After buying hairspray etc, we went shopping and they were trying on massive heels in River Island. HILARIOUS. A. was pranicing around in massive hot pink stilettos while M. stalked up and down the changerooms with a massive sparkly handbag, and there were tears of laughter coming out of my eyes. Let's be honest, I probably wasn't setting a good example, but it was the kind of thing that I'd do with Hannah. :) As we were walking back up the hill (that bloody hill, I'll be so glad to get rid of that!) Stuart Bonner, the music director, was in a shop and he jumped out to scare the girls as a joke. They laughed, I screamed and nearly fell to the floor. Real cool Miss Peters, reallll cool.
On Sunday I relaxed, watched videos, practiced piano (Daisy taught me 'Mad World' on piano and I am determined to perfect it by December) and was generally lazy. I love weekends.
I'm tired already. I've got a whole new class of Form 1s who are absolutely gorgeous and very good...so far. A couple of them are a bit teary, S had a cry on my shoulder because she was scared of going into class. It's all very new and scary!
I'm helping with Form 2 Maths which is quite fun. We spent a double lesson learning to set out work neatly and draw margins (which, for a bunch of 8 year olds, is harder than you would think...). Thrilling. I love sitting at the back of the class before we get into the work and watching the teachers - the teachers here are amazing, they're so good at their jobs. The girls were nearly leaping out of their seats to answer questions. I'm also doing quite a lot of French and gymnastics with the older girls - yay! Vicki and Felicity - the two new gaps - are very sporty, so although I'll miss my netball, I won't have to spend my day outside in the freezing British winter, wooooo!! AND I get to wear nice clothes now, instead of trackies. Win. They are both lovely, and the best part is that Felicity lives close, so there is just Em, Aisling, Rose and I in the flat, which is so less crowded and a lot more relaxed.
It's funny showing the new girls around - you realise how much you call this place home! Walking through the school, girls will hug you, say hi (or in the case of S, Z and E, do our secret hand shake) and you'll always stop for a chat with a teacher. The longer this year goes on the more I begin to realise how much I will miss the girls! Z got milo from her Dad during the hols, and very kindly gave Rose, Em and I a packet each - what a legend.
My aunt and grandma came over two weekends ago! I thought it was just Maria, but when she walked through, she asked me to wait for ‘this old woman I flew over with’. IT WAS GRANDMA. I couldn’t believe it, nearly collapsed onto the floor. I spent the best three days with them, sightseeing, showing them around London, and having good old family time. I miss my family! When I said goodbye on Sunday night, I had a little cry on the tube, but I’m totally good now. I want to go home and I don’t want to leave. What is going on.
The past week or two has been quite routine - but in a good way. I'm very comfortable here, loving my new timetable and my classes. The laminator is broken, which is HEAVEN because half our admin work has disappeared! Woo! Hoping we don't get a new one until Christmas.
I’ve had bit of trouble with my diabetes this week. My last vial of insulin went off, so I was stuck on Friday with enough insulin until that night, instead of until Tuesday of the next week. I had to run down to the doctors, beg for an acute prescription, run to the pharmacy, run back up the hill (DIED at least 3 times over. I fucking hate that hill) and slide back into work. THEN I put it into the medical fridge in the resource room, but when I went to get it that morning, it was locked. Had to ring David and ask him to open it up for me. I felt so bad!
This weekend I was sick on Saturday, but on Sunday Aisling and I (Rose was babysitting, Em was away) dragged ourselves out of bed at 6.50am to go to Camden Market before seeing a show at the Globe. Camden was AMAZING – I fell in love. I bought two second-hand books (I can’t help myself with books, it’s like Mum with shoes…) and a gorgeous vintage silk skirt, which was only £15 because it has a coffee stain on the front (I can get it dry-cleaned for about £10). I’m in love with it – hand sewn with a tight waist. Heaven.
We could have spent all day there, but headed off to London Bridge tube station to get to the Globe. We had standing tickets - £5, bargain. We were ‘groundlings’, and stood so close to the stage. We got water, cake, everything thrown onto us. Aisling’s bag got soaked in wet sock water. Loved it! We saw ‘Dr Faustus’, by Christopher Marlowe, and Arthur Darvill was Mephistopheles. I was about 30 cm from him, I nearly died. The actors were all amazing, I came out of there as high as a kite.
There have been countless funny and cute things the girls have said these past weeks – I should really start writing them down. K, a Polynesian girl, skipped past Rose and I last week and I said over my shoulder ‘Hey K’, to which she replied ‘I’m black!’ Had NO idea where that came from! Rose and I were pretty much on the floor in laughter.
One of the teachers is a stickler for unnecessary photocopying and laminating – she wanted me to do 30 colour copies of these notices, laminated and backed. Haha, no. This is how I get my kicks now…I copied them in black and white, didn’t laminate them and stuck them up with blu-tac. They still look good. Haha, take that.
26 days until half term. 71 days until the end of term. 79 days until I get on the plane to fly home.
