I’m going to begin with a conversation I had recently with Kira (aged 11):
Kim: Have you got any homework?
Kira: Yes, I have to do some research
Kim: On what?
Kira: I have to find an old person and ask them what type of food there was in the olden days
Kim: Are you going to ask Nanny?
Kira: No, I’m going to ask you
Kira started at high school last month and is feeling very grown up with her new uniform and with being able to get the school bus on her own.One day she got the wrong school bus home and ended up miles away not knowing where she was. Poor little soul – she phoned us up crying (thank goodness for mobile phones) but couldn’t tell us where she was as she didn’t know. We told her to walk to somewhere that was a landmark so she walked to a hotel. Unfortunately there are several hotels with the same name so it took us a while to find her, but luckily the experience didn’t put her off and she happily jumped on the correct school bus the next day.
One day we were looking round a college when we noticed a ‘portable’ rock climbing structure some climbing instructors had brought along. Both children had a go. Jordan used to do indoor rock climbing in NZ and also does it at school, however Kira hadn’t done it before. She LOVED it, so has now started indoor rock climbing lessons. The first time I took her she put the harness on and went up the wall like a monkey, as if she’d done it all her life. The tutor said she has a natural ability, so she is now a happy bunny (or monkey).And talking of climbing, Jordan and his best friend Sam do indoor rock climbing as one of their after school activities. Sam fell off the wall and broke a bone in his foot. Jordan took him to the school medical centre. The school is set on many, many acres of land, and while the medical centre isn’t at completely the opposite end of the campus, it is a very long way away and Jordan had to physically carry him all the way there. We saw Sam (on crutches) and his parents the next day at the parent’s evening. “Jordan was a bit of a hero yesterday” said Sam’s mum.
He still does Cadet Force at school and has been promoted to NCO, which means he can give orders to other cadets, apparently!He did a marching display at the school open day with some of the cadets. He is at the back.
He has also taken up rifle shooting. I took him along the first time. The shooting club’s building is quite amazing. It looks like it was bought 50 years ago for about £20 and hasn’t been updated since. It is jam packed with old bits of furniture, and is absolutely wonderful. A fascinating place. Anyway the tutor said Jordan was a natural, so we are lucky that both children have found something they love to do. Jordan wanted Jon to share the hobby with him, so Jon goes along too. He’s not overly enamoured of rifle shooting, but is very happy to have a shared interest.
Jordan has had a Saturday job for a while now. He works in a café near the fairground in Blackpool, working in the kitchen. http://russelldavies.typepad.com/eggbaconchipsandbeans/2006/09/woodheads_cafe_.html
He’s been doing well (even if he does smell of chips when we pick him up) and the money has been great for him! The summer season has finished and the Blackpool Illuminations – a 10 mile light display along the promenade for an extra couple of months to extend the tourist season - is finishing soon, so next week he will probably be finishing.
The fruit on our fruit trees has almost come to an end now too. Apparently the land our house is on used to be an orchard 100 years ago, so the trees are well established. We have had enough fruit to feed a small village, and trying to use it or give it away has been a major episode. I seem to have spent the summer going to see people I know armed with a carrier bag of apples and pears. I sometimes make apple crumble, but given that the children don’t like it, and I can’t eat the crumble bit as it’s wheat, this means Jon is then faced with eating apple crumble every day for a week.I did buy a set of bathroom scales recently as it looks like apple crumble and similar items have increased Jon’s circumference somewhat…
Having never owned bathroom scales before, I have never weighted myself in quick succession, but I suspect there may be something wrong with the scales as I weighed 8 stone 12 at 6pm one day, 8 stone 10 a few hours later and 8 stone 4 the next morning. Correct me if I’m wrong but being able to lose over half a stone in around 12 hours without doing anything doesn’t seem terribly normal.
But what a wonderful way to make money if I could work out how it’s done…
Mind you I wish I could work out how to solve a problem I have had with my arm and shoulder for 5 months now. It seems like a frozen shoulder, but with a very painful bicep to boot. I’ve been to 3 therapists and 3 doctors and nothing has worked. I can’t use my left arm properly, so have had to stop all the exercise I was doing, and feel quite limited in the range of things I can do. Driving is a bit of a challenge as I can’t go into 2nd gear so I drive around in 1st and 3rd making the gear box complain a bit, and have to either get the children to put the car into reverse, or lean over and do it with my right arm. I can’t get undressed on my own so if I go to bed after everyone else I have to wander round the house, seeing who I can wake up to help me!
What jolly fun.
However, my arm does work well enough to use the sewing machine. Having lived in rented accommodation for the last 3 years, I haven’t needed to make any curtains, which, I have to say, has been quite a disappointment.
Jon and Jordan have been doing an excellent job of helping my Dad do some repair work on his house, and I offered to make some new curtains for him.
Wonderful! I feel much better now. All is right with the world when you can make some curtains :-)
We also sorted out his spare bedroom, jam packed with stuff acquired over many years. What an interesting experience that was. I even found mum and dad’s wedding album from 1957. Now aged 76 and 81, they were 22 and 27 at the time.
Anyway I have been doing a lot of writing recently – some brain training books - a general word games book and a word search book.
If you are interested in word searches (with a difference), I am looking for some people to try out the ones I’ve devised. If you would like to try them out and give feedback, let me know and I’ll email them to you. Thanks.
I’ve joined a local writers’ group, and my neighbour and I have joined a group for people who are interested in travelling. This is where people give talks on, and show photos of, different countries they have visited. Last week we saw 800 photos of Hong Kong. I don’t think I ever need to go there, as having seen so many photos I feel like I’ve been there already.
In a vague attempt to compete with that, here is a photo of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch which we visited on a holiday to North Wales. (You can click on the photos to enlarge them)
Recently Kira and I went to the Museum of Liverpool. This is different to the ‘general’ museum in Liverpool (my home town) as it’s a museum just about Liverpool.Anyway, when I was 5 years old and started school, we had a rocking horse in the classroom. The teacher said that everyone in the class would have a go on the horse … but I never got a go! This is very upsetting when you are 5 years old, so my Mum used to take me to one of the department stores – Blacklers - in town which had Blackie the rocking horse.
I was amazed to see Blackie at the Museum!
And so I will finish with another conversation I had.
I’d ordered a book from the library and went in to pick it up. A man and woman were working behind the counter when I arrived.
“I’ve come to pick up a book” I said.
I then said what my name was, but the man asked me for my library card at this point and so didn’t hear what I’d said. The woman had heard and so went off to get the book.
I got out my card and gave it to him, at which point the woman arrived back with my book.
He was amazed. “You must be psychic!” he exclaimed.
“No” she replied calmly, “I just listened to the woman”.
“Oh” he said “I tried that once but I didn’t like it”.
