*all ready - sore fingers a-plenty!*

Yes, I have very sore fingers this evening from spending the best part of the day sewing in name tapes, taking up hems, and altering one of Ed's shirts to make a painting apron for Freya. I am seriously considering investing in a thimble, as the middle finger I use to push the needle through the fabric when I'm sewing is in a very sorry state!! Freya is all ready for back-to-school in the morning; she told me at bedtime tonight that she is very excited about having a new classroom and a new teacher - no apparent anxiety, such a relief. Ed has two weeks' holiday from work, and Freya has requested that daddy walk her to school on her first day - bless her, I think she wanted to redress the balance, as Anja has decided that she wants me to accompany her on her first morning on Wednesday. Freya didn't want daddy to feel left out - he is more than happy to oblige. Now, since I am going to be posting 'first day' photos of the girls over the next couple of days, I thought I would post this photo of me in my first year at primary school. It had definitely seen better days, and was then lovingly restored for me by Anam, some time ago.



I know, I was such a cutie - I don't know what went wrong...

I was very happy at school, both primary and secondary; I was quite quiet at primary school, and probably didn't come into my own until I was in my early teens, but I remember primary school as a very happy, easy, secure place. My Reception teacher was a wonderful woman called Mrs Newman; she was larger-than-life in every sense - she had very black hair that cannot possibly have been natural, she wore big print dresses, and had fancy glasses on a long chain. She was extremely kind, and almost granny-like - that's how I remember her, anyway. I know she had an all-enveloping bosom, and a nice warm lap, and I spent probably far too long perched on it! Her husband, Freddie, was caretaker at school and they were a fantastic double-act. Happy days...