Boys at school, mother on the loose

Boys at school
The two lads offically started their two days of school a week this morning. Finn had a trial day last week and although it seemed to go well he couldn't be persuaded to go again the next day (lots of anxiety about Sean being safe and cold feet at the newness of it all).
               We did tell him however that he had to give it a proper two-week trial from today. The school itself seems wonderful - I was super impressed when I went with the lads last week and of course Sean's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw all the toys! It's in a glorious old Victorian house owned by the council and right in the middle of a quintessential English park. The headmistress Hilary Sturdy is amazing - both passionate and compassionate - and it was she who suggested that because we are only here for such a short amount of time, we might like to come part time. They are very flexible and laid back but at the same time, get great results from the kids.
               Today didn't start so well for Finn but we'd done some detective thinking on his anxiety about Sean yesterday and that really seemed to help. It also helped that we had said the two-week trial was not negotiable. I agreed though that rather than catching the shuttle bus, he could come with me and Sean on the regular bus (I was taking Sean as I wanted to be there with him at his first drop off)

Here they are at the bus stop (does anyone have any idea how hard it is to get a photo of the two of them without Sean pulling a face and Finn cracking a great big fake smile?!). They love sitting up the top of the double decker bus right at the front. The good news for me is that after schlepping into town to catch the bus in the cold misty drizzle, they both agree that taking the little shuttle bus from just around the corner is a much better idea!
Thankfully once at school, Finn didn't hang around to see Sean into his room but instead headed straight up to his own classroom. Sean was a little apprehensive (I'm glad I took him for a look around last week when all the Infants were still away - they come back a little later than the big kids) but soon his teacher had him sitting on the bench entranced with a story. And only very happy stories this afternoon when I picked them up from the shuttle bus stop. 

Mother on the loose
So of course this meant I was alone. I actually got out a lot by myself a couple of weekends ago for the WordFest literary festival but other than my runs, I have been doing everything with the boys.

My first stop was the wonderful cafe I discovered a few weeks back: Hot Numbers.  Just to give an indication of the lovely weather we've been having, this photo (right) of its outside sign was taken around 1030 in the morning. Light but persistent rain gusting into my face for a few blocks really did give the sign an extra glow. Inside it's a warm coffee haven. Along with very good espresso coffee (is it just me that thinks Australian espresso is often way better than Italian?), they also have  Japanese-style filter coffee. I had it black so I could really enjoy the flavour. Because it's filtered slowly and gently the flavours are very clear and rich. Yum!








How much did these books cost?
Time to find some books. At the Books for Amnesty (International) store I got a stash of second-hand books: 7 of the larger size kids books, a paperback and a hard cover. I'm going to ask you all to guess how much they cost altogether. Clue: way way less than in Australia! Next stop was the Salvation Army shop where I found a pair of my favourite brand of shoes - Bally court shoes that cost me a whopping one pound 30p!
                   Then home via grocery store to put together an application for a local literary award I have found out about. I'm also looking at agents but right now I'm looking at the clock. Close to midnight. Off to bed!