This has been a busy pre half term week with lots of school related activities. Our son was on a school residential to Center parks. I’m pretty impressed by the setting for a school trip, much more sophisticated than I ever had, when I was in his year we had two nights camping in Cheddar! He did have an amazing time and I’m so happy he has such great memories. I did hide a few treats in his bag for a midnight feast, an essential of any school trip.

Whilst our son was at Center parks, I was helping out at our school’s Duke of Edinburgh award expedition. As a special school we have the award slightly adapted to our needs, but I am really impressed how the organisation make this a fully inclusive scheme. I had such a lovely evening, helping to make dinner with the students and then a campfire with songs and toasted marshmallows. It’s the little things which bring such joy. I’ve added another school item to this collection of 5, our new little gnome guarding our vegetable patch. We go shopping each week and my class took a real liking to the gnomes on display. This week they were half price so I added one to our trolley and he now proudly sits in our vegetable patch.

Every evening Mr S and I make a real effort to sit down together for an hour to watch a programme. His injury means that he still is very fatigued and is in bed at 7.30 each night. Our current watch is The Tattooist of Auschwitz. It’s a harrowing watch but also an important watch. I have had quiet evenings after watching it, music and a little time to reflect on the horrors of the holocaust and the parallels with today.

Finally, to everyone’s surprise a general election was called on Wednesday. It was due this year but with the assumption that it would be an autumn poll. As a politics graduate this is my time, my political geekiness is at its highest! The announcement itself was pure satire. It was made outside in the pouring rain which just got worse and worse, and Sunak was soaked and then from loudspeakers at the gates of Downing Street, a protester played D-reams Things can only get better, Labour’s anthem from 1997 drowning out his speech. The campaign has only deteriorated since much to a lot of people’s amusement. I think I’m going to enjoy this campaign.