Gunpowder, Treason and Crepes

[CointreauVersial]

Here we are again.....

Post and a fiver, I think!

MI, the moths have eaten DD's school jumper. I am hoping I can mend the holes rather than having to buy a new one for her last few months

at massage

I will do whatever you suggest for SS!

Apparently there were health warnings about exercising in the post-fireworks pollution this morning. Harrumph. One Ladyjog too late. And it's likely to be raining tomorrow in any case...

MI, I too have conducted a ladyjog, didn't realise there were pollution warnings so I'm clearly a goner. I am also supposed to be exercising tomorrow with the pregnant personal trainer so no doubt it will tip down and I will get wet.

Yes please to secret santa.

Happy birthdad young master CV. Hope he has a lovely day. Glad, too, that your DD's eye is OK. Must have been scary.

I have a small financial triumph to report - my boiler has been odd for a few days now, and this morning gave up as the air temperature hit 2 degrees. Pimlico plumbers with their fancy personalised number plates wanted to charge me £130 plus vat, but a quick shout on FB brought me 3 numbers, one of whom has already been and fixed it for £60. I now have £100 nearly saved which I can lavish on my children or indeed spend on gin me. Happy (and now warm) days

Pimlico Plumbers are a rip-off! Glad you got it done elsewhere!

I had urgent phone calls from dh on Monday saying the boiler had packed up. Being happily ensconced at my sister's, I texted him the number of the local engineer (who is very nice AND plays the bagpipes!). Dh called him and the engineer told him to press the reset button . It worked!

Have just taken newdog for a walk on a 30ft training lead.... Think lots of wrapping around trees, my walking friend and ddog1 (who was not impressed!) Bit like rural French elastic.

Beachy, he sounds like my DH
I am thinking of that Dog-trainer woman, what was her name?

Barbara Woodhouse . Dog sounds lovely, if a bit of a handful.

Excellent boiler recovery work from DH, Beachy. Pimlico P would have charged you £130 for that.

Yes Monty, she's the one!

That frightful old bag Barbara Woodhouse, BTM? The one who was all "SITTTT" and choke chains?

Good luck, Beachy. I had to walk ddog on an 8m extender for 2 years before I could ever let him off. Then again, I was used to it, having never been able to let previous ddog off ever. The rest of the family used to get mightily pissed off about getting rope burn round their knees.

It's not going too badly, BD and BTM, thanks for asking. I'm just juggling a bit too much. This week is really full-on, as I have to prepare all my assessment tests for my first assessment session with my "learner" next week and have to spend A LOT of time making resources (ah, this takes me back to the bad old days of MFL teaching). It's all getting a bit real, but I am excited and nervous by turns. I was in Reception for reading this morning - I think I'm getting a bit better at keeping them on task. I have a proofreading job for a Swiss customer this afternoon and then I'm invigilating at the upper school tomorrow and practising assessment tests all weekend, not to mention making jolly fun games out of cereal packets and Pringles tubes. Seriously, the course people keep banging on about bloody Pringles tubes, like they take it for granted that everyone eats that gack and I begin to suspect they have shares in the Pringles company. The dcs will be overjoyed if I buy them, as I generally avoid buying extruded potato snacks because I think they taste pre-chewed and I don't like the way they cling to your teeth. Bleargh. Needs must, though. :)

Time-wise, things have been a bit messed-up by dd having a major crisis by finally being forced to face up to the fact that a close friend is stealing from her. I have known for about 18 months, but dd hasn't felt able to face the truth. 5 other people approached dd at school about 3 weeks ago to tell her that this person had stolen from them too and they would no longer invite this person to their house and they wanted to warn dd. Luckily, dd has extended her social circle a lot in recent months, so after the initial weeping and wailing phase has passed, I think she will bounce back ok. Dd is all "how can you trust anyone?" I don't really know what to say to that one, because trusting people is not something I'm awfully good at Things came to a head this week. Ho hum.

Oops, x-post.

DP is asking me which Inferiorette-related meeting he should go to in my absence. Apparently one of them clashes with work

WIBU to say WELCOME TO MY WORLD, CHUMMY, JUST REARRANGE YOUR LIFE and then cackle insanely?

MI, Dh announced last night that he couldn't make the local sixth form evening today having previously said he was definitely going. Ha Ha I cackled, you can go to the one at the current school

Stropps, I don't think I made anything out of a Pringles pack, disappointingly, as we all love them! I did make something out of an egg-box!

Eeek about the friend stealing - what was she stealing? How horrid for your DD and also the girl - what on earth is going on with her? Great that your DD has already made new friends though

Oh yawn, I am completely wrecked today….trying to catch up.

Happy Birthday to CV's DS who shares it with my DSis (irrelevant piece of trivia there) and glad DDs eye is ok.

Sorry about MrsS's ongoing work frustration What are they like.

Why do boilers always pack up on the first cold day? Glad you are sorted for a bit less £s Monty Beachy

Stropps re stealing school girl monstrosity. What do you do about that? There's one girl that always borrows off my DD and never pays back. Apparently she's done it to others as well. I said if it happens again we'd have to contact the parents but I don't relish it. They're a bit rough….

MI He'll think YABU but I would be without mercy too…

I am unashamedly and embarrassingly proud of my two younger ones for their contribution to a beautiful show last night. We are so lucky in our association with a wonderful organisation and I must remind myself of that when I have my (far too regular) downers on my family and my life in general. HerrD was being sickeningly friendly and polite probably because DH was there

I must lose some weight. I see myself hiding more and more behind the DC, DH or any convenient pillar in photos. Not good.

I had our boiler serviced three weeks ago so there'll be trouble if it breaks down.

Stropps - horrible about DD's friend so difficult to manage.

I am making sausages and mash with cabbage tonight in keeping with the sudden plunge in temperature.

DD has contacted me from uni and I have had to rush to the post office to send her thermal leggings, fleecy sports top and thermal t shirt. She forgot it might get cold in England!

Feeling irrationally hormonal today. This, for some reason, affects my parking skills and I couldn't get the car into a huge space. I then felt tearful because of failing aforementioned task. Usually I am OK at parking.

Forgot to say congratulates to the two mini roses.

Am listening to Blondie on Steve Wright - so brilliant and nostalgic (Blondie that is not Steve).

Forgot to say congratulates to the two mini roses.

Am listening to Blondie on Steve Wright - so brilliant and nostalgic (Blondie that is not Steve).

Gibber. Just returned from yet more PGCE lectures. Now have two days of lectures a week, with associated difficult before and after reading, two days of teaching practice, with associated hours and hours of planning beforehand, and relentless criticism afterwards, and two 4,000-word assignments that I can't even begin to understand.

Also jammed in DS's first class assembly this morning, so missed the first session.

Felt rather close to tears quite a lot of today. Hope it's my hormones rather than dawning realisation of my inadequacies.

And there's Masterchef the Professionals to fit in.

Congrats on being able to listen to Steve Wright without smashing the radio, Hatty Totally know what you mean about hormones and parking. I have the same problem, although in all honesty my parking skills are not very splendid anyway. I lose confidence half-way through the manoeuvre and drive off feeling humiliated. Can only do it if no one is watching. :)

BTM - the person goes for money, cosmetics, jewellery and clothes. 18 months ago, I had to retrieve a couple of items of mine that had been removed from the back of the bathroom cupboard. A very deliberate act, which I dealt with in a very low-key manner. The items were returned immediately and I said nothing to anyone else in the hope it was an unfortunate one-off. Sadly, it wasn't. This person has far more money than your average teen, so it's difficult to see a motive for the behaviour.

And congrats to Rose's 2 talented young persons!

Stropps - I can never park if somebody is watching . The worst thing was today - nobody was watching.

Herbs, sorry, I don't know how I didn't see your post. You need and . It's probably no consolation, but I know how you feel. I am still smarting from some of the criticism I got during my PGCE 20 years ago from one particular person. Some helpful criticism, which I didn't have a problem with, but a sackload of unhelpful stuff which just ground me down and made me anxious.

And I can barely walk as my (possibly broken) foot is so sore, but haven't got time to sit for hours in the X-ray department. Ridick.

Herbs are the kids nice and do they listen when you teach?

They're adults, and yes - very nice, and very attentive. Thank CHRIST.

There's just such a lot to learn in such a short space of time. All about language, theories of its acquisition, teaching theories, teaching practicalities, how to teach adults, etc etc, and I sometimes feel out of my depth. A lot of my fellow students have either taught before, or are the 'perpetual student' type, who stroke their metaphorical beads and chuckle, 'Oh yes, very JUNGIAN'...