Leaving Midsomer !

Sorry this blogs a bit late in being posted.
Well, after 7 years of working on Midsomer Murders it was time to say good-by or at least "au revoir"for a while. Thank you all so much for the good luck wishes and the great gifts. I was very touched by the number of you that turned up to the leaving drinks in Beaconsfield. The usual suspects were there for many hours !!!!
A big thank you to John P who got me home safely !!
Preparations on the barge have almost finished and the moving day approaches, we plan to set sail on Tuesday with a quick stop at teddington to pick up our skipper,then through London overnight and aim to cross channel on Wednesday !! A well laid plan , what could possibly go wrong ???
Good luck with the rest of the shoot and I will see you all in October
Bon Voyage !!!

Picnic & Football & Fab Friends

Thanks to all of our friends who joined us for football fun at a picnic in the Lammas this afternoon. Great to see you all and thanks for all of the cards and gifts.
It was a perfect afternoon.


Prizes go to :
Clive for being top football manager;
Helen Oake for amazing footwork and stamina;
The Tollers for style;
The Wrights for their singing;
Tosh for his never-ending patience;
Abi and Lydia for stupendous cartwheels
and
red cards go to
Bomber Bailey and SlySue Franklin for their poor display of sportsmanship. Apologies to Alex, Dan and Callum who suffered as a result!

Goodbye school!

Today was a very big day indeed. Dan and Callum both finished school for the forseeable future.

Callum gave out lots of gifts and sweets to his friends and received lots in return. "I was very sad" (Callum).

Dan came home armed with a ton of his Year 3 work which was all beautifully presented.

And both boys proudly showed their farewell cards from their classes.

Thank you to everyone at St Ann's Heath and at Thorpe Infants for everything that you do. Two truly remarkable schools with exceptional staff. We will miss you very much.

For Scarlett

Thank you Scarlett for your kind words and gifts. They meant a great deal. Take care and see you soon.

Farewell to Thorpe Infants

I was given a fantastic send-off on my final day at Thorpe Infants. Lots of hugs from the children during the day and a very special assembly in the afternoon which was filled with song, prayers and lots of laughter. The children had made cards which I will always treasure and the staff presented me with a beautiful silver starfish necklace.

After work the staff gathered en masse at a local hostelry and gave me an enormous crate festooned with England flags. There were so many gifts inside! All pertinent to the big trip :

camembert, french bread, garlic, live snails from the enviromental garden (safely released in pub garden), sun protector, AA route planner for the channel, West Europe guide, 4 black berets for the Skipper, First Mate and Crew, shipping forecast tea towel, assorted tape and gunge and plugs and plasters for below waterline repairs, 1st Aid Kit, string of o

nions, pirate night-light holder, 2 x nautical shirts, fish recipe book, game, newpsaper articles about the art of doing nothing, French phrase book, sea sickness tablets, waterproof matches, a compass and a fabulous album of photos of the boys and I pretending to work in school. Phew!!!

A massive thank you to all the parents and children and the fantastic staff at Thorpe Infants. We will miss you very much.

Birthday Cake Fever

As I walked into the staffroom at Thorpe Infants today I was welcomed with a cake crafted into the form of a ship at sea. Beautifully made by Mrs Free and lovingly admired by Year 2 - though they could not understand how it sank without trace when they asked for a slice! Let's hope this will not be the fate of Lobelia in just 3 weeks time...

And when I returned home Andy presented me with a homemade birthday cake - his very first attempt at baking a cake. I'm glad his carpentry is better than his icing capabilities! However, it was absolutely delicious.