Thursday was a school day in SW9. Any hopes of an early morning run were abandoned due to the bloody rain. Ditto for a bicycle ride to make the short journey along Stockwell Road. I stomped around in my rain DM’s instead.

It was another whirlwind of a school day. I found myself in an Enterprise lesson where the school website was pulled up on the whiteboard at the front of the class. ‘ELLO – here we go… I always panic that something might not be working. But there it was, all fine and dandy. Phew.

There is excitement around the school as the students are planning for the Winter Fair. This is the first major school community gathering post-Covid. We looked at my snaps on the whiteboard from the December 2019 Winter Fair.

I remember this well. I was blagging the event on a few hours sleep. It was the morning after the 2019 General Election. Looking at those happy, smiling innocent faces and it’s impossible to imagine how Covid shit would change everything a few months later.

The school is back on track and thriving – and hopefully so was I. Highlights included a photosynthesis experiment with Year 11 [IT WORKED!], tenderising chicken in food tech [WHACK IT!] and a decent volleyball game with the Year 13 students.

I also managed to hang around a little to witness some superb play in the after school table tennis club. I then did a runner and headed back to the flat to pick up the Brompton. The rain had disappeared and I had less than half an hour to get over to LS.

I made it with five minutes to spare. Which was a good job as the downward escalator was out of action. It’s a complete BALL ACHE trying to lift a Brompton with a front and rear carrier up or down any stairs.

I listened to the Drum ‘n’ Bass Show on the commute back to the bloody Estuary Wilds. Blimey. That woke me up.

Back at base and The Postman Had Delivered: an Electric Ladyland CD. It’s my fave Jimi album, and has been a noticeable absence on the CD shelves.

I wasn’t so successful on bidding for a pair of Vivo Barefoots for A. We lost out by £1. Bastard.

Thursday evening was spent catching up with the ODI cricket. J-Roy: oh dear.

Confession: the heating went on for the first time this evening. And so it begins.

Links for 17th September, 2022

Crown and Sceptre in Streatham to reopen ‘just in time for the World Cup’

When Eddy Merckx met Beryl Burton