24th June 2007

Well, what a miserable week! Rain, rain, and more rain! The river flowing past the house has been up and down all week, but thankfully, the River Authority seems to have resolved the flooding issues in the town, which has also helped keep the water level lower near us.

The lawn needs mowing, the pool is turning green, and the guinea pigs no longer smile when we put them outside in the mornings.

On Monday, I took the school athletics team to the Area Athletics Meet in Leicester. The Year 6 children are a lovely, intelligent bunch, but they’re not the least bit interested in anything physical and wouldn’t dream of joining a sports club. I had to withdraw the school football team from the league this season because only three Year 6 boys were willing to train (and we only play seven-a-side!). Just two years ago, we had 60 to 80 children attending soccer training regularly.

Sadly, it’s not just Farndon Fields Primary. A fortnight ago, the local schools’ five-a-side football tournament had to be cancelled because only one team entered! As for the Athletics Meet, you won’t be surprised to hear that we came away with just one certificate, a third place in the long jump. Our school has never placed lower than third overall in the past, competing against more than 20 other primaries. It seems the more initiatives provided to encourage children to be active, the less interested they become.

Charlotte has informed us that Luca has started crawling. Now the fun begins. Everything suddenly needs moving out of reach of prying little fingers. I remember going through this stage three times and losing a bit more hair each time. It certainly sharpens your awareness of where you place things and changes how you navigate your own home. Even opening a door becomes a hazardous operation; you never know if there’s a bumped head or squashed finger waiting on the other side. Frankly, terrorism began well before 9/11!

Sue and I had a busy weekend. It started on Friday night with the local charity Summer Ball in aid of the young rugby player Matt Hampson, who was tragically paralysed during a training session. A rare chance to dust off the dinner jackets and ball gowns. For once, we thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was surprisingly good, and the entertainment was very decent (mostly ’70s music). It was held in a large marquee on the grounds of Marston Trussell Hall. Sue reckons there were about 350 guests. The setting was beautiful, but the rain was relentless. The gardens quickly turned into a quagmire. We even saw one taxi buried up to its axles in a muddy field being used as a car park.

After very little sleep, I was at school by 9.30 am on Saturday to help set up for the Summer Fête taking place that afternoon. Sarah (my little angel) came along to give me a hand. I got home just after noon for a bite to eat, then returned to school by 1.15 pm. Amazingly, the forecast rain held off, right up until 3.57 pm. I know the exact time because Sarah and I were manning the bouncy castle and timing children for their five-minute turns (£1 a go). One moment we were dry, the next we were soaked, and that brought an end to the school fête! Somehow, with everybody helping, everything was packed away by 5.30 pm. At present, I’ve no idea how much money we raised for the PTA, as once you’re that wet, you really stop caring.

Later,  at 6.45 pm, Sue and I headed off to a barbecue at a friend’s house. We thought it was going to be a casual affair, but it turned out to be an 18th birthday party with a garden and house full of people playing lots of silly games. Coincidentally, that evening, the Leicester Tigers Rugby Club were holding their Summer Ball in the same marquee we’d attended the night before, and they finished their evening with an incredible fireworks display. Where we were celebrating was high on a hill, which gave us a perfect view of the spectacular finale.

Sunday was a return to normality: report-writing for me, lesson-planning for Sue, lounging on the sofa watching telly for Sarah, and a trip to Foxton for Jamie, who’s earning some holiday money by working in the Foxton Locks Inn kitchen. And, the guinea pigs are still grumpy, the grass is now 5cm longer, and the swimming pool has turned green!