May is proving to be a lovely month for bank holidays, two consecutive three day weekends. After our busy Saturday and Sunday last week, Monday was simply a lazy, pottering day at home, I sorted out a few cupboards, put away the winter scarves and hats to be replaced by sun hats and caps and did some fadmin (family admin) a lovely little day.

There was a bit of a family drama this week, but that has now been resolved in sort. I would love a quieter life but with two teenagers in the house, this may have to wait for a few more years. We did have our daughter’s parents evening this week, school is difficult for her, its just not the right environment and she struggles with her behaviour. However, the consultation wasn’t as bad as we were expecting and there is that hope that if she can settle down in Year 11 and focus she may get the grades needed for the college course she is interested in. As a teacher, I have had students who didn’t thrive in school and am confident that my daughter’s character, intelligence and wit will serve her well in adult life. At the parents evening we had lots of resources shared with us to help independent study, one of which was Duolingo. I couldn’t resist and have signed up. At present its French ( I have a honours degree in the language , so perhaps not the most taxing for me) and I may try a new language too.

This week has been all about the preparation for the Coronation. There are Union Jacks hanging from every lamp post in our town and neighbouring villages. The King Charles post box topper is near my daughter’s school and the crown (which is huge, as tall as me) is at our local station. I haven’t put up any bunting, as there are parts of the coronation I feel uncomfortable with, most notably, the cost, upwards of £100 million in a cost of living crisis. I feel there is more indifference to this celebration and a lot of people are considering if this is the beginning of the end of the monarchy. However, as a teacher, we have looked at the history, made crowns, learnt how to sing and sign the national anthem, dressed in red, white and blue, picnicked and thanks to excellent reports on Newsround have considered the monarchy’s role in modern British society. Tellingly one of my students asked why the money for the Coronation could not be spent on the nhs, our young are wise beyond their years.

Our Saturday parkrun had a Coronation theme, so I borrowed some of the crowns we made at school, draped my leopard print Union Jack scarf around me and did my pre run volunteer stint. The weather was awful, very, very wet so all the accessories were taken off so I could concentrate on battling the wind, rain and very muddy conditions on the run. However, post run, I ate one of the best ever fruit cakes I have tasted, with the perfect amount of marzipan and icing printed with the coronation symbol. We also stopped for a second breakfast in the parkrun café so despite being the wettest ever parkrun, it was one of the most memorable too. By the time we got home the Coronation was in full swing so I had it on tv, whilst we showered and warmed up. I was wowed by Penny Mordaunt’s outfit (that dress, the cloak, the head piece) and role in the ceremony, standing perfectly with a heavy sword for hours was mighty impressive. Tbh, it was the fashion which caught my attention rather than the solemnity of the ceremony.

As the children have plans for tomorrow, today, Sunday was our dedicated family day of the weekend. Thanks to the national £2 price cap on bus fares, we took the open top bus across the ferry to our big seaside town, where we had a ‘Spoons’ breakfast and had a lovely meander along the beach, played on the slot machines on the pier, walked through the gardens and returned back home. There was a really nice atmosphere at the seaside, I think everyone was enjoying the sunshine as again the forecast is awful tomorrow.