2012 and counting

Twelve months ago and I signed up for Olympic news. We weren’t going to miss this one – we’d be in there when the tickets went on sale.

Two months ago and the schedule was launched.  We flicked through and put it in the pile of Things To Do.

Six weeks ago and the tickets went on sale.  We must do that, we thought. We must decide what we want to see.

Ten days to go and I tried to make some sense of the schedule. I gave up.

A week to go Continue reading

Paranoid? Moi?

Oh dear.  Personally, I blame Ollie.  If it wasn’t for his internet safety evening, I would probably be totally relaxed, stress-free and friends with everyone.  As it is, I’ve become embroiled in an argument with a sport’s Governing Body about personal information from their membership database that they are making freely available online, information that is currently available to view without any sort of password protection.   It is an argument that is on the verge of escalating out of control. 

I’ve been dealing recently with membership from our club, since our membership secretary moved away, and I knew that I could go online to check membership numbers.  But what I only noticed recently was that all the numbers are hyperlinked and when you click on one it takes into another screen containing a lot of personal information.  To remove your information, you have to register an email address.  When I retrieved my jaw from the desk,  Continue reading

77 nil

david_callam.jpgOh dear.  That was the scoreline at the end of GP2’s first ever rugby match last Sunday.  It wasn’t the team’s first match, despite what the scoreline might suggest.  But they were playing a team from Gala, in the Borders, and, as you’ll all know, Borders lads are farmers’ sons and built like tractors.  Or cow sheds.  Huge, in any case, and surely twice the size of their opponents.  There was plenty of ducking and weaving but this was mostly from the Ross High team in their efforts to avoid tackling the trains that came hurtling towards them, clutching the ball, no need to pass as they banged down yet another try.  I don’t blame them – I’d have dived for cover at the first whistle. 

Still, he said he’d enjoyed it, despite the bitter wind, tucked away safely out on the wing,  and he got his hands on the ball once for a nanosecond before off-loading in the face of another juggernaut.  Good strategy – let someone else get tackled! GP2, by the way, is one of the smaller boys in his year.

This first ever rugby match took place Continue reading

Life goes on

In fact, it goes on at such a pace there doesn’t seem to be time to write blog posts.  And that’s with no significant work to do for a week or so.  Bliss!  Christmas shopping and meeting fellow bloggers without feeling that there’s something else I should be doing.  Make the most of it.  It won’t last.

So, in the last ten days I’ve had my second round of chemo, which was no problem, although I think it took a little longer to get over than the first.  I did manage to get myself along to the EduBuzz meeting but was feeling slightly spaced out so I’m not sure I contributed anything coherent.  In fact, I may have agreed to write something; it’s rather akin to agreeing to something at a party or with a pint in your hand.  You wake up the next morning thinking “I said I’d do what?”.  Anyhow, as I’m fairly certain I haven’t said I’d swim the channel for charity, I’m sure it’ll be fine.

I also met up with fellow bloggers Helen, Vanessa and Erica at an Edinburgh coffee shop and then visited the Children’s Bookshop in Morningside.  Continue reading

Flying high: Double maths and badminton

One of the highlights of school, ever since day 1 of Primary 1, is being chosen to represent the school at an event.  The recorder group, the choir, brass band, sports of all sorts, Celebration of Success – whatever the event, the excitement is high.   With GP2, the excitement is infectious;  he still manages to hang on to some of that little boy enthusiasm that his more wordly wise older brother tries hard to hide. 

Last Friday there was a badminton tournament  at Meadowmill after school. I didn’t have the heart to say to GP2 “You’re supposed to be at Regional Wind Band practice”.  After all, there’ll be other practices and these tournaments don’t happen too often.  Continue reading

Choices

Sunday dinner presented us with something of a dilemma this week.  Post dinner, should we watch the rugby or the first of the new series of Top Gear?  Both kicked off at 8pm. The sports fanatic that is GP2 wanted the rugby.  The other two males opted for cars.  I was ambivalent but thought perhaps we could watch TG followed by the second half of the rugby.   So GP2 went for a tie breaker Continue reading