12th October - the last 48 days...

The last post was 15th August.

What has happened since??

I'd have to go through my diary (which is waiting for Saturday and Sunday to be written up).

Let's just do high-lights;

August; James-the-tree-surgeon came and worked wonders on the garden. In one hectic afternoon he resolved the chaos of our borders into trimmed hedges and shapely shrubs. In passing he removed a neighbour's tree (at their request, I hasten to add) and a couple of lower branches of a huge oak which has become rather overbearing.

So when our Canadian friends came to stay at the beginning of September the garden, at least, was reasonably presentable. They brought a number of friends with them, who appeared one by one;

It was a wonderful fortnight; the weather was mostly best British, and we stumbled upon all kinds of unexpected delights. Like a flock of paragliders on Devil's Dyke

or a balloon festival in Wisborough Green.

We also went on a boat trip around Chichester Harbour where we saw an Osprey,

 ate very many pub meals and generally had A Good Time Together.

We waved good-bye to them on 11th September, celebrated a family birthday on the weekend on 12th September, and then it was "hello" to former colleagues from State-side. They weren't staying with us, but we met up for supper one night, and then for a glorious Saturday, taking in Leith Hill (I missed that, because I now teach on Saturday mornings), Wiston Tea Rooms and Buncton Chapel, and Portchester Castle (she wanted to see castles and old buildings).

Term Started at the same time. It would be fairer to say that it began to begin on 3rd September, and has carried on beginning until last week. At the end of July I didn't seem to have much work in prospect for this academic year, and I was not too happy about the implications. However, various schools and some cover work came my way, and now I have a moderately full, and completely shambolic schedule which I am still getting used to. Hopefully by halfterm (bring it on - two week's to go!) I'll have got my head round what I am supposed to be doing, where, and when.

Fitting in three routine hospital appointment and three dental appointments around all this teaching used up what little brain-space I had left over. The cardiology and chest clinic appointments have resulted in the good news of "no change" and the even better news of reducing my steroids, and I am the possessor of a beautiful root canal treatment and shiny new crown on top. Long may that last.

There was another important acquisition, but that will have to wait for another post.

That will have to do for now!

Saturday 28th June - Happy (rescheduled) Father's Day

I don't know when the official Father's Day was, but the children decided that this would be the day.

Up early, with a picnic lunch, and off to The Trundle, a high point on the Downs overlooking Goodwood Park. Our plan was to see the Vulcan air display over the Goodwood Festival of Speed event, at lunchtime.

As plans go, it was remarkably successful.

We got there early, and had a choice of parking spaces. The early bird can park their car, late arrivals had to stick them in the hedge in the lane. The weather was NOT promising, although the view was breathtaking. I think it was the view that took my breath away, could have been the wind.

It's a steepish climb to the top of the Trundle, and I am Very Slow going up hills, so the children went on ahead to bag a good spot.



looking back down the path from most of the way up

While we waited, we could watch helicopters and birds and butterflies and listen to race car engines and skylarks and goldfinches. There were wild flowers everywhere.

The Red Arrows were due first and duly arrived bang on time.

Their display was as precise, and balletic, and beautiful as always. There is something so poetic in the lines they fly as they climb and dip and bank and roll.

We had an hour before the Vulcan was due. I was following its progress south from Doncaster on Twitter, @hx558 as they tweeted where they had got to, and their ETA. Time for a picnic overlooking the racecourse on the other side of the hilltop. We were all fine and warm, wearing coats and walking boots. Some were dressed like us, in walking gear, and others were sauntering (or struggling) up wearing shorts and tee-shirts, sun dresses, high-heeled sandals. The rain held off, the sun was out, although the wind was brisk.

Back to our vantage spot overlooking the festival area (acres, and acres of car parks - it must have been a solid mas of people down there).

Then we saw it, slicing through the dark clouds like a knife.

 

It came over so quietly, so slowly, and it wasn't until it turned and the exhaust faced our direction that the powerful sound of the engines reached us. It made several deceptively lazy circuits over the Festival of Speed area, sometimes flying level, so that it looked impossibly thin, sometimes banking so that we could take in the huge sweep of the wings.

 

 

What a sight - I'm not one for aeroplanes, but it made my heart sing to see both displays.