I’d like to think that this video evidences William’s astonishing reading ages, but the reality is not doubt that he’s remembered it. Still, looks like he has a much better memory than he Dad which is a relief.
Money where my mouth is
I’ve just signed up for Fat Boy V, the fifth annual challenge at work for who can lose the most weight (by percentage) in two months. £50 in, winner takes the pot. I’ve set myself the lofty target of 10% loss in 2012, so this should provide some extra incentive. I fear I’m actually going to have to start exercising on top of my planned reduced consumption. I feel tired and hungry just thinking about it.
UPDATE: it turns out last years winner lost 11.07%. I wish I’d asked that before signing up. I’m fairly certain you can only lose that much by contracting a serious stomach bug.
The aforementioned photo that Great Grandfather Greene was so pleased with.
Christmas catch-up
Playing catch-up a bit once again. Am back at work reflecting on a successful, enjoyable and exhausting Christmas break. We had ten solid days of family visits, starting with Nana and Sazza, followed by Granny Gillie and finishing with Grandpa Robin and Alison plus an encore from N&S on New Years Eve. Much food was consumed, and a reasonable, responsible amount of drink.
Notable highlights include: Christmas Day morning with the boys as they realise Father Christmas had indeed been, as evidenced by the filled stockings, bulging under tree area and consumed carrot, minced pie and wine (Daddy was too tight to open a bottle of port or sherry); visiting Great Grandfather on his birthday, who seemed delighted to see his great grandchildren and was reportedly very happy with the photographic evidence; and the New Years Day walk around Buxted Park with Grandpa Robin and Alison that had to happen the following day due to weather conditions.
And so back to work for a well earned rest. Happy New Year to all.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas from William and Oliver.
Treading the boards
William participated in his first ever Nativity play today. Apparently he was quite insistent that he would play the Angel Gabriel, so he got to lead out his choir of Angels onto the stage, carrying a lantern and sporting the oversized wings Claire and I spent an evening making last week. Although the narrative progressed a little fast for him to deliver his ”Do not be afraid!” line effectively (this is my proud father version of event and I’m sticking to it), he joined in enthusiastically with the singing. He even manage to keep composure when the bells in front of his feet were stolen by the Angel next to him, deciding to waft his hand up and down in time to the music instead.
On the road from Oxted
This time I’m on a bus though. Tried to catch the 19:08 and will probably arrive home around 9, a mere 1.5 hrs late. Two observations on this from the cramped confines of my bus seat:
Firstly, Southern have been using Twitter to good effect - they even accurately answered my direct question about Uckfield services. I have been a sceptic for a while, but perhaps Twitter really is the future.
Secondly, and apologies for going all Jeremy Clarkson on you, but if someone jumps in front of a train, as happened at South Croydon, we should simply get out a snow shovel, scrape them off and carry on.
The Apple Blogs Vs. Brooke Crothers
MG Siegler, in trashing someone else’s post on Apple “Fanbois”, does a really good job of articulating why I switched to Apple after years of being a devoted Windows user.
I’ve been a fan of Apple’s products for about 6 years now. Before that, I didn’t own one. You could even say that I hated Apple products back in the 1990s when I was going to midnight launches of Microsoft products. Why did that change? It’s not some spell or some bullshit marketing. It’s all the hard work and attention to detail Apple put into their products during the second Jobs reign. I wanted the best, Apple made the best.
William recovering … hopefully
Number One boy has spent the day moping around, having been sick overnight and a few times this morning. It didn’t dent his enthusiasm for decorating the Christmas tree we bought yesterday, but after that excitement was over, he’s been sofa-bound watching CBeebies.
He had perked up by mid-afternoon and enthusiastically ate a bowl of pasta - with accompanying garlic bread no less - for his tea. Now we wait, nervously, to see whether he wakes up at any point overnight. Fingers crossed.
UPDATE: visit to the doctors this morning confirmed tonsillitis. Poor chap.
We took William to look around Skippers Hill yesterday, one of the three options we’re considering for ‘big school’. It doesn’t offer as much in the way of facilities as Great Walstead, but what I realised yesterday was that there’s a limit to how much a five year old really needs. For example, Walstead has over 200 acres of land, but I’m fairly certain the boys won’t feel short-changed running around the 34 that Skippers has to offer.
Part of the reason for this discrepancy is that Skippers is a significantly smaller school, with 12-14 kids per year rather than three times that many. That results in a real family feel; I like the idea that older kids are encouraged to take responsibility for nurturing the youngsters. There is also the not insignificant point that 60% of their leavers get scholarships, and the rest all passed common entrance, as well as it being rated in the top 100 prep schools in the country by the Sunday Times recently.
It’s not all rosy though. Despite a large investment since the last time we visited, it still leaves a bit to be desired in terms of decor in some parts of the school, and some of the teaching still goes on in ‘temporary’ teaching huts like those I used to have at school. So Skippers isn’t a done deal, but I can’t help thinking that for the sake of Claire not having to do 2 hours of driving every day for the boys to attend Walstead, it’s the best option. More careful thought needed.
