TW3

As you may be aware, TW3 is the abbreviation applied to the 60’s satirical show That Was The Week That Was. (No, I’m not that old, but I am familiar with the show and have pinched the title for my week that was 🙂) Mind you, that was focused on current affairs and despite best efforts, I must admit that this particular week was back at the mid-end of July. Unfortunately, I never got around to posting it as the week and subsequent summer holidays were stupidly busy. So cast you mind back to the hot, stormy weather of the latter part of July… *cue wavy line effect*…

I think I can best describe the week as having gone swimmingly. This was at least in part due to the excessive heat, humidity and occasional torrential rain followed by scorching sun, causing a not-entirely-pleasant sauna effect. Weather conditions aside, it was most definitely an eventful week.

Tuesday (15th) saw DS’ school prize-giving ceremony. I’m afraid that I was expecting a turgid evening in an oppressively hot hall, watching an endless stream of other people’s children trotting up to collect their prizes while the audience feigned polite interest, all culminating in a very stiff bum and the need for alcoholic lubrication. I was not wrong about the stiff bum, but pleasantly surprised by an entertaining and inspiring the evening. The hall wasn’t even stuffy. I left rather wishing that I was back at school as they seem to have so much more (sanctioned) fun than we did. It was also even more disheartening that we didn’t manage to get a place there for DD, who I think would have absolutely loved so many of the extra-curricular activities the school takes part in, like the Young Enterprise Award and the BAE Schools Engineering Challenge. For the record, DS’ prize was for (inadvertently) winning the Rotary Photography Competition with these portraits of DD –>

Thursday was DD’s leavers assembly and this was in a swelteringly hot hall, where we were treated to a thoroughly enjoyable performance of “Shakespeare Rocks”, a musical playlet filled with cheesy quips, rousing songs and some excellent acting. All very entertaining and good fun 🙂 DD only had a couple of small parts (she’d had a major part in the class assembly a few weeks previously) but she was very good, not that I’m biased or anything…well, OK, I’m biased, so sue me! 😀 I think she will love doing Drama at Secondary School.*

On Friday, DS had his Sports Day (no parents invited), which meant a rather late start to Kelmarsh for the History Live! event at the weekend. Given recent hideous experiences of Friday afternoon traffic on the way to events and the lack of advantage to using motorways when towing a trailer, we opted not to use the motorway and avoid the inevitable jams. We succeeded and the journey mostly involved pootling along relatively empty roads through pleasant and mostly traffic-free countryside, often shaded by trees. Far preferable to sweltering in a traffic jam on the motorway, I’m sure you’ll agree.

It still took us 3 hours, but at least we avoided all the hold-ups courtesy of those inconsiderate people who wait until Friday afternoon to have accidents and close the motorway. Nonetheless, it was after 10pm by the time the tent was up, the trailer unloaded and we were in a position to eat dinner. As darkness fell, the distant flashes we’d been seeing, turned into full blown, sky-shattering lightning bolts, accompanied for dramatic effect by lengthy, timpanic rumbles of thunder. With only a few spots of welcome, cooling rain from time to time, most people simply stood about or put their seats outside to enjoy the spectacle of Nature’s light show. There was much ooh-ing and ah-ing at the lightning forking horizontally across the sky against the backdrop of roiling, red clouds. Someone described it as  “like being in Vulcan’s Forge”. Sadly, I hadn’t taken my camera and my phone would not have been up to the task, so you will just have to imagine it as best you can, but believe me when I say it was quite a show!

The school year drew to a close the following week, with DD’s last Disco at Primary on the Tuesday (held outdoors due to the continuing oppressive heat) and finished off with an impromptu reprise of one of the show tunes from Shakespeare Rocks for the benefit of assembled parents waiting to collect their children.

Then came the final day on Wednesday with many tears shed as close friends left to go to other schools. On the plus side, DD achieved Level 6 in both her English and Maths SATs and Level 5 in Reading, which had questions so subjective, I’d be surprised if anyone did better. (In case you aren’t familiar, Level 4 is the average for her age, Level 6 is “the standard an average child doesn’t reach until Year 10″ and puts her at the level of a 14-15 year old at the age of only-just-11. Proud? Not much! 😀

What a week!

*She has now started Secondary and, as predicted, loves Drama 🙂