End of Term

For the first time since the start of September, we have a very small number of students in the inclusion room, in actual fact, just the one. Every other day there have been between 6 and 17!

That means I am sat here with very little to do and thought I'd catch up with the blog for a bit.

Glen played yesterday and his team came out with a one one draw after going behind to a brilliant finish, backheeled in, with a penalty from Eric. It was a cup game and will have to be replayed in the New Year. Roosgarth ought to have won it though despite complaints about the standard of refereeing from the opposing supporters.

I didn't play last week due to continuing recovery from flu but have noted Iscape managed a creditable 3 - 3 draw. I wonder who got the goals? I'm sure Dougie will have got 4 of them!

Iscape Christmas Outing

Well, it wasn't quite Dublin, Prague or Budapest but neither was it The Cricketers, rather the football team ended up with the surprise call of The Coach and Horses in Wimborne where we adjourn each Monday usually to lick our wounds after another defeat. However, Kev did us proud and organised a Manchester derby for the boys to watch before the journey to Ferndown for indoor cricket and a return to the pub for the evening game of football or how to say thanks to Kev for the day by nicking his phone and making prank calls/texts.

Matt I, Matt C, Kev, Iain, Hen and Dave enjoyed the first football match with a prime seat in front of the tv and a lovely spread of food before the drive to Ferndown where Dougie and Dom joined us. With 8 of us playing we organised pairings with everyone bowling in an enjoyable if somewhat dangerous game of cricket complete with life threateningly hard cricket ball. Keeping count of the runs proved a complicated task but we just about managed remembering that each wicket cost the par batting 10 runs. The opening pair of Matt and Dave were minus 30 after the first three balls with two run outs and a bowled wicket but they recovered well to post a magnificent total of 8! To be fair, they had the disadvantage of batting first and others follwoing learnt the lessons from their errors. That is apart from Dom and Matt I who ended at minus 17 I think it was.

Matt C Dave 8
Matt I Dom -17
Iain Hwn 32
Kev and Dougie 44

There were bruises aplenty for Matt I hit in the nipple, Hen hit in the chest, Dom hit on the knee fielding close in, Matt C hit on the wrist. Kev's attempt to kill me with a head high beamer prompted my fastest reactions since the 1984.

Kev and Dougie batted very well chasing 32 to win and Simon hit a couple of sixes aided by the weight of experience off the front foot.

Astonishingly everyone bowled well including Spanish Dave who learnt the lingo of cricket as he tired to hit the 'sticky' wicket.

A quick game of football to finish off saw us back to the pub and we settled into the Linford and Colin camp(!) for the evening admiring Dom's ability to drain a pint glass at twice the speed of anyone else. Kev entertained the pub to his all round ball ability as he dominated the pool table but left his phone. Several iffy messages were sent and after an initial strop about it, Kev settled on a plan to ruin Dave's life and business forthwith.

The most disturbing aspect was that going through the names, the first female was Rachel which doesn't bode well, although perhaps he has lots who are called Samantha or Tracy.

Will Dom be fit for Monday night - he has knee knack from the cricket ball. Will Dave still be in business? Will Rachel be speaking to Kev? Does the barmaid fancy Kev?

All will be revealed next week.

Ill

For the past week I've been almost confined to bed with flu and I'm starting to feel somewhat better after some sleep at last. The worst part has been the incessant coughing and because of trying to avoid waking Alison up, I've been sleeping downstairs with the cricket on in the background. At least that has been a laugh!

I've been feeling exhausted for a while with lots on at school and so many commitments to meetings and individual kids all linking in with the realsiation that I've started going back to the situation of the past. More time and energy on other people's kids rather than my own. It's also difficult when you are trying to sort out problems with some of them who are in genuinely difficult situations (often of their own making) and I think of Natasha and how much she achieved despite the limitations she had on her life. It is easy to get a little resentful at that stage and I have to keep easing that feeling back where it belongs because you can't expect anyone, let alone a 15 or 16 year old hormone ravaged youngster, to do the right thing because you think it's the best thing for them.

This time of year is always going to be difficult too with so many reminders of Nat who loved Christmas so much. She was often in hospital in the run up to Christmas Day, so to be home with everything going well was the best thing that could happen for us. We're going to go to Yorkshire for Christmas this year which will be great as it will take us out of some of the routines and be less upsetting. It will also be great to see other parts of the family of course but I fear this is going to be a very difficult time.

Only a few more weeks of smoking left. I haven't smoked for four days actually having been stuck in bed feeling crap but New Year Resolution time is nearly here and I'm going for that. I've never tried a resolution at New Year before but it will coincide with me reaching my target weight and I'll eat lots and put it all back on! I've lost three stone since the start of September and am at the top end of the healthy BMI apparently.

I don't think there was any football this week but last week was disappointing with a 3 - 0 loss. We didn't play badly, there was some good football at times, and Dave did come back and was big enough to take a little teasing on the subject of his walkoff (setting the tone for Thierry Henry I believe). Next in line is Dougie, who is unlikely to receive any sympathy from Dom if his leg falls off while he takes another shot from forty yards which bisects the corner of the field or balloons into the heart of darkness behind the goal.

The big fella seems to believe these are passes going astray but you roll the ball back to him at your peril as he lines up a shot and strikes through the ball like Jamie Rednapp. I truly believe that is exactly who Dougie sees himself as in his mind's eye as he addresses the ball. Dom seems to have missed the similarity and is pretty open about what the consequences of the next one will be.

More tension in the camp. What is the manager going to do to sort out the spilts and ructions of the last weeks? Where is he taking us for Christmas? The latest suggestion was cricket!!