I'm back...with a tan!

So that's it. My month off has almost come to an end. It's flown by, but I am surprised about how little I have thought about my old work. I thought it would be more of a wrench to leave, but in fact I feel relieved. This is a new chapter in my life and I am ready for it.

We had a fantastic ten days in France at my friend Diggy's house. And I have managed to turn from very white to slightly tan. We just love going to Diggy's house and every time we go we have an even better time than we did on the last time. Because we are so good at finding new and exciting things to do, Diggy has appointed me head of Guest Services, which I am very pleased about. It is my responsibility to make sure that the very small pool of regular visitors benefit from our experience. I have already had fun putting together 'informations' for the house. This time I had a lot more fun putting together an 'activities' folder full of bike rides, pretty villages to visit, with a lot more to come. This obviously required a trip to the stationary department in the local Carrefour - my favourite part!

Anyway, here are a few photos.

Day time

Night time

A pretty village

Rooftops in Gigondas

In other news, I matriculate at King's College tomorrow. On holiday, I started reading some of my coursebooks and felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation. But that's understandable, right? I am going to be learning a whole new way of doing things and hopefully learning a lot about myself in the process. I am looking forward to the challenge.

Two weeks down, two weeks to go

Halfway through my month of leisure and I am really starting to get into my groove. Our family week in Cornwall was great and apart from very unfriendly locals, we had a super time. The highlight for me was a 'heart attack on a plate' cream tea (picture below) part way through a gorgeous river estuary/forest walk. Life in the great outdoors is splendid indeed.

Double rainbow

It must be good luck right?

Clouds

The first day...

...of the rest of my life? Perhaps. Today is my first 'official day of unemployment'. I don't like to think I am unemployed, just resting. Actually, that is what I plan to do in the next month before my teaching course starts. Today, I tried to lie-in and failed: apparently it takes more than one lie-in to correct a sleep deficit (which I am sure I am suffering from). So I am going to tackle my first assignment: 'My Experience of School'. Trying to marshal my thoughts in prose is more challenging than I thought. I think I am out of practice. Give me a memo with lots of bullet points any day!

New Year's Resolutions

I started my New Year's resolution before New Year, so perhaps it is cheating. But I wanted to update you on my progress. I promised myself that every day I would devote some time to doing a little yoga and a little meditation and on the 7 February I can proudly say that there have been only a few days where I have not been able to keep to my resolution.

It has been a good resolution. I have noticed a change in myself - I have lost weight, I feel more flexible, I haven't succumbed to the lurgy that everyone at work seems to have (being upside-down is great for moving the blood around your body) and I am generally more relaxed.

I feel that for the first time in my life, I have put myself at the top of my to-do list.

Desperate

The news in Haiti has been shocking and awful and I think sitting in a cosy house in London it is difficult to grasp the true horror and sadness of it all. But I do feel heartened by the response in the UK. The Disaster Emergency Committee which co-ordinates the UK's response to disasters such as this has been raising money on behalf of key charities and British people have donated £12m so far. It is at times like this that the geo-political wranglings that occupy countries around the world are put to one side as we remember our shared humanity and try to ease the suffering of a desperate people. I wish it could happen more often and not just during disasters - I think the world would be a very different place.