was white (!!!?!! me, white?) suedette white four lovely large cushions at the back in shades of brown. Mum got up and bought herself something - again, not a chair this time but a lovely carved appled in yew - very touchy feely and more affordable than a piece by the Cornish artist Barbara Hepworth. Livvy enquired about the possiblity of their looking at Tim's dad's work - he has made some beautiful marquetry pictures and jugs, so she arranged all that, so I just bought the sofa. A gentleman came in, the lady served him and we were rather amused to hear that we weren't customers - just people sitting on their sofa!
By this time it was quite late so we shot off to the garden centre, around lots of lanes which we had never driven down before, believe me my mother and I go out for drives around Worcester and we think that we've got lost down most of them, but this was a new one! Lovely houses and scenery, so lots of oohing and annoyance when a car drove behind us. Finally the garden centre loomed, too late for a cup of tea but we got the compost - with a little touch of John Innes No.2 as instructed by Livvy and lots of pansies for mum's tubs.
Poor Blue, by this time we were loaded up to the gunwhales, we set off at an alarming angle (ever done a wheelie in a Puma?) to drive home. Odd noises emerged from the engine and the back of the car, but we did it.
A very successful day which we all enjoyed was sealed by another shopping trip to - wait for it - Tesco's and Pete's Plaice in St John's. Now he cooks the most delicious fish and scrummy chips, bliss!
Then home to bed as decreed by Zebedee.

It is not finished...
The painter ran out of paint, the electrician works nights and wires have sprouted everywhere, the whiteboard took all day to erect and the head still has no office - but we are Brits, the school will open on Monday!! I took some photos and will show you the radical change from the last lot. Now, we all know that sarcasm is not allowed in schools - don't we?
After a morning of sorting books, I went off to the library at Wolverhampton Uni in Telford. I am part of the great distance elearning population and needed to get my proposal for the MA dissertation sorted. Just getting the piece of Paper signed for the UK Library Scheme has taken all the summer holidays - so much for my early preparation for this! However, I now have five academic books making a pile on my desk so I am going to do two hours a night work on them so that I can put together a proposal that sounds slightly possible. Now where did I put my brain... which pile is concealing it??

Today's the day.
I am just about to go into school to see about the whiteboard in my class - I think the head also said that today would be judgement day (whether we open on time or not), so I am preparing to dust off a hat as I have heard nothing from him recently. Will take the camera too.
I don't appear to have blogged recently, but that is all a fallacy - I have blogged to a great extent, then the system ate everything up and spat it out! Such quality of writing will never be seen again on this cosmos - infact it is probably winging its way through the ether to some unsuspecting planet now - aha, perhaps that is why Mars is so red!

Quick Test for you..
Who wrote this?
The hair was curiously stirred, as if by breath or hot-air; and though the eyes were wide open, they were perfectly motionless. That, and its livid colour, made it horrible; but its horror seemed to be, in spite of the face and beyond its control, rather than a part of its expression.
Well?

The Step Ladder has gone..
but the carpet tiles were down on the floorstill in the boxes and there is still a hole in my cupboard floor that lets in the daylight and will probably let in the harvest mice too. I don't mind them in the compost heap or the garden, but my classroom is a no go area for vermin! I shall have to soft soap the carpenter on Thursday morning to see what he can do about it. The really good news is that I can look my cupboard door - so when I have had enough, I shall be able to cut off the world with a sense of firmness and finality.
I was busy working away in my classroom this morning _ ( a Bank Holiday!!) at 8.30 a.m. - did you really take note of that time? when there was a rapping on the window from a builder - 'Can I have some water Love?' Course he could, when we found the outside tap - disguised in a children play area. Then the carpet men arrived and immediately wanted to know why I was working on a Bank Holiday Monday - they put it down to love of the job. That's when I had to bite my tongue and not make a sarcastic answer. Love of the job???? I replied that in the classroom is it survival of the fittest and I intended to win!
He didn't understand poor man, that its like jungle warfare in there, show any weakness and they go for the jugular. Well, tough! I am going to set out the housekeeping rules straight off, we are having gentlemanly manners from the men and ladylike behaviour from the ladies. Doors will be held open, coats hung up, fingers not inserted into the locks....hang on, what is my name - Joyce Grenfell?!!

Which shall it be?
You know your 'children' have grown up when they turn up in a vehicle bigger and newer than yours - son turned up today in a hunky 4x4 Land Rover vehicle and promptly whisked me off for a drive in it. Daughter and boyfriend threatened to turn up too - for food, so we went to the local farm shop to get some BBQ meat. I was prepared for a veggie meal, but the other two were a surprise. However Green Fields are wonderful and there was some delicious food. We went sordid - pork and apple burgers and Shropshire Sausages, with strawberries and cream to follow. With all sorts of various vegetable bits to go with them, Livvy made up the veggie burgers from a lentil mix that I had made previously. So the barbie went very well - at least as well as you can expect with three cooks all with different ideas, Tim wisely stayed out of it!
After the meal and Tim's departure to go drumming, we went for another drive to see my new school. Both of them have always been quite involved with my teaching jobs - perhaps because they had no choice and went to go to the same schools!! However, off we troddled, Ru decided to allow the vehicle to go off road, most of the journey was spent on the grass verges and banks of the road, only giving in when the road had no edges. Livvy and I did the girlie thing and squealed out loud, whereupon he pointed out that we enjoyed driving fast and what were we fussing about! Well, we both agreed that you look pretty stupid driving down country lanes squealing at your own driving and this was the first opportunity we'd had. Hah! That sorted him!
However, when we arrived, the building works are not much further forward, the two classrooms in the main block now have walls and some paint upon them, there is no fixed furniture like work tops, carpets, or light fittings. The secreatrys room has nothing in it - sockets, lights - nuffin. Even the youth of today said that it would not be ready in four days - a point I agreed with.
So which hat shall I put out to eat when we are proved wrong? I have a funeral hat and an opening the village fete hat, I refuse to eat the sun hat I bought in Gozo this summer, it would be far too scratchy!

Come Clean!
OK! OK! I am going to come clean about the scented doorway!! There ARE lovely lilies by the side of it - they were grown by my own fair hand! These are the lovely smelling ones...
There are also other plants - including these autumn crocuses --yes autumn, I've said the word.
They have no perfume but just happily flower away at the end of the season, I always think they are contented little plants to do it at this time of year! Just like the cyclamen which have also started to show colour.
However, the really scented stuff is sitting on the steps up to the garden waiting for me to sort it out. It is the basis of the rest of my gardening - the donkey dung!
Wonderful stuff, I put it in my five compost heaps with all the garden waste, the shredded paper, the kitchen veg waste, ooh it makes a delicious mix when really rotted down. Who needs membership of a gym when you have to dig out five lovely piles of compost. Shall I introduce you to them? There's Toad of Toad Hall, in the green plastic, Mouse Mansion in the two wooden erections and leaf mould is home to all sorts of little creatures. Sadly I have to say I have no slow worms in my heaps - my sister has lots. I sulk about this frequently.

Only In England...
I went to sort out my classroom today, and look what I found - this was the best of the three classrooms, the others still have no plaster or paint.
When does term start? Mmmm September 1st I think! I am speechless.

This is the main part of the room...

This is my way out when in a hurry..(9.05 September 2nd??)

My new interactive whiteboard will be here... (when??)

But this is the village shop - and thewhole village is decorated with hanging baskets and such wonderful garden displays. Not my type of gardening but it looks so lovely!

What a wonderful summer.
At dusk this evening it was so lovely to stand at my front door looking out over the garden and smell the summer plants. The buddleia that attracts all the butterflies, who then attract the spotted flycatcher. The lilies growing in tubs outside the door, the rose and various other plants, not to mention the grass. We have been so lucky this year with our summer and I have been at home to enjoy it. I am so lucky.

Ohhh, did we party?
We started the celebrations with delicious pink Champagne brought back from recently by Helen, another intrepid traveller of the globe, from there we just carried on celebrating. Shirley was looking so healthy (and slim!!!....) and had obviously enjoyed the trip, in fact she wouldn't mind doing it again.
At this point let me clarify one or two things about myself - I do not do exercise and have never achieved a good level of fitness, so although I admire her, I do not want to emulate Shirley in this. I eat chocolate and almond cakes and sinful things like that. However, I like partying and was firmly in charge of the fridge where the drink was stored, meeting lots of hands stretching out for bottles. It was only when I left my post that people started spilling red wine and then tested the theory that when white wine is poured over a red wine stain, it magically disappears. Poof! The next morning the carpet looked quite clean, Shirley's face was green and several of us did not appreciate the offer of a cooked breakfast from Lee. So it was a very good party.
As for the shop that I was so looking forward to ransacking, it only opens on a Friday and Saturday - so I shall have to go back. I spent a long time drooling through the window before I was dragged to lunch. One of the better things about living in towns and cities is the availability of good cafes, we had a delicious lunch at a little cafe - ciabatta with bacon, eggs and mushrooms and it was cooked to our own requests as regards the eggs. Absolutely great! That's two places recently I have been to for good snacks, Nuneaton railway station and the cafe in Leicester - rather vague but I can't remember its name!!
Now aren't you envious of my exciting life with these cafes!!

Celebration time - Shirley is back from the States!
Is that why all the lights went off I wonder?! I am off to join in with others saying well done and I suspect, what next? So, Leicester here I come and this time - pleeeeese, it should be easier to find her. I lost myself in the entrails of the city last time, so I am going armed with maps and phone numbers this time.
Happy Birthday to my son today. He is celebrating with friends by throwing paint balls at each other, something I have always wanted to do, so perhaps for my next decade birthday I could secretly go off and do this with like-minded friends. I didn't think he would want his mum tagging along today so I didn't do the pathetic act. Hope they all have fun, suspect I will receive a phone call at some stage.
There's also a lovely shop in Leicester which I have been waiting to visit .... I'll let you know!

I think I have... yes I think I've won!!
Without realising it, I think I have won the competition to get someone new to write a comment on my blog. Thank you battybaby for leaving your URL, you did it for me! (Just have a look at her writings about eating chocolate - so funny and yet, makes you think! I have bought a bar of chocolate to keep for such occasions....)
This means more than you might realise - I am one of those people who jumps into situations without too much agonising. So I took on the challenge, thinking it meant collect as many new readers as you can, but no - it was the first one to do it. So lunch is on my firend - when she comes over here to buy it for me. My memory is good on the long term - so if she leaves it several years, I will still remember the deal, even if I'm wearing purple at the time.
I am now planning the menu - lobster will have to be the main course I think. Smelly cheese will end the meal with a good red wine. There will be a sinful pudding, but what for hors d'oeuvres (is that how you spell it?), mussels, pate, no, they don't taste good with lobster. This needs some serious thinking about.
Meanwhile, I have got to stop this this precipitous behaviour, the next part of my degree starts soon and I must slow down, plan things and then JUMP!
But why change the habits of a life time?

I need to do this...
I HATE painting - I have been painting windows for days... (39 panes to each one - ugh!)
I HATE tidying up - the mess around my home has accumulated again
I HATE cleaning - it needs doing all around my home
I HATE staying in and being sensible - have not been out for the evening for some time
I HATE moaning, but I feel much better after this, so thank -you blog spot, there is a great feel good factor in getting things off my chest. There! All finished and feeling better now.

Wow! I can see things!
I have been very good at shopping this week, the latest buy was a large flat screen for my pooter. Oh it is wonderful, I can see what I am writing and the photos are clear, so good! No more hunchback of Chetwynd Park - leaning over the screen to make out what I have just written! Perhaps I should go shopping more often, but on the other hand perhaps I need an income first! The connection to my lovely black box was a little silly - they have two leads - one for the digital wonders and the other for anlogue, of course I panicked when I saw the digital plug. I haven't got one of those.... but Livvy's partner Tim sorted me out - as he usually does in these matters, so thanks Tim, it is working beautifully now, as is the scanner.
Now I have just two windows to sand down and paint before the autumn, today is the day. They are not easy ones, lots of fiddly little panes so this will take some time!

I want to cheat!
I would love to put this photo in the 26 things but no way can I even claim that it was taken in any July - so may I say it was scanned in July and get away with it?

What do you think!

The Gauntlet has been thrown!
I have been happily writing away at this blog, with another one in the making, without feeling the need to check up on who reads this thing, not many I suspect, but that's fine! However, my good friend has decided that we need to have a competition. We have a week to accumulate as many comments from other bloggers on our sites. This means that we can't just ask friends to leave messages, they have to be NEW bloggers and connections.
So please humour us (humerus!!!sorry...) leave a comment in the comment box by clicking on it and entering your name and URL. I have a strong suspicion that I know who the winner will be, whoever it is will have a meal bought for them when we two next meet and the loser? A public humiliation of an announcement on their blog.
Well I look forward to that!

I need help!
I want to buy a 'sort of sofa' for my conservatory cum dining room cum lounging to watch the garden room. Do I go for large, floppy and soft comfy or do I choose the most chic modern chaise longue which is firmly comfortable? Comments please?!!

This is covered in a lovely dark brown suede and comes with cushions - I think!

This one has a loose weave linen type fabric on it and two huge cushions to go with it. Both can have different styles of material if I choose.....
I went out on the great shop today as promised and turned up in Birmingham - I wasn't sure whether to go there or Shrewsbury. Anyway, it was wonderful to let myself loose in a shop again and just drool over lovely things. I was very good, the Calvin Klein bed linen stayed there - as a duvet cover cost £250 !!! it's been a long time since I had such a good furttle in the stores.
Lunch was taken in an underground place, sorry I've forgotten its name but it was within the requisite 100 yards from the shop and it was lovely! They have all sorts of little seating areas - some in twos with high back wooden seats (cushions too of course!) others in more open larger seating areas.

and as a follow on from my admission of love there was this wonderful saying!

The food was very good too, oh and the one glass of wine!
The bed linen looks good on my bed as well .... honest it isn't KC!

What a wonderful summer
An old friend came to visit me yesterday and we spent a lot of time sitting out in the garden talking - would you believe we even discussed God and scientists? He is fearfully intelligent and terrifies me when we start talking. But then I think back to the first time I saw him - 7 weeks old, bum up in the air having his nappy changed and I feel OK!

Back to the evening meal, we ate smoked chicken from a local smokery which was delicious, and I made some tomato stuff for the first time which was delicious.

Bings Heath Smokery

Then we talked and watched the bats flying overhead. It was lovely to see them back again, I used to sit out and watch them most evenings, but somehow have got out of the habit. (Would you believe the internet might be distracting me?) It was so warm we could have been anywhere in the Med; even if the climate is changing and we should be worried, I am enjoying this summer. We finished sitting in the darkness with my Living Flame fireplace burning merrily away. Blissfull!



Jean Claude has spent much of his life in the UK and has visited me frequently, coming to work in my class with the children and later being dragooned into doing manly things in my home and garden. Throughout he has put up with my teasing him about being a foreigner in this country. However he seems determined to stick it out here and now works for the very British institution of the Met Office! So next time things don't go as planned on the weather front - you know who to blame!

Oh No!!! Not Again!
I have, I've done it again. I vowed never to get into this state - ever again. I have fallen in love, completely, head over heels. No holds barred. He's lovely, smiley, got a gorgeous grin and laugh and I met him today at my first blogmeet! So exciting and rather weird.
Do you want to know who he is? Well, it's Akra Jnr who is the most lovely little man and has captured my heart. The weird part was meeting people that I seem to know through their blog and yet their names are so very different. Interestingly we touched on this in my last degree module, with the question about the reality of the person behind the name. Perhaps it is because I have not really been blogging for very long, have not really used chat rooms that are set up for unknown groups of people and so have little experience of chatting to people using pseudonyms, but it didn't matter at all once we had met. (Even Miss L is an interesting play on names, I have been known as Mrs P by many in the cricket world, but Miss L seems less usual.)
So Pewari and Akra Snr, you have a lovely son and I hope you will be happy living in Worcester. See you soon!

Phew, it's hot out there!
Well my friend has done it - she has cycled across the United States from East to West and is now recovering her sanity with some frinds in LA. I think she is incredible in many ways - dotty for wanting to do it at all, but then so strong minded that she prepared physically for months before at the same time as teaching Year 6 - not a doddle as many will know. Then she went off on her own to join the group. A two week holiday with strangers can be very demanding, but can you imagine spending 5 months with strangers whilst undergoing a gruelling physical experience? Marvellous!
Mind you I can think of easier ways to lose 14 lbs in weight .... she's probably got a sun tan though .... and well toned muscles.... Nah, don't be silly Liz! Have you seen my bike? Aaah there it is!

The things I do...
I have been spending some time at home sorting out my cumulative mess and my little house. Although today has been the hottest day in London, up here in Shropshire I was raring to go! My garage has an upside v-shaped roof (don't know the proper name!) and the wooden bits at both ends needed painting. Ted, my neighbour did the end over his chrysanthemums a few weeks ago, the other end over the garage door was today's little job. First it had to be sanded down to get rid of the green stuff growing all over it. That was OK until I had to reach the middle and highest part. My step ladders would not let me reach, so it had to be the 'other' ladder, it bends in half and also makes a high step ladder. The bent in half bit meant that it was at an incredible angle and I could not get up above 4 steps - I am not very good at heights you see. So I made it into a step ladder, with two very useful extensions which I could hold onto - I thought! Hmm, well, I got up the ladder - six steps even with paintbrush in hand, then put my hand on the wall to provide extra balance to paint. Fine! Then I needed more paint, had to go down again and I leant forward to see where to put my foot, whereupon the extension thingy hooked under my bra at the front and got me caught!
Oh dear, difficult moments, I didn't want to struggle because the whole thing would tip up, Ted had gone out and I wasn't sure I could face him with that request, actually I couldn't have faced him, it would have been more of a bottoms up venture! Picture this, I am at the top of the step ladder, my knees are knocking, I am stuck bending forwards, so very gingerly, I let go of the wall, balanced the paintbrush on the top two bars (no step on this step ladder - all rungs) and gently unhooked myself.
I can truly say that I have never had such an uplifting experience before!

Let me introduce you to...
the other families we met whilst on holiday.
On our way over to Gozo, by ferry, we met a single gentleman. We were right at the end of the line of cars, so had to drive up the rather steep ramp to the higher level of the ferry, half way up we met Monsieur Fat G**. He opened his car door just as we were half way up the ramp, slowly levered his legs out of the car and then even more leisurely heaved himself out of the car. The door stayed open for a while whilst he looked around, stared at us and then opened the back door of his car, reached in to find something and - in his own time shut and locked both doors, almost walked out of the way, but then felt the need to check them both. Now this would normally be quite acceptable to the patient people amongst us, but the ferry men were screaming at us to go up the ramp, do we squash him and damage the hired car? Do we hurl abuse at him? Or do we just call him names inthe privacy of our little frrty car and smile sweetly at him as he passes. Well you guess which we did!


This is a view of the sea at Gozo.

So far so foreign, now for Mr. Lager Lout G**. Ronnie knew a very good local bar to eat and drink in, sadly karaoke has taken over in Malta. After a night's loud entertainment, Mr LLG asked us who had sung a certain song, - well I hadn't even heard of the song nor had Ronnie. So we were asked another...same response, - 'Call yourself teachers?' etc etc, so another one came our way and Ronnie knew this one, so we claimed the prize. Great arguments, no way etc etc. The karaoke book came to our rescue, sadly. Mr LLG then became very abusive - as my daughter would say - DUH? You have a problem? Yes, but he was sorted by the friendly locals, - so thank you Paulo and others!
Corr - aren't we human beings a strange tribe?
Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful time, thoroughly enjoyed it. The 'but' applies to the behaviour of this strange human race!
Paulo was a very special person who made the holiday so incredibly touching. He is diabetic - of the worse type. Last year he had one leg amputated just below the knee, then this year the other leg was also amputated. He gets around in an adapted car, he finds it tiring and tough. However, he is a man who looks at life as something to be lived with enjoyment and with due regard to other people's views. He helps others wherever he can and is a good conversationalist. And he looks forward to the future with pleasure. What a man and what a privilege to have met him.

Road Rage on Gozo!
There we were furttling around on Gozo, our little car frt frt frting down a hill, when there was a squeeeeling of brakes behind us, Ronnie looked behind in the mirror and let out a loud shriek and waited for the driver behind to crash into the back of us. Luckily he didn't, so we pootled off again, whereupon he did exactly the same thing again! At this point, after a hot day, Ronnie had had enough! I almost expected her to get out and 'deal' with the driver, but luckily the traffic moved on so the situation was avoided. It was a close call though..
Indicating is another time of great amusement, the controls are on the opposite side of the steering wheel column to her own car, so there is usually a comment every time the windscreen wipers start working and we should be turning left or right - you may choose your own words in your imagination!
Gozo is lovely! The towns are pretty and the coastline very picturesque. So I have taken the rest of the 26 photos, but at this point I ask you - how far have you gone when taking these pictures? I saw a lovely setup for the symmetry section, so I may change the one I have already entered.
That's it for today - off to a little island and some swimming.