Day 103 - Ted Gets In

Tuesday July 28th

Bethan's 20th birthday. I remember babysitting her as a newborn in Richmond.

Went for a run this morning and pushed it hard for 2.5 miles. It felt good but I either need to find some new running buddies or change the music on the iPod.

Almost forgot to call the school but when we did...Ted got a place. The famous twins have confirmed they are leaving so two got in. It was like a large mountain off our shoulders. Ted picked up his uniform. I haven't seen him in it yet but when I do, it will be straight on Facebook.

Now I want to move into the new house and sleep in my own bed. We agreed to wait until Ellen got home but every day is painful in a deflating airbed.

AJ Tarricone had a nasty accident on his bike in Hastings. A very very lucky boy but it shows that the margin between a funny story and a life changing tragedy is very very thin.

Day 94 - Harry Potter Snogging

Sunday July 19th

Long run this morning and tried a different direction this time, along south and then east along the road. Found one path which was promising until it narrowed into brambles after a mile. I then found a lovely traverse a meadow which took me to the railway bridge by Christchurch Rd. Perfect! 8.5 miles

Spent the day at the new house and tackled some more boxes. The TV sat there, teasing me in its box, but I stayed strong and left it there.

Went to see Harry Potter 6 and enjoyed it. Way too much snogging and way too little fighting and explaining but not a bad film. Got outside to find my first welcome note on the windscreen. It seems I took up two parking spaces and whoever it was took exception to this selfish act, calling me a c*** and suggesting I learnt to drive. Welcome home!

Dropped off Ellen and Ted with M&D for the night and enjoyed some roast lamb. Big day tomorrow

Day 93 - Finally, A Big TV

Saturday July 18th

The packers have gone so we went shopping. First up was Homebase and paint. The kids were very excited about choosing paints and I bought a push mower..is that a very cool retro thing to do or just silly. For 30 quid and a small lawn, I reckon it's sensible.

Second up was Curry's where the wheels really came off the wallet. A washing machine, a dryer, a 40" TV and one Blu Ray player later we staggered out. Hope it all works. Finally I get my big TV but judging by the digital reception in the other house, I am not optimistic about the quality of TV reception. We shall see.

The new house is beginning to look habitable. I wonder when we can move in. It all depends on Monday.

M&D came around for a cup of tea and gave us a masterclass on the coffee machine and oven. Very excited about my new coffee machine as I got the variety Nespresso pack. It was like a box of Quality Street with lots of different colours to choose from.

Day 91 - Squeezing up the Stairs

Thursday July 15th

Our ship has come in! All day at the new house, directing our three moving guys into various rooms. A big job for them but they did very well given they had 4 floors to contend with.

A slight hiccup with the sofas but we agreed to keep the big blue one downstairs and then willed the leather one to get up one flight. Finally it did and Mrs N was happy.

We checked out the new athletics track and astro-turf in Bar End. It only opens from 8am and costs 2 quid to run on it. Looks like I will have to join the Winchester and District Athletic Club

Went into town to eat and ran into the Winchester 5k. How I wanted to be running - I'm sure I can get sub 20 mins now, especially on a flat course. Instead I watched them forlornly from the window - the Winchester running vest of black with yellow horizontal stripe looked very fetching.

Finished off at the Maths Dept party. Enjoyed spending more time with my new colleagues and mostly listened. It will certainly be entertaining in the staffroom, if nothing else!

Day 90 - 87%: Not Bad For a Teacher

Wednesday July 15th

Attempt my first 2 GCSE papers. I get them done in an hour each and self mark 87% with a bunch of stupid mistakes. Feel pretty good about that and vow to do more. This dream is interrupted by return of Ellen and Ted from taking tests at Kings'. In the Literacy test, they are asked for an alternative word for strong as in "only the strong survive". Ellen suggests muscular while Ted surpasses himself with buff. God help us. Ellen has also picked up her new uniform and is torn between excitement and dismay. This is fun to watch.

Head back to the house for more cleaning so that it's ready for our worldly belongings tomorrow

Day 89 - Get the Rubber Gloves On

Tuesday July 14th

Try a fast run this morning and it feels OK. No car so Mrs N walks down to St Faiths with Alice and I sneak out to try Costa Coffee across the street. Not bad at all. I hope they do well but tough area for an expensive cup of coffee. Maybe all the Kings' teachers will be in there every morning from September.

Get the #5 bus into town and get a fleeting glimpse of JobCentre Plus as we go by..must make a visit there at some point although nothing like the riches of claiming US benefit. 200 quid Job Seekers allowance vs $440. Get the car back and then head to the new house for an afternoon of cleaning. The kitchen is in quite a state so we are all scrubbing and bleaching til late. I get to do the toilets, ergo the rubber gloves

Day 88 - Broken Car and New House

Monday July 13th

Nasty squeaking noise on the new car so take it in to the garage and it turns out a spring has gone in the rear suspension so no car for a day. At least we don't have to pay for it. Went and picked up the keys for the new house. We sat and admired it for a while before heading home on the bus. Not a bad journey at all, about 10 minutes. We will have to work out timings for school as I have no desire to stand on the bus with my or any other kids on the way to school every morning. Unfortunately those hills get in the way of a nice leisurely cycle ride in every day

I keep pinching myself that we have this magnificent new house. It was the first one we saw and I keep expecting someone to take it away from us. It feels much much scarier than having a mortgage. Somehow if the bank owns most of it, it doesn't feel such a huge responsibility but this time every brick, every pipe, every tile has been paid for by 20 years hard graft. Very different