Skip to main content

Time to relax!

After 6 very hectic months, with more twists and turns than I could ever have imagined in my new job, I finally have a week off - hooray! It feels like it as taken forever to get here and I am definitely in need of a break - its hasn't all been downhill but there have been one of two moments recently where I felt like I was crawling to the finish line. Our Group General Counsel emailed me yesterday to wish me a good break, laughing at the fact that I clearly had  a final push on Friday afternoon where where I'd been noticeably firing out the final emails to various people of things I'd like to see done when I get back, or started at the very least. I appreciate if only half get addressed it will be a result, but at least it made me feel better.

The theory is that the kids are going to do half days this week, with me not having appreciated that it is actually their last week of term anyway and let's face it - they've pretty much given up already. I have consoled myself with Izzy's wise counsel where she said by this point they do very little "because its generally too hot in the classrooms and the teachers have given up"! I shall listen to he wisdom and stop stressing - their schooling has been my biggest anxiety throughout the whole of lockdown.

The school asked for feedback this week and I found it hard to be balanced. On the one hand, the school have done a good job of shifting everything online and delivering online lessons via Teams. they've maintained the same timetable and if its a case of judging the provision of content, I guess you cant fault it. If you look at the kids experience on the other hand, they are bored stiff with listening to endless teachers talking at them via a screen, with limited debate between the kids themselves, its all between teacher and individual pupil as a sort of extended Q&A. The academic girls are generally the ones that put themselves forward to speak, while the others (the vast majority lets face it) wait to be asked so listen with half an ear until their name is called and then do their best to wing it. I know its still better than what so many children have had to deal with, but its hardly world class schooling, if they remember anything from this time it will be how much Snapchat and TikTok they've all managed to get away with! Breathe.... its all going to be OK. Given all of this, I think I'm just going to tell the school we've planned various things and we look forward to seeing them all, full time and in person, in September!

So this week we have some family stuff planned - lunch tomorrow with Simon & Audrey and then Stourhead on Tuesday (we have to book a slot!) with Mum  & Dad, Amanda and the boys. Wednesday I have to do a work call so we'll stay closer to home but I'm hoping to see a friend for a walk, and then Thursday and Friday I plan to potter in the garden, weather permitting. Of course last week it was scorchio and this week is looking mixed at the best but who cares - no video screens for a week!!! As long as it's a break that's all that matters. Anyway, that's all for now - I'm off to see if I can sneak into the hot tub without anyone noticing :-)

Blue skies, sunny days





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ypres

Walking around the lake in Ypres while waiting for the rugby to finish! A wet Monday evening after a lovely long weekend away in Ypres - just the two of us and just what I needed after what has been a relatively stressful few months of decision making. The decision is now made however and on Monday I resigned my job in order to join a new company in January. This will be the same role, but a company that hopefully offers more long term stability than my current one. It's been hard going through the initial round of telling people.Despite only being there for 7 months I've made some good friends and very quickly become established and everybody who I've told has been happy for me but very sad that I'm going - it hasn't made it easy. I do feel like I've been through the mill a bit this year - what with leaving EY, ramping up to a big new role, finding out it probably didn't have the longevity I was looking for and then going through the process of finding ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cough, cough

Izzy - can't do a photo without rude finger gestures It's fair to say that the last couple of weeks have been rough. I managed to get the cough Mum had a while back and it has been horrible! Both Dad and Glenn seemed to get a very mild version of it but Mum and I got the full dose and I can safely say that it has been a stark reminder of just how bad a viral infection can be. It also illustrates the whole Covid experience - some get it worse than others. For me it has meant that for over 2 weeks I have had the worst cough which has left me unable to sleep properly. I still can't sleep lying down fully, and have to be propped up on pillows on my back which is not my favoured sleeping position! It has also meant that Glenn has spent the last 10 days in the spare room because I have been coughing so badly he is unable to sleep in the same room. Thank goodness we didn't all have it - we'd have shaken the house to its foundations! It has also meant that I have been exhau...
Post a Comment
Read more

Welcome Albert James!

So this week has been full of new things - Jess and Chris have welcomed Albert James Wilkinson Rayner to the family, a tad early but all doing well apparently (and so cute!!), I started my new job, Abi has her new shed and Dad got sorted on a phone that wasn't invented before the kids were born!! I always knew this week was going to be full on and it certainly has been. The first thing I had to do was try and sort out my diary which had been filled from dawn to dusk by my predecessor with meetings. I decided to set out as I mean to go on and immediately took out those that started before 9am. While I can get into  the office for 8am , it's a pain and requires me to be on the 6:30am train which is just a bit much every day (stating the obvious). I then made it clear that we don't need to be joined at the hip for the next 4 weeks which is a sensitive process - even though he is retiring it's hard to let go and he is understandably keen that the team are looked after. ...
Post a Comment
Read more