Blogs from Essex, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 33

Weather Report Rain during the night. Overcast when I woke shortly after 6.30. As soon as I looked through the insect flap of the tent I realised there was a plague of midges which with the wet tent was not going to make for a pleasant decamp. Showered and then put on several layers of clothing include complete head to toe waterproofs in vain hope of fighting off midges. Packed and decamped very quickly but was nevertheless bitten badly - not a happy camper. Instead of a relaxing breakfast I marched off to the coach stop where there were marginally fewer midges. Really pleased when coach arrived shortly after 9.30am. Remainder of journey was uneventful - arrived Glasgow Central about 10.45 and walked a good 20 yards to the Airport bus that delivered me to the ... read more

Right now we're all chomping on the bit, raring to go and trying to get out of the door. In abour half an hour the taxi will arrive so we're playing the "guess what I've forgotten" game. The next couple of nights are going to be a little bumpy, literally, since we're travelling for both of them. Tonight will be spent on a plane to Kuala Lumpur (great news for those of us who get travel sickness) and tomorrow night will be spent on an overnight train to Singapore. I'm telling you this because we probably won't have time to blog between now and coming back from Singapore (after around three days there). Anyway, I have to leave it there now, so until we get to an internet cafe this is Dizzy DORA, signing off.... read more

Kate went home early in the morning, and then we went and caught the train as well. We were heading to Colchester to see Cherita (Dad’s cousin) and Gerry. We had to catch the train in to Liverpool Street and then back out to Colchester. The train was running a bit late, but when we arrived Cherita and Gerry were patiently waiting for us. Cherita has been fantastic for us this year, checking to see if everything is ok, and whether there is anything she can do for us. We went out for lunch chatting away and catching up. After lunch we went back to Cherita and Gerry’s house in Dedham which is a lovely area, and is exactly how I pictured the English countryside. We went for a walk around the town appreciating the relaxed ... read more

A bad accident on the A13 had banked traffic up, and due to this there was no lesson one at school. After school I called around and saw Matty who looked better. Then I went to the gym. We watched ‘Gone In Sixty Seconds’ before going to bed. July 18th I had to supervise behaviour detention after school, which is a long hour. Then I called in to the Senior Staff Meeting which I had been invited to, to give my impressions of the school. Then I caught the train home, and called in to see Matty on my way to the gym. At the gym I had no motivation and did a few exercises before heading home. July 19th Moderating coursework after school kept me out of the staff meeting. When I got home I ... read more

In the morning I had two missed calls on my phone from Kia. I wondered what was up, but just put it down to more banter from the night before. Then Kia did ring, and it was bad news. Matty had been jumped by a group of blokes as they left the Queens, smashing him over the head with a bottle and then laying into him. From what Kia said, they had walked out together and a bloke had said something to Matt who ignored it, and then once they were passed they jumped on Matt from behind. They took Matt’s phone and valuables, and Kia jumped on top of Matt while they were kicking into him to try and minimise the damage. Two blokes were after Sian, and he ended up around the corner where ... read more