Mar
28
Not only was this a busy, crazy, manic week, but we had a 4-seasons week – from thick fog to pouring rain, brilliant sunshine, a touch of frost, heavy winds… we had it all.
This was also the weekend of the summertime clock change and what a difference it makes. 
This evening I went for a walk in the farmlands and I did not realise that I was heading home after 7pm. The sun set around 19:30 this evening.
This was certainly Jenna’s week in the life of this blog. On Wednesday and Thursday night Jenna’s Year-3 &4 class put on a play called “The Jouney to Easter”.
In pupil numbers, the school she attends now is only 1 quarter the size of Hudson Park Primary. You cannot believe how beautifully those 2 grades of children can sing. Their voices resounded through that tiny school hall. It was a fun concert with the children dancing and singing in the aisles between our chairs. On Wednesday night, after the concert she asked us if we could go out to dinner afterwards as this was her “big night”. On Thursday she attempted to bribe us with the same question again. I guess she is entitled to more than one “big night” in a week (either that or my cooking at home is getting really bad).
On Friday Jenna’s school also had their “big walk” which they did in a circular route around the school grounds and playing fields. Well, it must have turned into some kind of mud-fest. When I fetched her from school she was dressed in make-shift clothes, scraped together from PE bags and who knows where. Her school uniform was in a plastic bag, but when I peered inside, there was hardly a sign of the navy, red, and white uniform. It was just a bag of mud! My philosophy, which I have often articulated, is that, if kids go out to play and come back clean, then they didn’t have any fun. So I had to smile, and carry on.
On Friday evening Jenna went to gym practice for the final run-through before the competition, which was held today. It was the Weald of Kent floor and vault competition which was held at a beautiful private school in Pembury. The drive up to the school took us through a forest and past an ancient church. The competition was one of the nicest sporting events I have ever been to. I have never attended a live gymnastics competition before, and it was truly amazing. Jenna got through her first vault quite nicely, but she did not manage it on her second run-up. I thought her floor routine was fantastic, but then again I am the ever-proud mom.
On Saturday morning, Mitchell played his first-ever rugby match. He has never even been to a rugby practice, except for what they do during PE class. (He is a hockey and cricket boy). It was the year-7 inter-house round-robin competition, with the winners going on to the semi-finals and the finals. Mitchell scored 2 tries in 2 of his games, part of which I put down to his swift foot-work which I think he gets from hockey. Once again, you cannot even begin to imagine the amount of mud. It’s at about this point as a mom, where you start to feel some kind of appreciation for the inventor of the washing machine.
It is time for my car to go for its first MOT test. (Ministry of Transport Test). If your car is over 3 years old you must, by law, obtain a current MOT certificate. The certificate expires every year and the test retaken. Without a current valid certificate you cannot renew your car tax. Just for a moment, I try to imagine some of those cars I used to pass every week, on the road between East London and Fort Beaufort, on my trips to lecture at Fort Hare University in Alice, where only 1 light on the car worked (if any at all), where the mirrors were taped to the side of the car, or the back shock absorbers were so “gone” that the underside of the boot almost scraped along the tar. So, even after 8 months here, there are still new things going on each month.
The week ahead sees the schools closing for the Easter break and I am looking forward to taking Mitchell and Jenna to a few exciting places, so remember to tune in here for the next few Monday mornings to see what we get up to…
Other than that, keep an eye out for April fool’s day pranks and don’t eat too many Easter eggs.
