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Half term holidays!

As ever, blink and it's gone. It's Sunday evening and I'm sitting here wondering where all my brain cells went in the space of a week. I'm pretty sure when I left work only last Friday I knew what I was doing. Now I can't remember a thing. I believe this is the sign of a good break, but it does leave me attitude ad concerned about tomorrow! We've all had a lovely week, albeit doing different things. Last Friday Glenn took the girls down to Somerset where they spent a week running free and being entertained partly by Fifi and Grumps but mostly it seems by the pigs. By the time they got home they had (in their dreams) redesigned the garden to accommodate 2 pigs who would 'live forever foraging in the woods and sleeping in the pod'. They'd got it all worked out. They were planning on putting Lazylawn down to stop them from messing up the lawn as they trotted from pod to woods, with an electric fence to stop them from wandering too far. Hmmmm, I think not!

So as the girls played with Ben and Laurie, we set off on our annual pilgrimage to the mountains of Provence and Ventoux. This year we knew what to expect and once again it did not disappoint. We had a lovely break - cycled lots, ate lots and once again conquered the mountain. I will admit that it was tougher than last year, but then this time last year my thoughts were just turning to work after a 4 month break. This year we went with friends which made for some lovely evenings in the early summer sunshine drinking Rose and chatting alongside some different cycling options. Best not to ask Glenn about the morning after the night before when he attempted what is probably the toughest Ventoux climb of all (partly off-road) on minimal food and a small hangover!

So all home by Friday and then a lovely weekend of time together, some slightly more chilly UK cycling with the kids in tow, and a bit of panic homework (obviously!) this morning. Today is the anniversary of my last (paid) day of my stint at BP. How quickly a year goes, and how much has happened in that time. I've certainly had a good year - all that time spent planning the house and garden had come to fruition and we are now settling into enjoying the results of all that hard work.

As one milestone passes, another looms. Tomorrow the girls start their last half term at St Gabriels before moving to Thorngrove in September. In all the time since Easter when we first made the decision to look for a new school the leadership team at St Gabriels have consistently failed to meet even our lowest expectations of communication. Not once have they reached out to us to understand our reasons for leaving, and despite asking, they are still not communicating well about what is happening in year 3 to address some of the teaching issues. We've given up now which is a shame, but we want the girls to be in a school where the staff think about the parents as well as the children. I hope the high standards we've seen so far in Thorngrove continue once we are paying customers!

So, off to bed in the vain hope that my brain will engage in the morning and all will be well - fingers crossed!

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