New Kid on the Blog

Said i would say something about holidays, so just a few rambling style meanderings as i reflect on recent relaxatory revelations - this means nothing, but i like the sound of it. I don't have the profound insights of Jem Clines about our travels but it gives me a chance to waffle a bit... The start of a thunderstorm as i type here in South Cambridgeshire certainly reminds me of our time away in Bergerac - it was very very hot - the heatwave in the UK feels almost cool in comparison - and prone to thunderstorms, which could be incredibly exciting, particularly the nighttime ones, but once they went we again were greeted by clear skies and fantastic weather. It was the heat that shaped our holiday - keeping kids out of too much sunlight, choosing what we would eat, making sure we stocked up on water, driving at certain times of the day (no air con in the car, our clunky old volvo), deciding which places to visit that might be shady, looking for cool places to park, not wanting to m...

Having been back at work for about five hours i seem to have spent the last four and a half on the telephone catching up. Nothing went drastically wrong whilst i was away and in fact there have been some good things going on, so apart from a mountain of mail that is causing me to turn ashen every time i think about it i don't have a huge amount to make up for now i am back. It's summertime (in case anyone had missed this) so meetings are all off until September, as are the various school events that conspire to fill up my weeks. My hope is that this will allow me some time to get back to visiting and getting my study and everything else administrative in to tip top order whilst things are quieter. So, about the last few weeks, i know you're dying to know! Its been a great time, just busy. Before i went away we all geared up for a variety of events, it being summer there was a whole load of fetes and summer 'do's that were enjoyable and time consuming. I misse...

Thanks to all of you who've not completely given up on me (my site stats show that there are a few folk popping back every now and then to see if i am still alive). After a few ridiculously hectic and fatigued weeks we went off on holiday for THREE WHOLE WEEKS to the house in which we have a tiny share in Bergerac, France. It was a wonderful break and very refreshing. The kids were delightful, wife and I got to have real conversations, and apart from the handbrake of the car snapping and me breaking the lawnmower there were no major mishaps! I read a lot too, not as much as usual as there were real people to talk to (my wife, parents in law and mum at various times) - the brain cells also got a bit of a work out as i thought about life in general, theology in unguarded moments, and the possibility of writing a novel (ideas are formulating in a way they've not before). I did find myself hankering after the laptop that i had chosen to leave behind as i really did rather like ...