So yesterday was spent teaching, followed by cooking a roast chicken dinner for Suzy and Sophie by way of thanks for doing the cleaning. Sheila cried off as she was ill. She must have been because she missed class and she doesn’t do that.
I also managed to find time to boil and roast the ham so that was one less job and now the surfaces and floors are nicely clean, all ready for being dirtied tomorrow night. Quite how many will in fact come I know not, I reckon some of the students may stay away out of embarrassment over their woeful attendance in the classroom. Their problem, not mine, but woe betide them if they don’t turn up for their exam a week on Tuesday because I am damned if I am going to go to campus specially for anyone who can’t be bothered and a week Thursday is party time for the last ever class get together.
Two of us enjoyed our dinner (I even splashed out and used my last packet of Paxo!) but Sophie is weird. She left most of the chicken (Suzy took that home for her cat) and seemed to mainly like the peas and carrots, although she did aver that she liked the gravy best of all. Most odd, particularly as she has already said she is “busy” tomorrow night and can’t come. My guess is she believes it will be a largely carnivorous affair (it will be!) but there will be freshly baked bread, salad and potatoes as well.
And so this afternoon it was time for Santa to come out of mothballs for his annual outing. It was a bit of a hike from campus, I would guess around a mile, but I’ll tell you what - that was one very nice kindergarten. About 150 ankle biters spread over three floors, Lord knows how many teachers, well furnished and spotlessly clean. Those whose shoes might damage the flooring were required to wear plastic bags over them. I escaped such a fate as my soles are soft but even so I would have refused - Santa NEVER wears blue bags on his feet!
In all, Janet and I (she is in one of the pictures taken outside the premises) were there for 90 minutes and I must say I rather enjoyed it. I even think some of the kids believed I was really Father Christmas. There were others though who insisted on trying to test to see whether my beard was real, ditto my stomach. The latter they were welcome to prod as much as they liked but seeing as I had bought a new beard for the occasion I didn’t want the illusion spoilt.
As for my gift? Well I got neither an omelette pan nor cake tin. What I was given was a pot probably best suited for casseroles or slow cooking. Christ knows how much it cost but it’s really heavy and is best described as the Chinese equivalent of a non-stick Le Creuset. Good quality cookware for sure. Be a shame to actually use it!
I’m not actually sure if I will get to eat today, for I am currently in the process of roasting fourteen drumsticks (two lots with an oven the size of mine) and the bread machine is making (hopefully successfully) a loaf which will finish around 2100. I shall make another in the morning before tackling the chilli, satay, bangers, salad, spuds etc. I have a feeling there will be a lot left over but I would rather that than see it all disappear, knowing people could have eaten more.
Last night I said to Suzy I was going to take the mobile phones off everyone who came in order that they would have no choice but to actually speak to each other instead of instant messaging or playing games. I thought it a marvellous idea until she said:
“How will they be able to take photographs?”
Ah. Good point. Drat!!!!
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