I've been on me summer hols. So the artist for August has been delayed, maybe cancelled, or call it deferred, to September anyway. As well as much other communication. I've got some great artists lined up. I saw an exhibition in Glasgow's Museum of Modern Art of another artist who's name I had heard in passing but I might save them until September ;-) It's another fascinating character whose influences and inspirations are particularly intriguing and haunting. A few others lined up maybe before this one maybe!

So, no soundtrack this year. Instead, the road trip in bullet form: 

* Borrowed campervan due to the tragic loss of Betty. (I haven’t posted about this. Those of you who know me will know the story and the ongoing saga and we’ve just put it behind us). However, plans are afoot for the new mobile home!

* Heading to Wellington Country Park, driving 70mph in the borrowed van. Blimey. Never thought it was possible.

* Pops drawing a fire scene in his notebook; Me: “do you want to be a fireman?” –

Pops: “Don’t know, but I have back-up plans.” 

* Collected new van. Fingers crossed.

Next few weeks will be testing it out and planning its refurb.

* Drinking tea in the back garden with my auntie P and cousin S.

I’ve not seen my cousin since I was a teenager :-)

 

* Pops gets his iPod back after leaving it in the UK at Christmas. Father Christmas delivered it back to Grampa who returned it to us. A rather stunned but happy little boy.

* In the Beehive, Shifnal, watching the Lions’ final and deciding test against Australia. Lovely landlady who opened up early especially for us, bought us our first drink and gave the kids sweets!

* Daniel Craig, the British Lions and champagne all in one changing room…

* Camper Jam.

* Thecurrystall.co.uk. Proper Indian cooking.

We were talking about Oman and the Middle East.

He told us of a restaurant called Ibrahim's in Abu Dhabi, recommended by his Uncle. 

* Negotiating long grass in Havaianas is much like walking in sand. :-/

* I have a pink fringe!

* Andy Murray wins Wimbledon. Facts nicked from my friend DH: It is 77 years since a British male won the singles title at Wimbledon. The last British singles winner - Virginia Wade - won in '77 and Andy Murray played the final on 7/7.

* Alton Towers. Constantly thinking about possible art lessons…Alton Towers itself is a beautiful Victorian Gothic building designed by Augustus Pugin. He will be the subject of one of the Victorian architecture lessons in Year 5 :-)

* Bear goes on Sonic Spinball twice in a row, as soon as it opens at 10am without having to queue. She’s a daredevil that one. Next year she’s got her sights on all the rides.

* Scotland. Loch Drunkie. I want to camp next to this loch and get tipsy.

* Brig O’Turk tea rooms. My first cream tea. Whipped cream though. Tut, Scots, huh…

* Our Anniversary – a civilised meal in a beautiful restaurant, very nice. Then we walked back at 10.30pm and it is still light. We try to find a decent pub to have a night cap but most of them have three old men propping up the bar. So we end up at Hubby’s old local. No window to look through to suss the situation so we go for it. Instead there are three younger men propping up the bar and a tipsy barmaid whose lifestory we get by the end of the night…followed by a jagermeister.

* Braco graveyard with Pops to satisfy his curiosity. It turns out it is not a morbid fascination but he is looking for Alexander the Great’s and Charles Darwin’s grave. A ball of 7 year-old cuteness...

* Grampa’s 70th Birthday garden party.

* We start the van refurbishment ball rolling and meet up with the guy who did our last van interior as well as drop the van off as the interior specialists. A nice bunch of guys.

* Meet up with the Duchess who is England with the kids. So good to see the family and to see the children playing.

* Head to Dorset to camp for 10 days with some dear friends. Super as last year.

Despite one afternoon sacrificed to the Goddess of Pimms.

* Drop the van off after a lovely lunch at the local pub. Pimms, just in case it’s my last one, and a crab salad. Bear has a quarter of a steak and ale pie and finished most of it.

* We stayed in the Queen's Hotel in Southsea.

Hubby and I stayed in here one night after one of out first dates in our first year.

* HMS Victory

* Afternoon tea at Mum and Dad’s. They have the children for the weekend as we head to Brighton to surprise a friend for her 40th.

* It’s Gay Pride weekend and it’s fabulous! We see some great sights, too many hen parties though. A lovely hotel and I see the one I nearly booked at! Lots of rainbow flags and leather on the front patio! 

* Surprise for my lovely Banou in Hotel du Vin. She thought we weren't going to be in the country. We had left messages on each other’s phones and never actually managed to speak to each other. Apparently she was quite upset that I wasn’t going to be around. She is a calm and collected character and she showed no emotion when she saw us, she was genuinely stunned and surprised. A great evening at Jamie Oliver’s restaurant and then to Lucky Voice (karaoke) when I realised I don’t mind it, if there are no strangers.

* Lunch in Kemptown. I miss Brighton.

* Off to my sister’s in London. She’s asked me and Bear to be bridesmaids… :’-)

* Star Wars shop in Northolt, the Science Museum, Westminster Abbey (Darwin, Newton and Shakespeare’s graves and memorials and the grave of the Unknown Warrior were the highlight for the kids…I loved the whole place), Cafe Chutney at Covent Garden with opera singers, cupcakes and lollipops, Lego shop, the Fire of London monument.

 

* Harrod’s for Banou’s birthday. What a giggle :-) We made a pact that we would try and do tea at Harrods every year.

* Hummingbird bakery for more cupcakes.

* Final couple of hours with sis at the park. 

* This year – a wonderful, packed, fun holiday filled with lots of smiles, laughter and love. It’s made it harder again to come  back to Oman. I miss Britain and all those family and friends in it even more this year.

 

Preparing for my new job.

It's been quite a contented holiday so far...I've had a huuuuge list of jobs to do but they have been non-essential bits and bobs that I haven't had chance to do whilst working. But time is still going past so quick. I've been preparing for my new job too so I am hoping that our holiday in August will be just that, a holiday.

I wasn't sure where to start with the prepping. I've gone through plans left to me by by predecessor. So really, I could go straight into the job with just a little bedtime reading. However, I just feel a bit of a flutter when I realise I could really try and make this job, this role, my own. I could really set up my own lesson plans to fit the curriculum...my god, there are so many gorgeous, fun and exciting ideas on the internet that i could get quite carried away.

So many super art teaching blogs I have subscribed to; Deep Space Sparkle, Mrs. Brown's Art, Art is Basic, Pink and Green Mama, Cassie Stephens (love this girl, I WILL make her rock guitar apron!)...

And there are the standard topics each year is covering so I will try and vary those a little.

I've been really into the research and collation of  projects and standalone lessons that it's just occurred to me that I am going to have to be a teacher as well! Must remember my skills!

Maybe I'm being a little optimistic and over-excited (it's been known...)...maybe I should just take a deep breath and just find my feet first.

Oooh, and I've discovered my GCSE Art folder! What great fun was that, looking through all my coursework. I loved art at school, I remember. And I think I did a good few pieces. I might put them up in my Art office to remind me of how much I enjoyed art at school and how I'd love to inspire these children.

Sailing at Mussanah

Sailing Camp at Mussanah for Bear...CHECK!

A lovely couple of days away at the Millenium Resort in Mussanah. It was really quiet, there were only a couple of families (us being one) and a few individuals, plus a week-long training course contingent. A few military bods were at the pool but that was it. There was never more than five people at the pool when I was there.

There were two infinity pools plus a long one. The pools and sunloungers looked out on to the Gulf of Oman and I thought it was the BEST! I love being near the sea, it puts me in such a good space. I read and relaxed and thought and listened to music.

 Anyway, the MAIN reason we were there was obviously not to still my state of mind or remind myself what relaxing is about! Bear had a two day sailing course to reach her Level 1 dinghy sailing certificate. She had a great time and loved it, she really took to it.

The details on Omansail's website about the sailing facilities is geared very much to Omanis. But this really was to to establish a well-trained, fit and able national team. Just reading from their school history page on their site, it was a pretty rigourous selection and training prodecure but they have had some great competitions. From their site;

Our sailing programmes introduce young Omanis to the sport, sometimes for the first time. Sailing - even at a very basic level - combines physical exercise, mental stimulation and teamwork to provide increased self-confidence.

But it goes on to offer a great point and justification why the programme was originally for Omanis, and I think this is the best reason;

Then by creating a renaissance in Oman's maritime heritage, and giving the youth real practical experience of it, we are reconnecting the young to their own history in a much more direct way than a history lesson ever could.

I love this attitude. I've always said that what appeals greatly to me about Oman, is that the country has been allowed to maintain its identity, which fundamentally is still deep-rooted in its history. It's great they are doing all they can to maintain it.

Anyway, I digress. Bear was taking part in the summer sailing camp that was happening over June and July. 35/OR for a 2-day course. And we got a great deal on the hotel too with no need to use the Entertainer vouchers!

Bear was with three other kids, with one instructor, Caroline. On the second day I took some photos and videos. Her first run out after lunch was not great at all! She is uncannily (some may say scarily/worryingly) like me. She was making a run out around the safety boat but it just was not working. Caroline would throw words of encouragement and instruction out to her and Bear would frantically cry back "I'M TRYING!!" and "IT'S NOT WORKING!!" She came back in crying tears of anger. I gave her the 'you're only learning' talk, not realising what the issue had been. All it took was for Caroline to call her over and tell her gently that the rudder wasn't down fully... So that's why it was so hard to tiller the dinghy! Poor thing!

So she's loving learning to sail and Pops went out with BH for 40 minutes and enjoyed it more that he thought so more sailing holidays on the cards, it seems!

************************************************************************************************************
New things to the summer list though:

• Alter campervan curtains.
• Redo camper wheelcover.

School holiday to-do list UPDATE

• Update the children's photo diary. Oops...Pops was 6 months in his last photo :-/
• Write my Mum a letter...handwritten, stamped and EVERYTHING!
• Mussanah - sailing camp for Bear
• Out on the boat
• Adventure Zone
• Rainforest Cafe
• Qurm Natural Park
• 'My Book and Me' (see next post)
• Ice Skating
• A mountain camp
• Dubai to see Mad Murphy and family

School holiday to-do list

In no particular order:

• Out on the boat
• Adventure Zone
• Rainforest Cafe
• Qurm Natural Park
• 'My Book and Me' (see next post)
• Ice Skating
• A mountain camp
• Dubai to see Mad Murphy and family

That's all I've got so far...any school holiday tips greatly welcomed!

English Girl in Oman has had a look at offers in hotels around the region...maybe I'll be treated to a night away!

End of the school year...

Well, that's it. The school year is done. My, I'm exhausted. There were tears and laughter on the last few days as expected. More so when the parents came to give us gifts and cards on Monday.

These children have crawled into my heart and so have their parents. Through my own experience as a parent I see that some class families click and some just don't. This was a class that really did work. And the parents were wonderful. I think having a small class compared to the average of the UK helps as you can really have the time to get to know the child and the family. I've had the few where I sometimes wonder if the maid did everything for them, even the homework and listening to them read. But this term saw a turnaround and a new attitude from the parents...it was brilliant to feel that we had managed to convince them that it WAS a good and vital thing to be a part of their child's education.

These were my gifts. My TA (gorgeous lady, complete star, held me together many times) received similar:

I actually could not read this when I received it...the tears were too close!

A herbal thai massage! YESSSSSS!

Lovely bouquet from work

This was a very special and personal gift from
one of the children's parents.

It's all been about the play and the fun in the last few days so we finished up with some art and craft based (loosely!) on Georgia O'Keefe's flower collage and art.

Even my TA did a piece ready for the new class next year. I will miss her....she's been writing the new teacher's name on all the resources... and I can't stop myself from wondering if I'm leaving too soon...but things happen for a reason. And my own kids were the main reason I am leaving.

So now it's officially the school holidays. Pops has claimed he's bored already. BH has disappeared off up Jebel shams this weekend. I'm trying to start preparing for being an art teacher (so excited!) in the hope of avoiding becoming bored. Friends are starting to jet off for the summer :-(

It's going to be a long one, methinks.