Seaside Sparkles

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.

 

A short and sweet little sparkles as we are away this weekend and I’m writing this early.  It’s been a very quiet week, back to school and no clubs until next week.  There’s a definite theme to this week’s entry, sunshine!

Sparkle 1 : Playing in the garden

There was a recent article in the news that prisoners spend more time outside than children, a result of parental fear, the influence of tv and computer games etc..  Fortunately our children enjoy being outside regardless of the weather and this week they’ve spent us much time as they possibly can in the garden playing.  Yesterday, they squeezed every minute from getting home from school to bath time in the garden, it was another al fresco tea. I cleaned out the old sand and water play stand at the weekend and it’s now being used as Zombling land, the latest craze in mini toys.  There was also lots of bug hotels being built yesterday as well as playing on the swings and making dens.  Such childhood innocence needs to be encouraged.

Sparkle 2 : Mexican Night

There was a youth social event at the cricket club on Saturday night. As its Little Man’s first season, it was a little nerve wracking going to the first social but as it always is in a small town it was surprising how many people we already knew and we relaxed.  The meal was delicious, the best veggie chilli I’ve eaten in ages and a bargain price for drinks and a meal for the four of us.

Sparkle 3 : Summer dresses

This week the weather has been so good that Little Miss has been wearing her Summer gingham dresses to school.  I love these school dresses, the simplicity of the style and design unchanged for generations.  I much preferred wearing the dresses to the heavy, grey uniform of Winter when I was at school.  Little Miss is the same and has been happy twirling in her new dresses.

And finally

I have my MRI scan tomorrow and then all the investigations into my falls will be over, I’m hopeful the falls were simply a symptom of my migraines.  Then it will be time for a weekend away in Devon with my in laws.  Fingers crossed this gorgeous weather continues.

Its been the second week of the Easter holidays this week and we’ve been at home for the week with lots of little trips out to keep us amused.

Sparkle 1 : My Lightbox

The unpredictable weather returned this week and we’ve had showers among the sunshine.  Our phrase this week reflects the weather but also a little game we’ve been playing on car trips.  I’ve been playing the Disney album and have been amazed how good Little Man is at identifying the songs and the films they are from.  This is the title of a song from Bambi to which we have all sang along to.

Sparkle 2 : A nature trail

The weather never puts us off on a little adventure and on Monday afternoon we went for a walk at a local nature reserve. It was just what was needed and we got very close to deer.  A little bonus was that a new cafe has just opened with what is being developed into a lovely nature garden for children.  The refreshments were much appreciated and it will be lovely to return later to see how the garden grows it looks like it has the potential to be an amazing area.

Sparkle 3: A military museum

Little Man adores soldiers and has a favourite local military museum.  It offers a ticket where you pay a fee once and can return as many times as you want in the year.  Being local this is brilliant for us, we get excellent value for our money.  Our visit this week was excellent, there was a new exhibition about the lives of 6 soldiers from World War 1, it was humbling and very well done, I was quite emotional explaining the stories to the children.  There was also an outdoor vehicle display at lunchtime which we enjoyed whilst having a picnic lunch on the grassy banks.  The display encouraged us to have a go in a tank, it was very rough and no photos were taken as we clung on!  However for the children the highlight was a new indoor soft play area with lots of military style activities and obstacles, it’s a fantastic idea and one we will return for.  It is a great museum and one of my favourite places to take the children.

Sparkle 4: Zootropolis

There have been lots of trips this week as Mr S worked from home on several days and given the nature of his work he needs quiet to concentrate.  He is very generous in providing a few pennies for our treats.  We saw the new Disney film, Zootropolis this week. I loved the themes in it, achieving your dreams by working hard, living together and respecting differences  etc…  A nice little film to watch with lots of humour and nice touches.

Sparke 5 : The new lifeboat

Today our town welcomed our new lifeboat.  The RNLI is a hugely important part of our town and the arrival of the new boat was a much anticipated event.  We went down to the pier to watch its arrival  and it was great to see it sail in, escorted by the current lifeboat, police boat, coastguard helicopter and a variety of other boats.  It was a real community event, the pier was bursting with people and there was real pride and excitement in the new boat.  It also made me think of the debt of gratitude, respect and commitment to the volunteers who rescue those who in need.  It was a moment of civic pride.

And finally

It’s back to school for me and the children next week, its been a good holiday and we’re now looking forward to our next where we will be going away, the countdown is on!

So the first week of our Easter holiday is over but we certainly crammed lots into it.  Easter weekend was different to what we had hoped for with Grandad being our guest. Storm Katie was pretty ferocious all over the weekend and caused lots of humour by sharing its name with my mum, who is known for a fiery temper, although much subdued with age. Much of the weekend was spent indoors because of the weather and illness, as Little Man was suffering with a really bad cough and cold which can trigger some quite serious chest infections with his asthma. He was so poorly on Saturday night that we ended up in our local hospital having him checked out and then spent a night sleeping lightly and listening for his coughing and breathing, I find these nights frightening.  Unsurprisingly given the circumstances and the lost hour thanks to BST I forgot to be the Easter bunny and had to run down and quickly put the eggs on the breakfast table, whilst Mr S distracted the children, fortunately no one was the wiser.  After our weekend at home, Mr S went away to work and the children and I went to Somerset to visit my parents, all being reunited tonight, Friday.

Sparkle 1 : The Easter Egg Hunt

Little Man was still poorly on Easter Sunday and promptly fell asleep as soon as we all sat down for Sunday lunch which I had carefully prepared and themed.  We took him upto bed and after a sleep he was keen to do our Easter egg hunt. I prepare a hunt every year with a list of things to find, this makes it not just about the chocolate and also develops the hunt into quite an event.  This year I added a matching challenge, words and pictures on eggs.  The children love the race and challenge and even though he didn’t want to eat the chocolate Little Man loved trying to beat his sister to finding all the clues.  I do love drawing the clue sheet and hiding the props it’s a special little family treat.

Sparkle 2 : Desert Island Discs

I enjoy listening weekly to my DID podcast and this week was an exceptional castaway,  businessman John Timpson of Timpson shoes.  I knew about his work with fostered and adopted children but did not realise the full extent of his personal commitment, fostering seventy children and adopting two.  His business style was inspiring and the company’s work to give prisoners a job on release another noble cause.  However it was his passion for life which just shone through and the love for his wife, a very special man.

Sparkle 3 : Fashion in 1oo Objects

Whilst away at my mum and dad’s I took up their kind offer of a day to myself and visited Bath. I had read about the new exhibition at the Fashion Museum, the history of fashion in 100 objects and was keen to see it. I really enjoyed the exhibition, whilst I admired the intricate embroidery and materials of the early fashions from the 17th century it was the 20th century exhibits which impressed me the most.  My personal highlight was a Dior New Look suit, classic and so stylish and it seemed the 50s reflected my style the most.

After a morning of being inspired and wowed by fashion I then popped to the shops and the clothes were so insipid and dull in comparison.  I need to develop my sewing skills so I can create the clothes I want to wear.

Sparkle 4 : New nail varnishes

Whilst I didn’t buy any new clothes I did choose two new nail varnishes.  I like pastel colours as my nails are kept fairly short and pastels suit this style.  I have the green on my fingers and toe nails  and they look lovely.

Sparkle 5 : Books

One of my treats this week was to go and browse in a bookshop, I could spend hours in a bookshop although I have noticed that with the advent of Amazon and Kindles that there are fewer books and variety in bookshops.  However I still managed to while away my time happily and came out with books for everyone!  I then started one, Black Eyed Susans which I had the guilty pleasure of reading in one sitting which went on to the early hours of the morning.

Sparkle 6 : The calm after the storm

This is not a metaphor for some deep and serious issue in my life it’s simply the relief at the end of what has seemed like weeks of storms and the dawning of British Summer time, light evenings and sunnier weather.  Spring has sprung and I’m a happier little bunny, Summer is my favourite time of year and it seems that this week we are getting closer to those hazy, lazy days of summer.

Sparkle 7 : The First of a Million Kisses by Fairground Attraction

I’m not sure what triggered this sparkle this week, possibly being at my parents home and surrounded by memories of my childhood but I started to think of this CD and downloaded it onto my iTunes account.  I loved this CD and played it to death as a teenager and was so pleased that it had the same positive feel many years later, a beautiful CD with amazing tracks.

And finally

I like that the Easter holiday is such a long and relaxed break, Mr S has a few days off next week and on his work days will be working at home so lots of family time together.  It’s easier if we give Mr S peace at home when he’s working so that’s 3 days out to plan a few surprises.