Thursday photo #340

Lockdown seems so different this time around. For the first time in a long time, the news this week has been mainly positive. With Trump and his toddler tantrums soon to be ejected from the White House and a vaccine set to land shortly, things are looking up. The promised end date for lockdown is a bonus as well and a week of it has already passed. I hope everyone is coping and looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel.

School reports

With social distancing measures in place, we’ve had virtually no interaction with the girls’ teachers this term. It’s very easy for a child to reassure you that they’re doing brilliantly, but it’s a very different thing to hear it from their teachers.

School reports landed here yesterday and we were pleasantly surprised by both of them. Libby is doing well as usual and has seen a bit of an improvement in her maths. This is great news since she has always struggled with it so I know she’s worked hard to get to where she is now.

Every parents evening we’ve attended with Lia, the teacher has complained that she’s a bit too quiet. She needs to put herself forward more and make herself noticed. Imagine our surprise this year when the teacher commented on her knowledge of current affairs. Apparently she has instigated class discussions about global warming, the US election and Black Lives Matter. Her strong opinions on world affairs finally seem to have overtaken her shyness.

The best swim ever

Whenever I go swimming, I usually end up climbing out of the river declaring it the best swim ever. But I’m certain this week’s swim will be hard to top. The temperature has dropped quite quickly over the past couple of weeks and felt positively cold this week, which is always a real bonus.

So, we were already full of the joys of swimming as we pottered along putting the world to rights. Then I spotted a kingfisher flying along just in front of us and landing on a branch. Surprisingly, it stayed put as we swam towards it. We stayed quiet, edging steadily closer.

Then suddenly, the kingfisher dived straight down into the water just in front of us, caught a fish and landed back on the branch to eat it. No wonder it didn’t bother to move away from us, it wasn’t focussing on us at all but on its next meal. What an absolute treat to see it. Unfortunately I forgot my camera as usual but it’s a picture that will stay in my memory for a long time.

Thursday photo #340

We had a lovely surprise this week when the government decided that riding schools are allowed to offer private outdoor lessons during lockdown. The girls were allowed to ride together as they’re from the same household. They were so pleased to be back with the ponies and it has made their lockdown just a little easier.