Dublin, painting blues

On Friday I said goodbye to the children at Castlefield. I managed to keep my chin up and averted tearful blubbering. It was not just a sad day, it was also a new start – with acting posts, it gives others an opportunity to grow and develop. It made me feel good to know that the Acting DHT will be able to fulfill her potential during her acting time. I’m especially pleased that Caroline in P7 will be doing Acting PT2 and I hope she will now start to think about moving to a PT2 post permanently. And the Acting HT – well Shenagh’s just a bundle of energy and good sense too and everyone in the school will be just delighted to work for her.

I was touched by the lovely gifts I was given from all those at Castlefield, and I appreciated the thought behind all of them. The class cards which the children made with photos and drawings will be a great way of remembering what a happy time I had there.

At the weekend we all went off to Dublin to celebrate the imminent retiral of Barbara (not that she’s counting the days or anything…). I’m feeling shattered now but we had a good time. I’d better not go into details of what everyone got up to!

After all that excitement it’s back to earth with a bump as I get stuck in to painting in the bathroom and kitchen. It took me nearly 2 hours to choose paint – Homebase is a bit like the web these days. It’s hard to pin down just what you’re searching for and unfortunately there’s not a del.icio.us thing to help you pin down your paint choices. So kitchen or hard wearing matt or condensation averting bathroom covering, soft sheen or something special for wood and what about the radiator? I then had to decide on a colour – contrasting or neutrals? One coat or undercoat? It wore me out!! I came home, had a headache tablet and now plan a short nap. The painting can wait, in fact, I think I’ll just get a painting man in. I also stocked up on various cleaning fluids whilst there. But cleaning is a bit like painting – the finished thing is great, but the doing of it is a pain. So – nap with duvet on the couch and the joy of Doctors on  tv. These things pretty much make me smile on a long weekend.