Monday was another super warm day. I walked Bunnykins to school knowing that she might want to walk on her own for the last day. I wanted to walk her for all the mornings I could, but I also trust her and if that's what she wanted to do, then I would want to let her. So I was aware it could be my last morning walking her. Watching her go to walk the last bit on her own (as she always does) I did feel nostalgic.
We had a walk at lunchtime, with a visit to the ice cream van rather than the hatch.
Bunnykins got home at about 4pm. They had had a water fight in school, which sounded a lot of fun. She got on with getting herself ready, at 5:30pm I could finish work and give her a hand.
It was about 29°C, so I was worried that the velvet jumpsuit wouldn't be a good thing to wear. But Bunnykins insisted and she certainly made it look cool. My gorgeous girl! 😍😍😍😍😍
We arrived at the church hall for the party just before 6pm. We saw Hannah and M on the way across.
I am on the Yr6 leavers committee, but my main inputs were being the chair, and then organising the yearbook. I had tried to stay out of the party thing as well, though I would help on the night. The rest of the group had done a great job getting it all set up.
I took loads of photos, but there was also a "photo booth" which was fun.
And then a disco, which they all got well into.
Bunnykins was having a great time with her closest friends "H.H.A.M" is what they call themselves.
But the whole class are all such a lovely bunch of kids. They are a small year group. I think at most there have been 25 in the year, but typically less, and they ended as a group of 22. They are all so nice: polite, kind, caring, inclusive and full of fun. It's been a really good experience for Bunnykins going through primary, one to have such a great group of close friends who she can be herself with, and then to be part of such a nice wider group where she can always feel comfortable and included.
At the end of the party, everyone got a goody bag (including yearbook) and a cupcake. I was so chuffed with how the yearbooks turned out, and it was really nice to get such good feedback.
Such a little cutie! First day of school:
Still a cutie!
Tuesday was the last day of school. It was a P.E. day so she went in her kit rather than uniform. She decided that she would like me to walk with her which I was pleased about. We took some obligatory last day of school pictures:
Mid-morning, while working, Mark came up to tell me that he had been "pinged" by the NHS app. This means he was advised to self isolate until the following Monday. There has been a lot about this in the news, restrictions have eased and then we have record numbers of people needing to self isolate so that many businesses are struggling. It wasn't a problem for Mark work wise, but it did mean that I would need to go do the school pick up.
Then walked down to our usual spot for a goodbye.
TBH, this was a great outcome as I had been wanting to be there to pick Bunnykins up on her last day. I mentioned to my boss that I would need to miss a business development meeting and explained the situation and he was lovely and insisted that I take as much time as needed to enjoy the last day of school celebrations.
I arrived at the school gates, in time to join the honour-guard of parents cheering and clapping yr 6 as they left their class for the last time. They had had shirt signing session earlier in the day and it was lovely to see all the nice messages and the fun they had had.
A lot of the kids and parents then went up to the nearby park. Bunnykins and her friends took up residence under the slide.
Woo had come with me, but was regretting her decision given how hot it was.
Wednesday was another scorcher. I didn't have any morning school logistics, so I wanted to use the time for some exercise but it was far too hot to run. I went for some yoga, followed by watering all the pots. It was lovely to spend that early morning time out in the garden.
Then it was time to shower and dress ready for another hot day in the study.
Woo had set up a paddling pool!
At about 4ish I took Bunnykins to pick up M and take her over to A's house for a sleepover afternoon. Surgery on the soft toys apparently...
Before getting started with work at 8am. Woo spent most of the day in the pergola, reading, studying and getting on with some crochet. Her room is at the front of the house and being upstairs it does get very hot (as does my study).
Ben was working at Staple Hill library for the day. He had not had a great morning, so I was glad to be able to meet him for a coffee and a chat in the park at lunch. He certainly lifts my spirits and I think that I generally help cheer him.
(though you wouldn't know it from these pictures!)
First and last day:
H.A.M:
So eventually, I took Woo home and did a bit more work. Had some tea also, before going back to pick up Bunnykins who was very glad to have just been hanging out with her friends, and roaming around the park, while a group of mums stayed and chatted in the afternoon sun.
I dropped her off and then drove on to Kevan's where we had an extra practice given we were due to perform on Saturday lunchtime.
At around 10am, I looked out the window and saw Woo and Bunnykins off to play tennis together which was such a good idea and I was so pleased that they had taken the initiative.
They then came back and sat together under the pergola trying to learn how to crochet from you tube and my mum's old books.
At lunch I went out for a walk with them, stopping by the ice cream van.
By the evening, my feet were feeling quite swollen with the heat, so it was lovely to avail myself of the paddling pool facility...
Thursday morning I started the day with watering the plants and a few quick gardening jobs.
I finished a bit earlier than normal (but normally I start at 9am), so Ben was able to come over a bit earlier. We went through our set for Saturday and had some tea all together.
Then just before 7pm, Bunnykins and I went out to the school uniform shop where we had an appointment to get her kitted up for her new school in September.
She was very patient as we were in there for well over an hour. We bought and ordered a lot of stuff. It did take a while finding the right sizes for everything, but we got there and I enjoyed her company during the process. We still have a few things to organise (socks, shin pads, a school bag) but not much, which is a good thing as it was fairly expensive! I don't mind for us, but it must be hard for a lot of people. I guess we didn't go for the minimum you could get away with, but even so I wasn't buying 3 of everything! I think the girls' school are better than some in the area for keeping things affordable, as it is only the blazer, jumper, skirt and p.e. top that is mandatory and they do have two blazer options, one being a more affordable option. I do tend to go for the more expensive one as it has a much better fit for my tall, slim girls. Anyway, we got it done and got to "tilling" ....
The weather had broken a little on Friday. It was still a very pleasant temperature. I put on my new dress, but the arm length was irritating a bite I had.
Mark hadn't been able to go out to the shops and tbh I didn't have much opportunity either so for Friday tea it was takeaway, which no-one was complaining about!
We heard that the artisan market and Ukulele performance had been called off due to the forecast and tbh it was looking pretty biblical with thunder and lightening.
It was a noisy night with thunder crashing, rain pouring, doors creaking. I slept badly. It was nice to wake to a breakfast of rhubarb rolls that Mark had made on Friday afternoon.
I did some gardening and then had a shower, it seemed that the forecast storms had blown themselves out in the night and nothing more than a light drizzle materialised. I felt so bad for Melody at the café. It would have been bad enough having to cancel her event for storms, to cancel it for storms that never came to anything is galling. But the forecast was still insisting on it right up to about 10am on Saturday.
Anyway, I took the girls over to buy lunch and drinks from the hatch, thought it would be good to give them a bit of custom.
After lunch, I took up my usual position. Mark had added a second trellis for the jasmin that will go over the shed. It was as professional looking as the first 😍😄
I got snuggled up with a blanket and my book. Perfect!
We had our tea outside, then the girls were on good form messing around with each other. It is nice to see how well they do get on.
It was Woo's choice of film. She is a bit of a Queen fan and chose Bohemian Rhapsody. It was such a good film. I was astounded at the portrayal of Freddie Mercury and also Brian May. It was really enjoyable and the finale being the concert at Wembley for Live Aid was so moving.
I grew up with Queen being the soundtrack to my life! Mum was such a big Queen fan. I remember the Live Aid day vividly. We had the telly on in the living room all day. But really the only bit I remember was the Queen performance, and I remember it vividly. We had to call Mum when they came on, and we recorded it on VHS...for years there was a video with a sticker down the side saying "Queen Live Aid - DO NOT TAPE OVER!!!!". I remember that it was a hot day and the light coming into the living room. I was sat kneeling on the floor. I remember everyone clapping in unison and then the call and response. I remember how much my mum loved it, so I felt something momentous was happening just by how moved she was.
Sunday I got up to take the girls across to volunteer for Park Run marshaling. We do it because Woo needs the volunteering against her DofE work. But delightfully when her door was knocked on - she was adamant she wasn't going. I wasn't that chuffed to be up either, but I had to go and was suitably miffed with Woo. Bunnykins was keen to go, in order to prove that she was "the best child" 😄 spectacular display all around!
I suggested to Bunnykins that we had a wander about the sensory garden and then I would get her a hot chocolate when the cafe opened at 9am (but this was in no way me endorsing the label of "best child" 😂😜 despite me being very glad of her company and how she had joined me).
She spotted the Eeyore that was outside the cafe and wanted a picture taking. I couldn't help noticing how enigmatic her smile was...
I took some pictures of the garden, I do feel so happy with how it has developed. I think we had a concept at the beginning, which was the diagonal lines and with that we've kept adapting and experimenting - listening to the garden and observing how we use the garden and how it works - where is the light? What do we gravitate to?
After lunch I did some stuff on my laptop (blogging, ordering stuff for the girls like new swimwear and school stuff, and ordering a load of bulbs for the garden).
Then I read a while. I was joined by Mark and Woo who played some chess.
Bunnykins joined us with her book, then challenged Mark to battleships, which is an electronic version that's pretty noisy with hammed up American voices saying things like "target locked on! Ready to fire!!" "Awaiting orders player 1", "enemy target neutralised!!"
After tea, I suggested we play Maj Jong.
The evening was very peaceful, the light was golden. It was a beautiful end to the day. The girls were full of giggles and noise, so it wasn't that peaceful - but was the perfect end to the week for me.
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