Gordon St Gossip

Hi all, time for a post from us.

You've probably all seen by now that I rolled my ankle pretty badly last Monday. It's not broken, just pretty swollen and sore. That bit of excitement aside, I've been doing the usual - working, training etc. There's an Iaido grading coming up at the end of this month so I've been preparing my students for that. I'm also starting to organise the mid-year seminar, and teaching a couple of the Melbourne students on the side.

Cheryl's also been doing the usual - looking after the kids (and me now!) and getting to Pilates once a week. She's been teaching Lil to use the potty, and that's coming along really well. Oh, and walking. So much walking, thanks Dee for the Fitbit ;)

Ossie is enjoying school more this year. His favourite subject is Maths. I take him to a kids soccer class once a week to help him with his coordination (and confidence), and after some uncertainty and tears during the first lesson he's really gotten into it. I'm not a fan of forcing him to do something he doesn't want to, but in this case I think he needed the push - for the first few weeks he would complain and say he didn't want to go, but within 5 minutes was running around kicking the ball and loving it. Now he's keen to just get straight into it and start kicking goals.

Like I said Lil is learning to use the potty, and loves wearing jocks. She's got them on for most of the day now. Cheryl also takes her to a kids gym where she loves climbing, jumping and rolling around, and to the library for toddler sessions, with reading and singing. Actually, Lil loves to sing - she made up this song the other day (she was in her high chair and had finished dinner):

I want to hop down
That's what I really want
I want to hop down
All over the place
I want to hop doooooowwwwn.

Max sleeps all day.

Cardiff capers

Time flies! I can't believe that my last post was last year! ....actually, I can believe it but I'm not pleased about it. January was extremely busy - I talked to trainee teachers in Swansea, Aberystwyth, and Newport; a new Education Coordinator started in Bangor and I went up for induction; there was a team meeting in London and Cambridge with lots of new faces - the RSC education team has doubled since last year! Phew!

February was a very different beast - not away at all (I think)! Lots of office days have helped to get some of the paperwork under control and things are looking positive for the future - especially now there's two of us working in Wales. :-)

Speaking of Wales, last Sunday was Saint David's Day (1st March). B's folks were visiting and it was a lovely sunny day here in Cardiff, so we went in to town to see the parade. The parade started at the Town Hall (next to the museum - where we grabbed a cuppa beforehand). It wound through the town and finished in Cardiff Castle grounds. Entrance to the Castle was free for the day, so we got to watch the start and the end of the parade.


According to the St David's Day Parade website, the non-military parade is an opportunity for those who live in Wales, regardless of age, ethnic or social background, to join a dignified and imaginative celebration of Welsh heritage and culture. So there were lots of community groups in the parade this year: Welsh pipers, giant seagulls, choristers, and lots of people in traditional dress. :-) The rest of my photos are here.

From 2012

I really liked the home-made costumes - The dragons were some of my favourites - they were all so different (other than being red and black) and fabulous. I don't think the parade was impressive as the last time I saw it... mainly because they didn't have ANY of the giant puppets of famous Welsh people.

Wonder what next year's parade will be like.
:-)