Captain Chaos has his friends back. Every summer they return to the field behind our house. Yes summer…….
It’s the same ritual. This off the Cap plays it cool. Even when the cows lean over the garden fence. He ignores them. Plays it hard to get get. But after a couple of days it all changes. Suddenly he stops being coy. Then it’s time to get close and personal with his buddies.
Ok in weather terms, summer hasn’t arrived. But in terms of a mad dog, it’s definitely summer.
It’s just rained again. No surprise there then….
I’m picking up the courage. The courage to go outside and do some gardening. I have pile of seeds that need planting. I’ve kept putting that off for weeks now. To wet, not enough sun, frosts at night. Problem is that April has gone. Now May is almost left us as well. Our short growing season is getting very short. I did plant some stuff at the start of April but even that has struggled. Plants appeared then stopped growing.
The only exception is one solitary potato plant in a bucket. That one is getting on with growing in this cold weather. I have high hopes for that plant. That plant feels like a winner.
It’s just about making the most of things I guess.
Next week is the school half term week off. Then it’s the school’s year exams. At present we just don’t know how they will work for us. With Hawklad currently being unable to get into school, it makes sitting exams problematic. We have no idea what the plan is. Do school send the papers to us. Does he do them online. At the same time as the other pupils. Or does he do them at a later stage. Does he even sit them. From what I can gather some of the subjects have been sitting practice exams over the last couple of weeks. Hawklad hasn’t…..
For Hawklad it’s just about making the most of things. Getting through to the summer and then it’s decision time. Can he return to school. If he can then is it best for him to learn in the school system or go it alone. Getting on with things regardless of the weather.
A proper Yorkshire road….
It’s a bit tight trying to overtake here. It was even a bit tight when I cycled down here, my but was overhanging both sides of the road…..😂😂😂😂 Definitely a slow moving wide load.
My poor, much abused bike has been having a rest. It’s not had to support my massive posterior for over 15 months now. After that length of time I’m not sure if I will remember how to ride anymore. It never came naturally to me anyway. I couldn’t ride until I was about 16. After years of repeated falling off I finally found a way to stay on. My left hand has to hold the handlebar with the bite force of a really annoyed crocodile. Once there that hand can never move, or the grip relaxed. If I do that then I can stay on the bike. Any other positioning of that left hand and it’s increasing wobbles followed by the inevitable ground impact.
Now it feels like I might have to relearn that skill again. Thing about it is that it won’t be the only skill I will have to relearn. Relearning to recover ground before I can start to build again. That’s the plan anyway…..
When I first moved into the village all those years ago I remember going for a walk. No map, no real idea where I was heading. Just went to explore the new locality. Near the farm track in the photo is a path. On that first walk I followed that path. It looked like it was going to take me in roughly the right direction. But with no map I couldn’t check. Guess what. It went in the wrong direction. I got lost and it took me hours to get back home.
Hawklad has been submitting homework studiously all school year. He’s hardly had any marks or feedback returned. He’s been asking me to check his work as he just wasn’t sure how he was doing.
This morning out of the blue he received a very brief teacher comment about a piece of work submitted last week. The first feedback from this teacher in over a year. The comment simply said ‘Spot on’….
Here’s the problem. I had checked that work and it was good but it had mistakes. Some big mistakes. I had sat down with Hawklad to show him where he was right and where he was not so right. We talked through ways to answer those areas better. That’s feedback. I’m sorry but ‘Spot on’ doesn’t help Hawklad. He could end up going into exams doing some things the wrong way. Yes provide praise and reassurance but please also give tips to improve…..
It’s been a wet old day here in Yorkshire. Grim.
One of those days. A day that was an effort. Nothing seemingly would go to plan. Felt like my face was filled with grimaces rather than smiles. Everything just seemed out of kilter. Hard work. A slog. One step forward, two back.
But I’m still here. Made it through the day. Just about in one piece. And you know what. My dreams are still intact. Let’s see what the next day brings.
What a difference a different view of something makes. Even just a few paces. Same pole but seen from the other side, just a few seconds later.
I worry quite a bit about the state of the UK’s school system. I don’t like it’s direction over recent times. A Government increasingly wanting to control what is taught and how it’s taught. Modern day Thought Police….
The last year of our school at home project has really highlighted that to me. Most lessons are about force feeding facts. The pupils are just expected to learn those facts parrot fashion. They are told what to look at, which books to read, which facts to absorb. What to believe and what not to believe. Pupils are expected to fit into a mould. So little scope to develop free thinking. Few chances to take the time to look at subjects from different directions. No scope to develop their own views and interests.
It really shouldn’t be like this. The irony. We live in a so called free society where our children are not free to think for themselves.
Moody Yorkshire….
Feels like a landscape from say Wuthering Heights, or Jane Eyre, or Nicholas Nickleby, or the Secret Garden. All novels set in Yorkshire. Move 40 miles and it could be the opening to Bram Stokers Dracula.
Yes Yorkshire clearly can do Moody and Menacing. Maybe that’s why they filmed Garfield 2 just a few miles from here. 😂😂😂😂
For over a year our world constricted. It was a small bungalow, a garden, and a big sky. Very hemmed in. But now Hawklad is trying to take his first steps back into the wider world again. This means a few walks around the village and along the country lanes. Just a few steps and the views change. That makes such a difference. The world just feels like it’s got a whole lot bigger.
It’s 1am and I’m not tired. I should be but I’m not. No point going to bed yet.
Can’t be bothered to watch TV. More to life than some random movie or Pointless bathroom renovation show, although my bathroom could do with a lick of paint but not at 1am.
Reading. No. Can’t concentrate. End up having to read the same page several times.
Music. Too late for German Death Metal so it would have to be Cohen or Pink Floyd. Don’t fancy listening to such up tempo music tonight….
Jigsaw. Just No
Check on the school at home schedule. But the prospect of checking on school when it starts in less than 8 hours and sleep has not yet started is very depressing.
Eat. I’m on a diet.
Meditate. This is not the time for a juicy hip extension. Is there ever a time for that.
Do some Astronomy. Come on, this is Yorkshire. It’s chucking it down.
It’s clear what I need to do. Make a herbal tea and day dream. Day dream until hopefully they turn into real Night Dreams.
That’s a plan.
As of last Monday the Government withdraw the instructions relating to wearing masks in schools. Masks are now not recommended for use in classrooms and communal areas. But they are still required in school buses but masks are to be removed once the pupil enters school property. The official line is that schools are perfectly safe. This is contrary to the Government’s own scientific advice.
In unrelated news it has been revealed that the UK Government removed a page from this weeks Public Health Release which showed the extent to which new COVID variants are spreading at alarming rates in UK Schools. The draft report featured that data but the final approved version dropped that entire section. The official word is that data will be released at a later date. Some data was released late last night (very odd timing for Public Health) but with the key school data still missing.
So why the secrecy?
Is it because the data shows that the Governments own criteria for the ongoing easing of COVID restrictions have not been met.
OR
Is it because the Government is sticking to its original discredited Herd Immunity strategy. This time doing it by stealth and using our children as the test subjects.
This is all starting to feel like an X-Files story line coming true.
Time marching on sometimes takes my breath away. The helpful iPad flashes up a message each day telling me what happened this week in years gone by.
Today it informed me that in this week Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield was released. Released in 1973……
1973 for pity sake. I can vaguely remember my older brother playing this on his hifi. Has it been out that long….. But here’s the thing. I like listening to the music but I’ve never owned it. Always had to listen to it on the radio or when others have played it.
Maybe when our own personal lockdown eases I will venture out into the second hand stores. The charity shops to see if I can find an original copy. Own it for the first time. That would be nice. Would feel kind of right.
In life some things seem just right. Very occasionally perfect. Those things give me direction. Give me hope. They always make me smile.
A Dad trying to cope with the loss of his Partner and becoming a single parent. 