Month: May 2016

Today I feel so relaxed and relieved after a hectic week at work.  Anyone who works in education will know that teacher recruitment is a strange business, only really understood by those in the sector and this week we’ve been very busy recruiting, that’s been had an ad published in TES, shortlisting and interviews in ONE week.  The adrenaline has been flowing and I’m grateful we only have such a deadline annually.  Fortunately we have very good staff retention so we don’t have this madness every year, I may need a few years to recover! However the good news is that I have a fortnight’s holiday now and am looking forward to a week of pottering around at home and then a family holiday to Butlins.

Sparkle 1 : Country walks, castle and picnic.

Sunday was sunny and bright so we had a day out in a local village famous for its castle.  We parked at a lovely picnic spot on the outskirts and walked into the village through the woods and fields, it really was picture perfect.  We went into the castle and there was a Viking village set up in the  grounds so the children got to learn how to be a warrior, try on costumes, mill flour, etc.. After a return walk to the picnic area we enjoyed our lunch al fresco and played a few ball games in the fields, a lazy and relaxed Sunday.

Sparkle 2 : Premiership Stadium Tour

I was inspired by a school trip to a Premiership football stadium tour for my Light box quote this week, this phrase ‘Together, anything is possible’  is displayed throughout the ground.  I have done stadium tours before Anfield, MCG in Melbourne etc.., but this was fascinating as it was a school trip and the stadium is not normally open to the public to visit, we got to see so many little details.  The over riding theme was the positive nature of the ground so many positive phrases displayed in the team areas, evidence of a real team ethic and strong leadership, lessons for us all.  However my big revelation was the state of the away team’s changing rooms, the club have made them basic, very basic and it was hard to imagine the star players of Chelsea, Liverpool and Man Utd having to use such simple facilities.  They were so basic, our school changing facilities are majestic in comparison!

Sparkle 3 : Forget Me Nots

There is a local community project to raise funds for a local dementia charity by making and selling these forget me not crochet brooches.  Whilst I cannot crochet (yet, its on my wish list) I can sew so I have sewn the brooch pins on 43 of the little flowers.  I enjoyed the sewing, it was a labour of love in memory of my lovely Grandma who suffered from dementia in her later life.

Sparkle 4 : TMS

The international cricket season has begun and so I have been tuned into TMS which is one of my favourite listens on radio.  Whilst I was not able to listen to it live, I downloaded the TMS tribute to one of their co commentators the Bajan, Tony Crozier, it was incredibly moving and highlighted the professionalism and joie de vivre of a very talented man.  Looking at the picture above, its sad that many of these famous voices are no longer alive, but I am thankful to have enjoyed their work and still love the broadcasts by their successors.

Sparkle 5 : Wedding Bells

This weekend one of my colleagues is getting married and we’ve all enjoyed talking with her about her plans and preparation.  In one conversation she said she would love to see what our colleagues had looked like on their wedding days, so with the help of these colleagues who brought in wedding photos I created a little movie of our wedding photos, quotes on love and marriage with a soundtrack of Stevie  Wonder’s For Once In My Life to show at this week’s teacher meeting.  It was lovely to watch what we all looked like on our wedding days, a lot younger, hair colours were different and you could guess the era by the style of dress but there was a lot of love and happiness in those photos. It was a great little project to brighten a busy week at school.

And finally

I’m a list person so next week I’m looking forward to writing and ticking off my list, I have some events to plan, holiday clothes to buy and maybe a few new blog posts to write.

This week has a domestic feel after a disastrous weekend where all I touched seemed to break, this has led to some new purchases and a possible new bathroom project.

Sparkle 1 : New Toys!

Whilst it was an unfortunate coincidence that our  domestic appliances broke at the weekend, all except one which is under guarantee were old and realistically were going to need to be replaced fairly soon.  I did try to fix the vacuum over several days but had to admit defeat.  The positive is that we now have new appliances and as is so true with technologies the improvement in performance is remarkable.

Sparkle 2 : Desert Island Discs

I do enjoy Desert Island Discs but this was a fantastic episode this week with Tom Hanks, he spoke so eloquently of his childhood and expressed clearly the difference between loneliness and solitude. Kirsty Young is such a skilled interviewer and this was a very special episode.

Sparkle 3 : A brownie guard of honour

Little Miss and her Brownie pack were so excited to be the guard of honour for their Brown Owl’s wedding this week.  It was lovely and Brown Owl looked delighted with the gesture.  She was a stunning bride, with a real 50s vibe to her outfit, so stylish and beautiful.

Sparkle 4 : A little bit of Miss Swift

I had no weekly theme for this week’s Lightbox so went to Miss Swift for inspiration. Shake it Off is such a kick ass song and just the best for dancing around the kitchen.  It’s also great advice!

Whilst this was the bank holiday weekend it was the final push of Mr S big work project, so he left for work at around 5am on Sunday for 4 days and by one of the strange quirks of my job I had to work on Monday too.  Fortunately, my parents came down to help with the children and spoilt them and me too.

Sparkle 1 : Star Wars Day

As Little Man is such a big Star Wars fan I couldn’t resist this quote in my Light box with a few characters surrounding it.  I like making us smile!

Sparkle 2 : Beach weather!

At last we got some summer weather, so it was straight to the beach to enjoy the sun.  We are on the beach all the time but in winter its for walks, this week was the first week we could sit and play on the beach in shorts and t-shirts wearing flip flops and sunglasses.  That’s nearly a month later than last year.  On Thursday morning, I got a take away coffee and sat on the beach wall with the warm sun on my face, it was blissful.  This end of the beach by the shops is quite stony with seaweed at present but today, Saturday we sat on the beach further down which is so soft and golden.  As you can see we have our beach kit well planned and I was very comfy in my chair with my new magazine.

Sparkle 3 : New Egg Cups!

I saw these egg cups in a shop window and loved them.  I didn’t go to buy them straightaway but having thought about them I returned to the shop to make the purchase.  They are an Orla Kiely design and are gorgeous. I do believe in the William Morris quote about only owning things which are beautiful or useful in your home and I think these are both.  At my sister in law’s house, she had some fantastic vintage egg cups which Mr S remembered from his childhood, I would love to have these cups in the family for such a time.  The quote is from Marie Konde, I heard a few interviews with her earlier on this year and have just started reading her Spark Joy book.

And finally

So Mr S has now finished his contract and is now my house husband for a few months, it’ll be nice to have him back home.  We may pretend he’s a bit grumpy but we love him loads and miss him a lot when he is away.