Grease is the word!

It seems I no longer have any creative introductions to my blogs lately because I'm always opening with an apology for being a slacker - so in keeping with the routine, I apologise for my laziness.

I just came back from a nice night out with Barret - we went to see "Grease" the musical. It was amazing! Yes, some parts were changed, but definitely for the better! There was an added bit where three guys in towels came out of shower stalls, singing into shower heads dancing their fit backsides off! Barret said, "well, they definitely made this more cheesy than it had to be" I just responded, "well, they made it for women - and we're loving it!" Honestly, though, it was an excellent show and regardless of what Barret might say, I know he liked it too :)

My Mom and Aunt left a few days ago from their 9 day trip to London. It was really fantastic having them here staying with me. Although I was working during the week, they bumbled about London on their own without getting lost and we regrouped in the evening. To be quite frank, I am thoroughly impressed by the ability of those two to confidently get around this crazy city. Never once did I receive a frantic phone call (from either them or the authorities) or come home to find them still sitting in the same spot I left them because they didn't know where to go! Well Done, ladies! The two of them got up to their own mischief, but while we were together we had a few really nice dinners, saw "Sister Act" the musical, did some shopping, enjoyed a Royal Afternoon Tea at a very posh restaurant in a ritzy area of London called Mayfair, but mostly just spent time together, enjoying wine, beer, or endless fish and chips! My mother, bless her dear heart, brought me peanut butter, among a myriad of other wonderful things, I have a decent supply of Kraft PB! THANK YOU MOM for everything you brought. I was so happy to have you and Aunt Eun stay!

It's just about that time again when a vacation is coming up! I have two weeks off starting on April 2nd and I have plans to go to Germany, Amsterdam, and Northern Italy! I am going to the first two destinations with my hilarious travel partner Diana for the first week. We are not really planning a whole lot, so I will have to fill you in after the fact! I have already done the southern bit of Italy, so the second week I am meeting up with Barret, who will already be there, for a tour of the north. We will be going to Pisa, Venice, and Torino - as far as I know! Again, I know I'll see the leaning tower and likely ride in a Gondola, but other than that, I will have to fill you in upon my return! I am looking forward to some much needed time off. I will just leave it at that because if I get going on these nutters I teach I'll work up a sweat and heart palpitations.

All my best to you all!

Love,

Amy

Runaways, Visitors, and a new friend!

Today, one of my worst teaching fears came to fruition. During my year 3/4's weekly "golden time" (free time) three of my students planned a successful escape from school. I have to say that it was well-organized, thoughtful, and was executed seamlessly. I believe that two of them were the brains behind the job and the third was merely recruited for his height, as the door has a lock on the top that couldn't be reached by either of the other two. The rule goes that if you can track a rogue beast, er, a runaway student I mean, you must. If not, call the police. The escapists were, in fact, trackable and so half the staff was running amuck through the narrow streets of St. Mary Cray, South London, trying to wrangle them back to the school. The fear was, that it was nearly time to go home and that there would be a lot of traffic, but thankfully, one returned by his own accord (the tall one, who clearly didn't know what he had gotten himself into but soon realized the severity of his actions) and after some frantic phone calls the other two were found safely at home with their fathers who didn't seem to give a care that their sons were out galavanting instead of at school. Anyway, nothing surprises me anymore and I try not to let my heart rate flicker much, or else, I'd already be dead.

Tomorrow my mother and Aunt Eunice are arriving from Canada. I am so very excited to see them both and have some family come to see me. I will be working the majority of the time, but will have two weekends and all evenings with them, so it will be lovely! They've got each other to explore the city with so I wont feel so bad going off to bring home the bacon! I might actually drag them both to south London to see where I work. I can always use the extra hands and bodies (even just to barricade the door!!) Also, ironically, this Sunday happens to be Mother's Day in the UK, so what perfect timing!

Most people would agree that London is a melting pot of cultures. There are little pockets of ethnicities clinging to each other all around the city, and the Canadian population here seems to be no different. When we meet, we stick together. Well, I've met someone that I've been stuck to during most of my spare time lately! Hailing from just outside Fredericton, NB, a secondary school history and phys. ed teacher, is a fantastic guy called Barret (I sing him "Barret's Privateers" quite often, so if that's what you thought of, go for it. He loves it..*note the sarcasm) It's really nice having someone around with the same career to understand the daily grind, complain to, laugh and work out problems with. I also kick his rear end in scrabble, which gives me great pleasure! However, he holds his own and takes GREAT pleasure in beating me in just about everything else, from bowling to frisbee and everything in between. Here is a picture from his birthday last weekend!

Anyway, as always, I hope all is well back home in whatever you all may be up to. I hear it's been warm! That's fantastic!

I will try to post while my Mum and Aunt are here - until then - stay safe, lots of love,

xxx amy xxx

Oh Canada!

Before I get anywhere on this, I must point something out. If anyone reads the comments that are sometimes left on my blogs, I apologize for my sister's spelling. Erin, please. The word is "gently"... not what you put... look it up. Ok, now stop laughing! I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, dear sister, but let this be a lesson to you all. Use a dictionary. You never know where your words might take you otherwise!

Carrying on...

Well as the Olympics wrapped up with an amazing OT goal I couldn't be more proud to be Canadian! In a sea of people who must clarify "oh, ICE hockey, you mean" I can say I was in the presence of several proud to be Canadians to enjoy the final game. The fact that our country took the most gold medals ever in an Olympic winter games was icing on the cake, especially compared to my British counterparts who seem to be getting weaker and more obsolete with each passing of the winter games. One measly meager medal. Ok, fine, it was a gold, but still. Come on, Britain! Placing just ahead of only Estonia and Kazakhstan among the entirety of the medal winners... I suppose the coping skills, or lack of, that I witnessed earlier this year when a little bit of snow fell was foreshadowing of how this country would do when competing amongst it!

Anyway, rant over. In other news, my mom and Aunt Eunice are going to be here in 9 days! I can't believe it! I'm so excited to see them both and get some proper peanut butter! You might be laughing, but when you are stuck with what they consider to be PB here, you would understand where I'm coming from! (I made sure to say that I was excited to them first, if you noticed, however). My Aunt used to live in London for a while, so they wont be getting too lost when I'm working, thankfully! I'm really looking forward to it and I know they are too.

Volleyball is really a lot of fun! I'm going again tonight and am happy to have found a really interesting and nice group of people. It's just a social group that likes to get together and play amongst themselves and occasionally do other matches and tournaments. They also do beach and summer matches as well, so pending on what happens this summer, I'll likely be involved in that.

I've also found a really fun and crazy church! Crazy in the best way possible. It's called Hillsong and it's in the heart of central London in the theatre that houses the We Will Rock You show, so just by the venue you can imagine the sort of church it is. It's very much like a concert! Some people don't see the appeal and are in fact turned away from it completely because of it, but I think it's a really interesting approach to spreading the word. It's full of young, happy, smiling people who are on their feet dancing and praising - albeit no one can hear themselves or the person next to them sing, but, all the reason to sing louder!

Off to get some things done before volleyball tonight... I always hope the best for everyone back home, chins up - It's March now and soon the winter blues will be over and the crocuses poking out of the melting snow!!

Loads of love,

amy