The Sunday of the Bank Holiday weekend was given over to a family gathering to celebrate my 60th birthday.
So, on 19 May 2014, I hit the sixty mark.
I discovered fairly quickly that this came with some bonuses.
Overnight, I became entitled to free prescriptions and a free travel pass for the local connurbation. I was also entitled to start drawing down my Universities pension. I hadn't reckoned on this. In fact, I asked as to whether of not I would benefit at all from deferring the payments until I was 65. I was told no. All that would happen was that I would lose the money that would otherwise have been paid to me. This seemed like a no brainer so I also became a pensioner of sorts.
At school, I was fussed a bit with cards, etc and I supplied coffee and doughnuts for the Monday morning staff meeting. I wasn't, however, given permission to have a little celebration with my class. I should simply have just done it as other classes have done. You can sometimes be far too eager to play by the rules.
Marking children's work can be a joy and a torment...
My latest example is this from a science lesson about the water cycle.
The sun beats down on the sea which heats up and the water evaporates and becomes water vapour which goes up into the sky and produces clowns.
Then the half term ended and we had an Inset Day which was given over to report writing (which dutiful activity could be done at home - Huzzah!!).
The Sunday of the Bank Holiday weekend was given over to a family gathering to celebrate my 60th birthday.
All went reasonably well. It was a small and quiet affair at my request. I don't like large gatherings when I am the object of veneration.
However, I was enormously vexed that my mum hi-jacked the occasion by having balloons for both sixty and ninety - a reminder that Albert Stanley would have been ninety this year had he not died last year. And that was the point, mum. It was a celebration for me - the first significant adult birthday I have had without his presence overshadowing me. We were three days apart and thirty years apart. 30/60. 35/65. 40/70. And so it has gone on.
Well, not any longer after this year.
I decided to treat myself to the indulgence of a bit of 1-2-1 and so, having trawled through the escort listings, I found myself standing outside a tall block of luxury flats close by Coburg Dock and the marina.
Sam's apartment was on the 8th floor but did not, unfortunately, offer any great touristic vistas out of the main window. That didn't really matter as we were very soon horizontal and he was an eager recipient of everything I had to throw at him.
Excellent session. Left with a spring in my step and the desire to meet up with him again.
Maya Angelou has died at the age of 86. Ross tells me that she was the first author that he can remember really engaging with at school.
I have come to her a lot later in life and mainly through some of the gentle wisdom that she spread amongst us.
If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.
If you don't know what you're here to do, then just do some good.
You needs to have lived through a lot to be able to distil that sort of simplicity.
Jamie Dornan has been participating in a photoshoot for Art Magazine Visionaire No52. The two photograhers were Mert and Marcus. I think the images are very beautiful.
It's an elephant selfie - an elfie.
Oh, I wish some of my efforts were half as good. LOL.
Fabulous!!