my new training pal

I have a new training partner. She is quite like me, in fact, alarmingly so. She is better at swimming and running than me but we are about the same at cycling. We have started doing 'Training Tuesdays' together. Last week we did a great little sunny evening cycle around Durley, and only had to cut it short due to a damaged gear cog which necessited that calling of an excellent bike mechanic. Today we went to the Quays for a swim but the lanes were really packed, so we went in the leisure pool and played follow my leader instead. I am delighted to present to the world the mini me super triathlete, Hannah Bowen! She and A did the Hamble Aquathon on Saturday, unfortunately their parents were not there to witness the spectacle of A's first ever multi sports event. She swam and ran all the way. H did really well with her swimming, since last year's event she has moved up an age category and had to swim an  extra 100metres, which she achieved in just an extra 40 seconds. Obviously she did not do the extra 100m in 40 seconds, it was an average, although 100m in 40 seconds would be record breaking time, as the world free style 100m record is 46.91 seconds. That is 4 lengths of Bitterne at an average of less than 12 seconds per length and keeping that up for 4 lengths. Can you imagine that? Awesome. 

Now, the reason the parents were not there to witness the girls' foray into multisports as we were living the high life at the Norton Park Hotel, near Sutton Scotney, near Winchester. I cycled home from there yesterday in the rain, through Owslebury. If I cycle through Owslebury with someone else it does not rain. If I cycle there on my own, it does. Now what is that all about? I took an odd route to avoid Winchester, as it is not pleasant to cycle through a city when you want to be in the countryside. Norton Park is a pleasant hotel, made all the more pleasant when you get a bargain room rate. The wedding we went to was everything a wedding should be, with the right mix of comedy grandads, disco tracks and free drinks, along with a tasty chocolate brownie pudding, champagne and random very slightly related people to chat to. Fab fab fab, we had a ball and were delighted to be invited. Thank you, Anna and Chris.

We saw the other Chris and Anna too, on Monday at the Old Chemist, at a goodbye picnic for Steve and Elaine Jones. For reasons only they understand, they are moving away from Southampton and to N Ireland, which I hear is lovely. Steve has been around in Southampton Vineyard since before we were, ie pre 1997, so we have known and loved him for a long time. He is a legend in the musical / engineering worlds, a comedy genius and utterly unaware of his brilliance. I have very happy memories of a church group, including Steve and I, driving around Washington DC in a minibus, with he and I driving everyone else beyond the patience of saints with our bad jokes. Another great memory of that trip was Matt and Di arguing over which restuarant to eat in, to such an extent that for some reason we ended up eating in the back of a nightclub style bar. Oh the fun we had! Elaine came into Steve's life some time later than 1997 and sadly her being part of the Southampton picture has kind of overlapped with us moving to be a mini church of nutters in Thornhill, so the relationship with her has not been what it might have been. Although her mince pies are to die for, and we spent a happy day smelling wee in a convent in Portsmouth together. Steve and Elaine, we salute you, we will miss you and we will come on a cycling holiday to Northern Ireland, even though you have not actually invited us.

Apart from having fun, I do still go to work, I have come up with a new technique for managing my class which involves working them so hard they fall asleep. I had three children asleep on Friday afternoon. I think they were ill too. Or bored? Anyway, three sleeping children means they are safe and happy and those are two of my three criteria for successful days in a primary school. A good couple of decades ago, infant classes had beds or quiet corners where children could have a nap, and I remember all of us having a quiet time after lunch with our heads on our desks, at junior school. Ha! i don't think that would go down well with Ofsted. I heard on the radio that Ofsted criticisized a secondary PE lesson for 'many children not doing anything' - the school challenged the grading and pointed out that the lesson observed was a cricket match, and the children involved were fielding. Love it.