It's been a day of sunshine and the occasional heavy shower. Yesterday at school, just after the children had gone home, another teacher was hit with the dreaded tummy bug. She was told to stay at home for 24 hrs and I was asked to teach her reception class today. They are a nice bunch of kids, thankfully, as they will be my class after Christmas, so I had a good day. I also got to spend time with the new teacher who will be starting in January. She remembers me when I was teaching at Sticklepath School and she was a teaching assistant. She seems very pleasant. There was lots of celebration in school today as it was one of the teacher's 50th birthday and we always make a big thing of special birthdays. Our headteacher makes wonderful celebration cakes for her family and friends and we had a birthday assembly with 50 candles blazing away on an enormous cake. There were lots of embarrassing baby photos up on the walls as well as banners and balloons. The staff got to eat the cake and the children had biscuits. It was especially nice to be able to celebrate with some one who is a very genuine and caring person.
On the way home I took a slight detour down a very small and steep country lane to look for photo opprtunities. I was a bit concerned as there are almost no passing places and there was a lot of mud and slippery leaves on parts of the lane.
This was the highest part of the lane looking down to the hamlet of Churchill.
The hill on the horizon is Trentishoe Down right on the coast overlooking the Bristol Channel.
The lane drops into a wooded valley, containing the same stream that runs behind our house. Such a change in the character of the lane within 1/2 a mile. The lane then goes steeply and muddily up to Churchill and the way back up towards home is very boring as you are on a single track road with hedges that must be at least 12 ft high.
