Armistice Day 2011

My summer photo of the local poppy field

We remember.

Sneezles and wheezles

When I was a child at a school in Cambridge, we had Speech Day each year at the city's Guildhall. Apart from the memorable time I got locked in the loo during the morning practice session, I most clearly remember the time my class recited the AAMilne poem about Christopher Robin having sneezles and wheezles. I found it for you here so do read and enjoy!

I have had the sneezles, and have now progressed to the wheezles with a chesty cough...

The EFG has been to two more Open Evenings for 6th form this week, but neither place has topped the one we saw last week, so that is still her top choice. Now we hope that she might be able to go there for a day or half a day to see what it is like on a day-to-day basis. That is next week's mission.

On trial - nearly there

I have been training, doing the first part of the course to become a Local Preacher in the Methodist church. It is quite a challenging course, and I am only just at the beginning! I have had to do three units of work and then on Sunday, I took the service at the local chapel and two people came along with notebooks to assess me - very nerve wracking! And with this cold that I am suffering from, it was quite a challenge. The two assessors were very kind, and the feedback mostly positive, so I am very relieved!

The next step is that they will report to the Local Preachers' Meeting, in early December, and I will also be interviewed at that meeting. If the community of Local Preachers likes what it hears, they will recommend that I go forward "On trial" so that I can take services, whilst I continue with the studying - a further 17 or 18 units of work! The tutor I have just met in the last week seems to think we might manage a unit a month, but I am not so sure - there are only so many hours in a day...we have 5 years to do it, but I hope not to take that long.

Here we go on another journey - another strand to this life! Can't wait to see where it will take me, really!

A quieter day

The days have been chasing by, and I have hardly had time to stop and gather myself. Unfortunately, I have come down with another cold, or perhaps I never really got rid of the last one, but I struggled through Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I have given up with today so far and allowed myself a bit of a duvet day so far! I have to go out for 3pm, but only for a short while, and then I will be home again. I lit the fire early this morning before the girls went off to school, so the temperature in here is quite warm.

Nasty Netball

We don't mean that really - we girls all actually enjoy netball (well, I did when I played it!) but the problem is that it has caused us injuries! I broke my toe when I landed after catching the ball when I was about 10, and yesterday the EFG broke her finger when she caught the ball and the ball bent her finger badly.

She has had it examined and x-rayed today and strapped up, so I have to take her to the hospital to the fracture clinic for follow up on Monday. Having it in a sling for elevation has helped the pain, she says.

So, if she broke it yesterday, you are asking why it only got examined today? I thought it was only badly bruised, so I didn't take her yesterday. However, the PE teacher had her again today, and although the EFG had wanted to play again today, the teacher wouldn't let her and recommended that she get it looked at, hence the trip to the minor injuries unit after school today. The bone is not broken through, but it has chipped a little off the side near one of the joints.

We made it home from the unit and then went out again almost immediately to go to the 6th form evening at a nearby college. We quite like this college environment, and the EFG asked a lot of questions in the various departments - she is interested in Biology, Chemistry, Art and ICT. One of the computer department staff explained the difference between ICT and Computing qualifications and she has begin to consider Computing, I think, whereas last time we talked about it, it was an absolute no.

Long day, longer one on the cards for tomorrow, so off to bed now, and taking honey and hot lemon drink as I can feel a sore throat coming on, and the sneezles have already begun. The wheezles have yet to ensue!

Sticky Toffee Pudding

A new group is trying to get off the ground in the village, an active retirement society. Although I am not old enough to be a member, the FH is, and several of my friends from the Knit and Natter group are supporting this plan, so I am being helpful too!

Tonight they held a "Pudding Evening" as an initial fundraiser and publicity event, so I made a pudding to take along. I couldn't stay to the evening as there was a Governors' meeting but I made a Sticky Toffee Pudding, and dropped it off.

I made this one from the Good Food website. And I made two! Well, never having made it before, I had to double the recipe so that the FH and UJ could do some quality control and make sure it was fit to give to the pudding-eating public! They declared it acceptable, so I allowed it to go to the party.

I couldn't eat it, but it and the sauce really do smell lovely!!

Welcome, Romania!

All of a sudden, in the last month, the stats report 246 page views from Romania, and that is all that there are and they have all happened in the last month - so whoever is out there, welcome to the Fens! Do say "Hello" sometime!