Just a Thought!
Just a thought!
25 July 2011 12:00AM
So this week ended with more schools breaking for the summer holidays.
Summer? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see, though this weekend was beautiful. I ventured into the Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate, and enjoyed lunch at Betty’s with my parents and then a walk along The Stray in the sunshine. Uhm! Lovely! And I would certainly rather be in the UK than suffering the plague of flies and incessant heat that my Spanish friends are complaining about at the moment.
I smiled when I saw those year 6 children crying as they said goodbye to mates from whom the forthcoming school years meant separation. I had empathy with the little 5 year old who sobbed because the year 6 girl who befriended her that first school year, who always rushed over to swing her around at break time, and who often walked with her to the school gates till she was in the safety of her mother’s arms; the girl she had looked up to as a big sister, said goodbye.
I couldn’t understand why the local village hall always blocked off their car park with half a dozen upside down chairs to stop people parking. After all, five minutes school pick up and drop off is nothing!
Was this insanity or just downright mean? Even those attending the village hall couldn’t get in now!
NO PARKING TO SCHOOL TRAFFIC the sign said. Didn’t they ever have children? Weren’t they ever children themselves? Surely a little chaos around school time is to be expected.
It’s only for a few minutes for goodness sake. Then I remembered the woman who shouted at me.
“Don’t you dare block my drive.”
“But I’m not leaving the car,” I said politely, “just waiting a few minutes whilst my friend dashes into school to collect her child. Do you want to go out?”
“No,” she snapped.
“Oh! Well, if you do I will move.”
“Move now,” she screamed. “Or I will do something!”
I didn’t get time to ask her what that something was as my friend turned up. But, she was going bonkers! I wanted to tell her to calm down. I wanted to ask her why she was so horrible. So stressed! So excitable about something that really didn’t matter. Did it? Had she not heard the news? People dying in the world, and she was stressing about…………… oh, I despair.
So what does one do with all those little treasures in the school holidays? And why do teachers complain? Ooooops! Am I in trouble for saying that? But it would be nice to have 6 weeks holiday in the summer. Wouldn’t it?
Uhm! Don’t want to alienate any teachers now. I have some schools to work with in the autumn term. Good schools of course. And I’m looking forward to those school dinners. Some of them are really scrummy.
But holidays, it’s just a thought. We would all like more!
So, for those of you on holiday – Happy Holidays.
Anna
