Stumpy

He's back. I'm sure I must have blipped him last year too. Of course, it is entirely plausible that this is a different lizard (wouldn't his tail have grown back by now?) but we like to think it's stumpy back again. Warm enough for lunch outside today. Which is rather earlier in the year than last year.

Early start to finish lesson prep, and then off to educate the youth of today about the critical difference between saying 'British' and 'English' and why it's best not to ask an Irish person which bit of England they are from. Here everyone seems to say 'Angleterre' when they mean Great Britain and think I'm a bit peculiar when I insist on being British, not English (generally I say that my family is Scottish which, on balance, it is). For English readers I have to say that I am not at all ashamed of being English - it's just that I think of myself as British rather than English, and I don't see why I should describe myself different just because I'm here rather than there.

Anyway, there was colouring of maps and much chat about how schools are different in Britain (on balance, even despite having less homework in Britain, they preferred France for the long holidays!) Then there was some racing to the airport to collect Mr B, late because of interesting questions about Ireland delaying me with the kids.

Lunch of warm bread, my favourite French cheese and a small glass of rosé outside deserves a paragraph of its own.

Then the first of my lunchtime English conversation classes with the 'big kids' (9-11). I was expecting to have TallGirl and whichever of her friends she could bully into coming along, plus a couple of our neighbours whose parents I'd had a word with. Instead, the whole lot came. Twenty odd kids. Eek. Today was to find out what they want to do - so a lot of talking in French for me, with TallGirl just rolling her eyes in horror at the embarassment of having a mother who can't conjugate properly. Anyway, I now have a long list of songs that we can translate together in future sessions. Some will be gently dropped (particularly the one that talks about his popsicle melting when he sees her in her bikini....) They are very keen on watching the Simpsons in English too (what a surprise) though I was particularly happy to see that one girl didn't know what the Simpsons was (I will look at her parents with admiration). Also interesting to note that none of them knew why it was called the Simpsons - ie that it's a surname.

Anyway, it was all slightly stressful, but I think future sessions will be more fun.

Later, there was picture hanging, blind hanging (hurrah! Mr B likes it) and CarbBoy learnt about drilling holes in walls, rawl plugs and other stuff like that (he refused to join my material, pins and sewing tasks). Later still, carbs. Of course.