A bittersweet trip to Bitterne today. We had a visit to the Dr, our old one, Dr McKay, the one who says our names really slowly when he calls you in. Anyhow, that bit was without incident. As a treat, I said the girls could choose their own tea in Sainsburys. They chose Heinz tomato soup, which we had at home anyway, so a bit of a long drawn out trip for some soup. However! We found out that Bitterne Bowl is CLOSING THIS SUNDAY. Get down there NOW for a last ever bowling experience in the heart of Bitterne. We are going tomorrow, its £6.50 for 3 games and a drink, if you get there by 6pm. There is a new bowling experience opening in March, in Eastleigh, of all places. So, this, guys, is your last ever call to use the facilities of Bitterne's AMF.

However! The new Woolies has opened, is HUGE ( well, bigger than Woolston and Portswood) and bright and has wide aisles and is generally a pleasant example of the genre. No longer will I have to go to Woolston for my fixes. I can stroke plastic kitchen ware, marvel at the chrome bathroom accessories and the pick and mix in the comfort of my own precint. Its not bigger than the WHOLE of Woolston, just bigger than the woolies in Woolston.

And, the Bitterne village traders are putting on a Lights switch on extravaganza. Its a 6pm on Friday 21st of November. I only mention it for Duncan's benefit, as DAZ AND CHAVE are doing the entertainment. I assume they are a Chas and Dave tribute band, which I think is good reason to be there, Duncan, if the myriad of other reasons to shop in Bitterne aren't already enough.

At school today we were writing surveys because tomorrow we are going to Hedge End to survey how busy the shops are and how much things cost and so on. The children came up with lists of vehicles to put on their tally chart whichwent something like this:
cars
lorries
vans
bikes
motorbikes
learner drivers
caravans
444444 cars ( thats a taxi to you or I)
mobility scooters
skateboards
ice cream vans! Not many of those in Hedge End in November!

The list of people to survey included: men, women, children, people on skateboards, disabled people ( I pointed out that they, too, had gender, so should be counted as disabled men or women - and how would they know if someone was disabled? So, they changed the category to people in wheelchairs, which I think is an interesting observation on children's perceptions of disability). Then children, children in buggies, and babies. One group in the another class genuinely and without malice put 'midgets' on their list of people to survey. Their teacher had a similar, sensitive chat with them. But what an interesting piece of work to do with them and find out how they perceive difference.

I had to teach more rugby this afternoon. I hate rugby balls, and spend as little time as possible showing them what to do, and as much time as possible with them running around throwing balls at each other. I am not very good at throwing or catching anything, especially not balls which are unpredictable and don't bounce.

The girls were chuffed to be out after dark - I love it! 'Look the first star!' and tonight, 'Look, a fully grown moon!'