Tracking watch

 After BigA had fallen back to sleep after a particularly bad night with almost no sleep, I got ready to go to the big sing. Wearing a bright top as per instructions I headed to Hornsey Library where my Monday choir joined the Tuesday and Wednesday ones and we sung a set on the street for the gathering crowd. Edgar is in the Wednesday choir and, although all I could see was a slight halo of whisky white hair at the back of the bases, we  sang together. I knew most of the songs but not all and managed to busk along. It was lovely to harmonise away and share the joy of the bright and positive songs. Edgar then took me to lunch and I had a rather delicious salad. He set off on his bike and I decided to walk home to get in a bit of proper exercise and stopped off at the Hub to see A and grab an ice cream. 

Once home I had a lovely little nap and then woke to get ready for our evening of Murder in Kent. BigA looked dashing as Ed Itor and I a Spanish heiress, Rene Weigh. With mainly strangers, with the exception of our host, Kai and his son Dimitri, all dressed as their silly characters we set about solving the mystery and almost all of us guessed correctly - I had given the most justifications and won best detective. I drove us home and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. 

I got up for my last roller derby rookie session (there is one next week but I will be away) and we enjoyed learning how to hit hard and less successfully, tried not to say sorry for it. I did beans on toast for lunch, it's been a while and I love the simplicity of the meal. A though was at a Streets Ahead event, she was so very proud of her little dancers, called the Minis. I had a very needed and relaxing bath and then another afternoon nap. 

The working week was busy and quite different to the last ones because we had a theatre trip and I had a day at training, each evening I had a thing to do too. Lucky I'd had all those naps. I loved the play we saw, An Inspector Calls, I saw it many years ago and it was very similar set wise but I felt acted so well and much more melodramatic. I loved the intensity and the some what over the top reactions of the students. And behaviour wise the week felt better too, building connections and talking through behaviours to help move things in the right direction. I know I haven't cracked it but I am not feeling so terrible about coming back after half term. A little slice of me trying to ignore the tiny and sometimes less tiny voice telling me it is a waste of time because at best I'm only there for a year and maybe not even that long. BigA bought be a new watch which tells me all sorts. I stand up a lot! 

The course on Thursday was lovely, I found myself wondering about what impact I could have as a senior leader at my new school, and then I had Friday off and remembered why I'm enjoying the current stress free long weekends. I rather stupidly didn't remember to take a jumper so I walked and bussed my way to Angel to buy one in H&M and then walked to meet up with a pal for a lovely evening together. We attended a lecture, about the value of a constitution in education,  and it was shorter than I thought and very interesting. After we went for a couple of drinks and chatted and discussed the lecture a bit too. I headed off to the loo before our journey home only to see a women rush down the stairs to go into the men's loo. She was obviously desperate and couldn't wait. As I stood waiting she came running in, distressed, as the door to the cubicle swung open I let her pass, as she was clearly in more need, but she was virtually howling. I thought, my god that's one hell of a period she's got, as she was screaming about all the blood. But as she came back out I realised it was in fact her toe. The woman in the second toilet now joined us and we examined her toe, I held her up (she was tall and larger than me and worse for wear too) as we balanced her to wash off her toe and examine the damage, which was a smallish cut. She produced a large plaster from somewhere and we patched her up. She kept saying how stupid she was and crying, and now with 2 more women in the loos, we all told her she wasn't stupid, she was lovely and everyone hurts their toe from time to time. She thanked us all, still a little weepy and hobbling but fine and I then managed to go to the toilet myself. Grateful I hadn't been desperate! My pal found it amusing and wondered if men would have been so caring, I think yes but we agreed while taking the piss a bit and of course most men wear much more sensible shoes.  

The girls coped well with the week, A actually rode her bike to meet her Opa for lunch, she was so nervous, due to the traffic. I hope she takes it to Liverpool. I treated me and M to a kebab one evening, I had intended to set a proper greasy one, but the closest place has gone oddly up market and we ended up with a proper shish with the salad and sauce all individually wrapped and enough flat bread to feed A too! They both sat their first history exam yesterday and got back in time to see/avoid the big Tottenham football club celebrations. 

I also got a lovely and much wanted/needed gift through the post, not note but I figured out who sent it within 2 guesses. In fact 2 as we got a big bag of compost through the post too.