End of term

My official retirement date was two days ago on the last day of term, Tuesday 27th June. However I may be returning to school in August after all for a few months, because I have been asked to stay on for a few weeks to cover a gap, although this may not be necessary. So my retiral has been very low key, although my department colleagues surprised me with a lovely card and flowers and a bottle of wine on the last day.

My feelings of celebration have therefore been muted, but none the worse for that; I can sometimes be guilty of becoming over-excited about life's events, and then sometimes I get a sense of anti-climax. Instead I feel quietly happy that I am entering a new phase of my life, and of course delighted that I am on holiday.

I have had a very pleasant couple of days pottering around the house doing admin and spending some quality time with Tom the cat. James and I went to the ELO concert last night at the Hydro and it was excellent just like last year.

I have also been visiting Grandma in the afternoons by myself and with James in the evenings, because unfortunately she has been in hospital for the past week. She has had another infection which led to her becoming very confused and disoriented. When she was taken in to hospital she didn't even know where she was at first. 

The good news is that the antibiotics are working; she is completely lucid and is looking much better. The bad news is that she is very unhappy in hospital, dislikes the nurses and other patients, and is generally feeling down and pessimistic about her prospects. All we can do is try to cheer her up and reassure her, but she still thinks that she will be leaving the hospital "in a box" (her actual words!) The doctor has told her that she will be going home next week, but she is not convinced. I hate to see her feeling so low. 

Tarte aux abricots

Our second day at the Paris air show was also good fun. This time we went into the exhibition halls where we saw lots of exhibits from the aircraft manufacturers. Let's just say that James was quite a lot more fascinated by all the engine parts than I was, however I wandered around happily with him as he explained it all to me. He might as well have been explaining it to Tom the cat for all I understood but I listened politely! Then back down the flight line we went, stopping on our way to buy some lunch. The food at this air show has been excellent, as I would expect in France; freshly made baguettes, crêpes and a variety of pâtisseries. Today I chose a tarte aux abricots  with five apricots set into it, which glistened in the sunlight. It was absolutely delicious. We took our seats in the grandstand again for today's flying display; it has been well worth paying the extra for this because there isn't much grass to sit on at Le Bourget and a lot of people were sitting on concrete which can't have been very comfortable. It was even hotter than yesterday and I was glad that we had put on plenty of sun cream. Back at the hotel later we relaxed with cool drinks at the roof top bar until it was time for the short taxi journey to Charles de Gaulle airport. There happened to be a piano in the departure lounge which was commandeered by a lively group of Portuguese passengers who had a sing song and danced in a conga line, encouraging all the other passengers to join in. We refrained but it was very funny and the songs sounded good. I would love to come back to the Paris Air Show and also the AC Marriott Hotel; the staff were all really friendly and helpful. 

Le Bourget

We are in Le Bourget to spend two days at the 52nd Paris Air Show. This is a nostalgic excursion for us, because our last visit to Le Bourget was on our honeymoon, thirty-two years ago! 

We are having a great time. Our hotel is only fifteen minutes walk away from the entrance gates to the air show. It's a very smart and comfortable hotel called the AC Marriott, and it has a gorgeous open air roof top bar and terrace overlooking the airport - far to the south you can see tiny outlines of the Eiffel Tower and the Sacre Coeur! I presume that most guests this weekend are here for the Air Show; when we checked in we were given a tiny pair of binoculars as part of our welcome pack which was a nice touch. 

This morning we were up bright and early to go round the exhibitions and static display before the flying display began at lunch time. When I was getting ready in the bathroom before breakfast I wondered why James wasn't telling me to hurry up as he usually does. I went through into the bedroom and found James standing at the window transfixed by all the planes he could see from our runway-facing room! It reminded me of Tom watching birds through the window at home!

James loves aeroplanes and I was delighted to see him enjoying himself so much as we strolled around looking at all the planes. We listened to a really interesting wee lecture in the European Space Agency exhibit about how to launch satellites and we saw a presentation about the Ariane 6 and the Vega. We had prudently booked seats in the grandstand which was very comfortable and gave us great views of the flying display. It was really warm - almost too warm - but saved by a light breeze. The display went on for about five hours; the highlights for me were the F35 (which I saw with Ally last July at Rosyth) the A380 and the Rafale, but there were loads more. I enjoyed the display, but during any lulls in the action I read my current book (Assassination Vacation) on my Kindle. James says he didn't mind this at all.  We nipped back to our hotel to watch the last hour from the roof top bar while sipping cocktails. Excellent day! 

Other people's weans

The end of the school year in June is always a time of mixed emotions for me. There are lots of pleasant activities but this involves disruption to routine that can be very unsettling for some pupils. And some staff too! This week I was on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition for three days from Monday to Wednesday, and on Friday I was supporting a few pupils with ASD on a trip to Blair Drummond Safari Park. So I was out of school for four out of five days. I'm honestly not complaining, but being responsible for other people's weans outside the structured setting of school is quite a responsibility and one which I take extremely seriously. I haven't been to Blair Drummond for years; as far as I recall my last visit was on another school trip about ten years ago. I'm not keen on animals being held in captivity but at Blair Drummond they do have more space than in a zoo. I still wouldn't go there by choice and never used to take the boys to zoos when they were younger. 

There was much excitement, and it was a really good day, but I came home rather exhausted with a fifteen minute turn around time to leave for the airport Because at 6.30 pm we were booked on a flight to Paris! 

Open air swimming

Another week, another Duke of Edinburgh expedition! This time we were in the beautiful Forest of Ae and the Annandale Estate near Moffat. The walks have gone well and the weather has been absolutely fantastic. The highlight for me has been the open air swimming. I love swimming and particularly enjoy doing so outdoors, whether in a pool or the sea. On this expedition both of the campsites we used for our three day, two night expedition were beside rivers. It was wonderful to swim in the cool water after the hot day of walking and checkpointing. It was also very beautiful in the dappled green light. I was lucky to have the cheerful and fun company of my lovely colleagues Max and Karen. 

Appreciation

I am blogging from my hammock. James and we have decided to have a nice quiet weekend around the house and garden because we are going to Paris next weekend and I am going on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition from Monday to Wednesday. Needless to say James has been very busy cutting the grass while I have been lazing about. He is now going to bring a deckchair outside to relax in.

The weather is absolutely delightful. It's very sunny but with a nice warm breeze so that it's not too stifling. 

We had lunch sitting outside in my new "love seat" which James gave me for our wedding anniversary in May. It's two wooden seats joined by a wee table - so cute! James and I had a good talk this morning about some important issues and decisions and I have to say that he is a great support to me, and gave me some excellent advice. I was also speaking to Jennifer on the phone who also gave me very sound advice, and we had a lovely chat; I can't wait for our spa weekend in August. I really do appreciate my husband and my sister. 

James is now in his deckchair listening to music on his headphones and reading his book. It's a lovely day. 

Shackleton and Connolly

I have done it again. My reputation for booking plays at the theatre remains in tatters. And it's always the ones that I book with James - I have seen some really great plays with Heather over the years. After the much loathed (by James and Davie) "Quartermaine's Terms" in 2013, and then "Nice Fish" last year (described by James as "the worst play he has ever seen"), I have hit a new low this evening.

When I noticed, months ago, that there was going to be a play at the Tron Theatre about Shackleton's expedition to the Antarctic, I rushed to book seats for James and me. We saw an excellent television film about Shackleton a couple of years ago and found it fascinating. So I expected a play on the subject to be along the same lines. I suppose it was, in a way. Except that there was no dialogue and it was performed entirely in slow moving tableaux of the events. I found the very tiny ship being moved across the stage rather amusing. Shades of Spinal Tap! Bedsheets represented the ice and were moved around the stage by the actors using brooms. At one point we were treated to the silhouette of Shackleton sitting for so long on an object inside his tent that I wondered if it was his potty! The four actors worked their socks off, creating a variety of scenes using tiny models of boats and tents, as well as full size scenery - in that way it was quite reminiscent of "Nice Fish". I'm afraid that I dozed off; it was just so slow and dull - maybe that's what the actors were trying to portray about the long months trekking across the ice. Strangely, James didn't dislike it as much as I did this time!

Anyway when we emerged from the ordeal, James suggested that we have a look at the three new murals of Billy Connolly that have been painted in the city centre to celebrate his 75th birthday. He saw a programme on television about them last night. They are all interesting and very different, based on portraits of him by three Scottish artists - John Byrne, Jack Vettriano and Rachel Maclean. There were other people stopping to look at them and take photos of them too, which was nice. Visiting them somewhat redeemed the evening!