2nd September 2007 

Well, we made it back from Thailand safely. We flew with EVA again, and the flight was excellent, great entertainment system, delicious food, and plenty of legroom. The downside is, of course, that we’re now back in a chilly UK!

I had a slight mishap driving home from Heathrow, couldn’t quite remember how to drive my own car! Things got off to a rocky start when I stalled it joining the M25, having completely forgotten it wasn’t an automatic and that I needed to use the clutch. Then there were the typical London drivers who, bizarrely, didn’t seem to realise that my switching on the windscreen wipers meant I was changing lanes. Obvious, isn’t it?

We eventually made it home at around 11.30 pm on Sunday.

We woke on Monday to a radio report announcing that just after 11 pm the night before, a light aircraft had crashed on the A6 between Northampton and Market Harborough, killing two people. What a lucky escape, we’d been travelling on that very road just after 11 pm!

A little memory from our holiday: one morning in the chalet, I was watching Thai television (in English) after our adventure at the Paradise Boathouse Resort Hotel, when I recognised the person being interviewed. It was the General we’d met a few days earlier, the one supposedly celebrating his wife’s birthday by the lake (Sue chatted to him, and Jamie had his photo taken with their daughter). Turns out, he’s now running the country. He’s head of the armed forces, and the real reason for the party was a celebration of the coup that ousted Thaksin (former Thai Prime Minister and Man City owner). As Sue said, “He seemed such a nice man.”

Since we’ve been back, jet lag has been a nuisance, waking up at 3.00 am most mornings, but we’re slowly settling back into routine. The pool was black on our return, but after a good few brushings with the hose, it’s back to its usual clear blue state. Far too cold to swim in, though! The garden was bursting, plums and pears have had a bumper year, and there’s a greenhouse full of tomatoes, though sadly they’re tasteless this season. The guinea pigs (looked after by Jim) were pleased to see us. I suspect they’ve not been out of their little hut nearly enough while we were away.

Sue has been busy with the usual post-holiday chores, washing and restocking the fridges and larder (she always empties them before we go away, due to my unfortunate track record of switching the power off during past holidays, resulting in six-week-old, rancid food on our return).

I went to school on Tuesday and Wednesday for Teacher Days, only to discover the builders hadn’t finished the remodelling work. Everything was still in boxes, and the office didn’t exist. It took two full days just to get everything back in place. The children returned on Thursday, keen, excited, full of energy and wearing new uniforms. In short, the complete opposite of how I was feeling!

I must admit, I’ve felt rather down about the temporary role I’ve taken on. Thursday’s radio news announced that one-third of all Primary Headship posts are unfilled and that recruitment is at an all-time low. I’m not surprised. I’ve already survived two days from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm (with lunch eaten at my desk, on top of a mound of paperwork). The week’s highlights were: leading assembly on Thursday, installing a new printer (took five minutes), and shredding a document (thirty seconds). These were the only enjoyable tasks. The rest of my time has been spent filling in forms, locating data, and talking to grey suits from County Hall, dull individuals who treat bureaucracy as a sacred art. Oh, and I called a fire drill. I was out of the office for a whole ten minutes!

Thankfully, the staff are brilliant, just quietly getting on with things and chatting about their summer holidays. Ironically, I haven’t spoken to anyone about mine; I’ve had neither the time nor the inclination. I suppose it will get better as I come to terms with the role. After all, it is only temporary, and I am retiring in July!

Jamie is on a roll at the moment! He’s done brilliantly. He had driving lessons with Sue in Kettering on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and then passed his test on Thursday with only three minors. He said he knew he’d pass; it all felt perfect. The examiner told Sue he was the best candidate he’d had that week. That same day, Jamie also had an interview for an apprenticeship and was successful. To top it all off, the college confirmed his place for the second year of his course (only 16 out of 33 from last year were invited back). On Friday, he drove 125 miles to Mansfield to see his girlfriend, and did the same again on Saturday.

On Saturday morning, I helped Jamie fit a radio/CD/DVD/video/mp3 player into his car, which he’d bought in Thailand. I was sceptical that it would work, but it does, and it went in with surprisingly little trouble.

Sarah kept a promise. While in Thailand, I’d confessed one afternoon that I was craving a proper Ploughman’s lunch and gave her a rundown of my ideal version. She promised to make one for me when we got home, and she did. Thoughtfully timed for Wednesday lunch time (I came home from school especially), and it was perfect, if rather large. I had to finish it off for supper!

Sarah seems to be settling in well at Robert Smyth School. One afternoon, she had a few friends over to watch DVDs and play music on her keyboard.

On one Saturday afternoon, we hosted a BBQ. I’d invited Jim and Bridget over to thank them for looking after the pool and garden over the summer. I’d bought them a bottle of Thai whisky, but Bridget informed me Jim doesn’t like whisky, and had given the last bottle I’d given him away! I think I’ll use it to pickle some onions in a few weeks. We showed them a video of our holiday, drank a lot of beer and cider, which contributed to a very pleasant evening.

The following day, we went to Charlotte’s to celebrate her 25th birthday, and on the following Wednesday, it will be Suraj’s 35th. The whole family came, including Jamie, who was quite put out when I didn’t allow him to drive to Newark. The journey there wasn’t much fun, as I now apparently have three driving experts in the car, all pointing out my supposed flaws. They blame my age and suggest I give up driving before I have a serious accident. Odd, then, that I managed to get us there and back without incident. We even passed two serious accidents, and, funnily enough, they had nothing to say about those.

It was lovely to see how quickly Lucas is growing, scooting about, grabbing everything and shoving anything small enough straight into his mouth. Charlotte had booked us into an Indian restaurant for a superb lunch, and I left absolutely stuffed. Afterwards, we went to White Post Farm Park, ostensibly for Lucas to see the animals, though I think Suraj, Jamie, Sarah and Charlotte had more fun breaking the age and size limits on all the rides. Sue and I stood back, looked after Lucas, and pretended not to know them.

Rain had been forecast, but fortunately, it held off until we left the farm at around 5 pm. We returned to Charlotte’s for coffee, as Suraj had put together a desktop computer for Sarah to use in her schoolwork (she somehow managed to destroy her laptop a couple of months ago).

And, yet again, against all odds, I drove us back to Market Harborough through heavy rain and Sunday night traffic, without the predicted accident. I don’t know how I do it.