Assorted Ramblings...

Things have been a bit busy this week, which is why I'm somewhat behind on reading and commenting on stuff.

On Tuesday, Mr Caz's step-mum and his sister and other half came down for a couple of days. Sister and OH stayed at the Premier Inn just up the road (we could have put them up, but I think that OH likes to be able to get away from the kids!) and step-mum stayed with us, so Sunday and Monday were occupied in "Operation Tidy-Up" (*starts whistling The Great Escape!*)

It's nice to have the house a bit tidier than usual, but the downside is that Mr Caz puts things where nobody can ever find them again. As a result, we spent hours on Tuesday evening looking for the Sky remote, which was eventually discovered at the bottom of a basket full of ironing. I. Don't. Even...

( randomness within )

It was another bright day (mostly) today, but it's still a bit chilly out. I'd already designated today "work day", so I spent most of the afternoon inputting marks onto the school's data system which I can access from here. Mind you, it's not just a case of putting in a number. Nope, I had to write a comment for each pupil as well, along the lines of what we used to do for end of year reports. Fortunately, we don't have to do that every half term, but as the system has only been up and running since last term and last time, I did just put numbers in, I thought I should show willing this time and do a bit more.

( But the best laid plans... )
In other news - DW spoilers abound, but I'm not reading all of them. (I haven't even got round to reading the RT yet!) It's reached the point actually where there's not a lot of new info filtering through, and let's face it, we all know damn well that SM is keeping his cards close to his chest and that the DW team are generally pretty tight lipped about the really big stuff. So while I'm intrigued, I'm (at the moment) quite happy to wait to find out what the hell is going on. Whether I'll still be saying that at 7pm on the 23rd remains to be seen. Btw - is part 2 going out on the Sunday? I assumed it was, for some reason, but haven't seen a confirmation. As crossoverman indicates in comments, it's entirely possible (not to mention likely) that I've dreamed that one up.

( spoilery pic under here )

And in a spectactular scheduling balls-up, Auntie is presenting us with two helpings of DT on the same day at the same time. Grrrrr... Thank gawd for the iPlayer.

It's half-term and I've had a hectic couple of days so far this week. I took the kids out shopping yesterday and today we all schlepped to London and back for the Doctor Who Experience at Olympia.

It's been a mixed bag of a day, really. The DWE was pretty good - with one major drawback (more on that later) - and the kids thought it was awesome, which was the important thing. But tickets, train fares and a pizza afterwards hasn't left any change out of £200. For a day out. Ouch.

( Everything's going to be fine... well, no, it's not fine, it's terrible! )

ETA: I've just seen the news that Nicholas Courtney has died :( RIP, Brigadier.

See? I told you I was good at it! To be fair (to myself), I do have my school laptop open on the other side of the table, have attempted (without success) to access my school email, sent some other emails because there is Stuff I Need To Find Out Before Wednesday, and opened up some lesson plans and resources. I am - or was - in the process of transferring some information from Notebook to Powerpoint (yeah, whoever wrote the resources has an Interactive Whiteboard, and I don't!) and reading through said plans so I know what I actually have to DO in the lessons. Fortunately, I've got a relatively easy couple of days Thurs and Fri, despite having double year 9s on Friday morning! It's Monday that's going to be the killer because of the fact that I have to teach French and Music immediately after each other and the classrooms are at opposite ends of the school.

( This bout of procrastination is brought to you by the letters 'D' and 'T'. )

I went to bed just after nine last night - I couldn't even manage to stay awake to watch Dexter, so I'll have to catch up with that later. I can't remember the last time I went to bed that early.

( ... )

Just back from a short break in and around London and I thought I'd post some pics. We've not been away for a "proper" holiday this year - instead we've had odd days out here and there, which have probably cost us just as much, but what the hell! So we did a fair bit of walking and sightseeing - took the kids to The Sound of Music one evening, which Elinor and I have seen, but the others hadn't. It was the first time Abigail had been to a show so she was very excited and behaved herself beautifully - she asked "Daddy, what time does the film start?" - awwwww!

I enjoyed it, but I have the same reservations as before - the kids are good, the woman singing the part of the Abbess is fantastic but the Maria is pretty average vocally - she had a very nasal tone, which started to get on my nerves about half way through! But then, I'm picky about things like that.

Anyway, on with the photos!

( Maybe it's because... )
So we're home and, apart from Elinor's birthday on Wednesday, hoping to have a fairly quiet week before I go back to work next Monday (ick).