just another morning here

… also, she is my last child to have a Y6 Prom at Pinhoe school, so I caved in on all fronts. Dress, jacket, shoes, hairdo, car with rather cool number plate, and a wonderful bunch of friends to enjoy it with – all made for one very happy 11yo this evening.

Abbie got ready with two of her best friends, which was lovely, and they all looked beautiful
For the first time in years it was actually *not raining* on prom night, so there was a big crowd watching all the arrivals.

A few families rented a room in the pub at the bottom of the close and we had our own party while the kids were at their prom, and that was fab – nice that Miss White popped in as well! Anna and Joe both had friends there, though Josiah gave up and went home to bed half way through (gave Steve a good excuse to leave as well )! We picked the Y6s up when their do finished and brought them back to ours for cake and mad dancing

Easter guests have gone home, and now we’re just pootling around getting a few jobs done. I’m trying to keep the children in relatively good habits of not getting up too late etc., so that it’s not such a culture shock when term starts again.

Today was the shoe shop stop; trainers x 2, school shoes x 2, and shoes to go to the prom in (and therefore totally unsuitable for much else). Very Expensive. Still, everyone was happy and if I’m lucky they will last into the autumn term too.

Anna has now reached the same shoe size as me; I’ve been waiting for this for ages! Now at least every pair of shoes I buy for her, I can borrow back if I ask nicely!

Visited DVLA to get tax (oh, and a quick geocache), then I delivered a car to my parents in the afternoon, so drove up to Gordano to meet them half way. I like a good drive, especially on my own, so didn’t mind. The kids sat around watching iPlayer and playing games while I was gone.

Once back I made a quick veggie lasagne for more friends who came for dinner. We tried to watch Heston’s Feasts on replay but it wasn’t working; had to resort to watching it on the laptop after they’d gone (amazing, wish I had been a dinner guest!).

Very relieved on behalf of home educators that the proposals for changes to home ed legislation have been dropped tonight – had a drink alongside many of my friends this evening (any excuse!). On the other hand I’m still praying for the best outcome for a good friend’s baby at the moment; seems odd and slightly wrong to be blogging about normal stuff when life hangs in the balance.

The photo is on a wonk to get everyone in – and even then it’s a bit of a rubbish shot as I only had my phone camera. Perhaps the real ones will appear on the website at some point.

So, while the children were busy playing in the ECO Autumn Concert (which I was gutted to miss!), Steve and I spent the evening at Wiscombe House. Actually seeing inside the house was fantastic, I love looking around houses like that, it was amazing.

We were there for a presentation evening following the 2009 season of motorsport at Wiscombe Hill; Steve managed a respectable third place in what was only his first full year of hillclimbing, so he really should be suitably proud of himself.

However, the real tear-jerking moment was when the main sponsor of these awards, who is also a competitor in Steve’s class, made his speech and mentioned how this year had been a real highlight for him (having been involved since the 1970s!) because of the camaraderie, competition, and friendship that they have built up. And this, I suspect, is why Steve will race again next season. I have been trying to suggest that he do a season of marshalling instead but I don’t think it’s going to work …

The kids and I have had a nice relaxed day; it was good to get back into the swing of orchestra this morning and then we baked, folded laundry, and played games this afternoon – all very boring!

Steve was out racing, and our friend Neil went to spectate. Now, a rare treat. Not only can you see some photos on Neil’s blog, but from there you can also download a podcast featuring Neil’s commentary on the day, including an interview with Steve. I have asked Neil if he’ll do this every hillclimb, as listening to a quick podcast instead of going myself (with children in tow of course!) could save me a lot of time, effort and money!

If you listen to the podcast you’ll hear that Steve had a camera on top of his car for some of the runs today – and if you want to know what it would be like to be strapped on top of an Impreza during a hillclimb, you can see the footage here.