Oct
11
Wow, this week has to be “The week of weather”. Yes, it’s true what they say… The English really do like to talk about the weather, but when you live here, you can see why. It is the most changeable thing you can ever imagine and when it rains it does a pretty good job of it. We can have beautiful clear days with no clouds, foggy nights that look eerie in the orange glow of the street lights, a deluge of rain where the water runs deep in the gutters, and like today 
we had a soft, misty rain. We have had the most incredible weather since we have been living here. This week things started to change a little, but with some good waterproof jackets, some comfy boots and a brolly, there is no reason why anything has to change. (This week we tested the central- heating in the house for the first time. We didn’t need to leave it on, but we needed to figure out how it all worked. Yes, after 14 weeks over here, some things are still new to us).
On Monday evening Mitchell presented a speech at his school. It was open evening for prospective parents who are assessing schools in the area for their boys for next year. Mitchell was chosen from more than 210 boys in the year-7 group to do a speech. Apart from the headmaster, only the head boy of the school and Mitchell delivered speeches. He had to do the speech 3 times in the one evening, and in each group the school hall was packed to capacity. Mitchell has grabbed the move over here with both hands. He is making a name for himself as a hockey player, as a cricketer and as a leader in his year group at school. Yesterday he spent the afternoon with 2 of his friends at the Tonbridge Sports grounds, playing tennis, baseball, and football. He has become more independent in such a short space of time. He was a little put out with Mike and I yesterday as we would not let him walk off into town with his friends after the sport was finished. He came home with a bit of a sulk and him and I ended up having a little talk about flying kites. I tried to explain to him how we have to let the string go a little bit at a time to keep the kite in the air. I told him that I could quite easily just cut the string, but that the kite would just drift off wherever the wind took it and in a very short space of time it would just crash into a heap on the ground or get tangled up in the branches of a tree. I tried to get him to understand that if we kept letting the string out and reining it back in, just a little bit at a time, then the kite would fly higher and higher. The view for the kite would be better and it would last to fly another day. He looked at me, smiled, and winked and nothing else needed to be said.
Mike passed one of his most crucial exams this week. This particular one had given him the most stress and frustration and now he can focus on the last one (next Monday). These are the exams for the Charted Insurance Institute of the UK. He does have some other online exams that he needs to complete, but they are specific to the company and he is allowed to complete them in his own time.
Mitchell played his first UK football match this weekend. They played against Brentwood School of Essex. Frank Lampard (Chelsea football player) is a past pupil of Brentwood. Tunbridge Wells lost the game 2-1. It was a beautiful cool, crisp autumn morning next to the field. Tomorrow he travels to Hastings for a match in the Nations Schools Cup challenge.
Jenna has grown so confident at school. I just drop her off at the gate now and with a swift wave of the hand she runs off down the driveway. On Wednesday 
morning the school had an open morning where the parents of the children were allowed to attend any classes; we had free-range of the school to see how it all works to attend classes with our children. This was a good opportunity for me to see what work is being covered, to see how Jenna was interacting with her classmates and teachers, and to generally get a better feel for the school. There are still a few things that I am not comfortable with, but they are not things that I cannot deal with or that cannot be overcome.
This morning Mitchell played another hockey match, this time in Tunbridge Wells. He scored 2 goals in the one match.
This afternoon we took a walk through Knole Park in Sevenoaks with Mikes sister, her friend Sue and all the children. Sevenoaks is only 12km’s from us, but it is one of the towns we seldom go to.
I found this write-up about Knole Park on the web:
“Created in the 15th Century for the Archbishops of Canterbury to have somewhere away from court for hunting and other recreational activities, these 1000 acres of beautiful parkland is the only remaining medieval deer park in the county. Visitors to the park, which is owned by the current Lord Sackville, are frequently amazed by how close one can get to the herds of wild deer that the park is home to. Knole Park also provides access to Sevenoaks Environmental Park which features a mixture of wetlands, wild flower meadows and woodland.”
Please read up more on Knole Park from the internet. It is a beautiful 
place with a fascinating history. Knole Park has the most beautiful golf course in part of the estate. We walked through the park in the drizzling rain and stopped for tea and scones in the tea-room.
I was astonished at the number of deer in the Park and just how close you can get to them. 
The Manor House has 365 rooms inside. I can’t wait to go back on a sunny day and spend time taking more photos. I would also love to go back in the snow. I imagine that in the depths of winter it could be the place of dreams. I will show you!
October 12th, 2009 at 2:16 am
Hi Kerry. It’s really great how well you and the children have settled. I am sure thanks to your positive attitude you will overcome all obstacles. How are you doing? I know when we moved away from home for the first time last year, the kids and hubby got well settled long before I did! I was so busy making sure they were ok, it took a while for me to start looking out for me! Hope you’re over the homesickness from a couple of weeks ago? I really enjoy reading your blog! You’ve definitely brought England alive for me again! Will keep popping in to see how you’re doing!