Wednesday 12th June

I’m out doing the paper round to start the day, having fed and watered the teenagers (sausage sandwiches today), and Mrs P. Despite being out at school time the traffic is remarkably light today, and there don’t seem to be as many parents and kids on their way to the local junior school. I suspect it’s that wonderful tradition of taking the kids away on a school trip in the summer term. When my kids were at the school they went to Wales for a week of wonderful activity filled days, and Mrs P and I missed them very much. It was one of the first times away from home for each of them. Very much a rite of passage, for the Perry family.

Once home I clean the car out, inside only as I not a big fan of washing cars, after all isn’t that what the rain’s for? Then I clean the bathroom which I omitted to do yesterday, and in doing so I spot the toilet seat is wobbly again. In all honesty the toilet seat has been wobbly for well over a year now, punctuated by brief periods of solidity when my continuous attempts to mend it work  what are becoming increasingly short periods. I am giving consideration to a final solution tomorrow, and if that doesn’t work we may well be buying a new seat.

After lunch I’m invigilating, and it’s a nice group sitting an ICT GCSE. They have 90 minutes to complete the paper and 80% of them are finished within an hour, 50% within 45 minutes. It’s not that the paper is necessarily easy, but just that there is a lack of content in it. In a 90 minute paper surely you need something approaching 90 minutes worth of questions? Will Mr Gove’s proposal to make changes to GCSE’s address this sort of issue? Time will tell.

On returning home I welcome the teenagers, then make the eldest and me a cup of tea and enjoy some quality telly time with her. After putting the evening meal on the table and tidying up I decide as I’m on a roll to wash the windows. Mrs P has mentioned once or ten times that they need doing. As I’m outside the eldest leaves for a driving lesson, the eve of test lesson. Just think if she passes tomorrow I won’t have to go through any more bowel loosening moments in the car with her learning to drive. Instead they will be bowel loosening moments in the car with her clutching a valid driving licence. The youngest requires his bike as he’s off out with friends. This involves me getting it out of a rather cramped shed, adjusting the seat height and blowing up the tyres. I know he should probably be doing these things himself but I just seem to do them automatically. I must try harder to let go. He needs to build up these practical skills for himself. Worryingly his bike, which is supposedly sized for a small adult, is starting to look too small for him now. More expense looms on the horizon.

Yours almost practical.

Jay