while you're ahead…

It’s no surprise we had an alarm malfunction this morning and woke up an hour later, missing the school bus and forcing a drive to school that has put my daily plan over 1 1/2 back.  Last week has been so ridiculously busy that to be honest two strong coffee cups later I’m still not fully functioning properly.

All good stuff, mostly, but geesh… my brain is fried.  I put the Nutella in the fridge kind of level of ‘friedness’.

• there was the classical concert in Birmingham, which was fab, but was a late night on a school night and I’m not good with those anymore.
• I was in college for a full day.  (when there was a bit of a debacle about my student card, nobody could find it till I realised they were looking for it in the ‘staff’ box, because let’s face it… I’ve got the age to be one… not too depressing)
• the Cheltenham Festival of Literature started and with the boys went to listen to Romesh Ranganathan – the comedian –  talk about his book.  Very funny man.  We all needed that.

The Festival is one of the highlights of the Autumn for me and I’m always keen to drag the family along

• On the Saturday we had the privilege to listen to the legend who is Sir David Attenborough… even No 1 ‘at the height of I’m 17 and nothing impresses me much’ was bowled over.  He’s something else. Sir David I mean.  No 1 is super special too but you know what I mean.

• A special ‘hello’ goes to the lovely lady who came to say hello when I was trying, without success, not to buy any books.  It was lovely! thank you for doing so.
• Then on Saturday night No 2 had a party,  a 16th birthday party… need I say more?  I’m surprise the house withstood the vibration from the music, that nobody fell into the pond or was sick on the sofa, that the floor in the basement is lino, that I didn’t have to call any parents to pick up their child.  Joking aside, it was all fine, a little bit stressful, Mr M had to play bouncer and stop some gatecrasher from trying to get in, but No 2 has some gorgeous friends who came in on the Sunday morning and helped him clear everything up.  I’m very grateful for that.

• he is quite seriously awesome.
• Sunday morning I was back to the Festival, I attended a talk by Emma Healey (who wrote Alice is missing) and Kit de Waal (my name is Leon).  They were discussing their second novels and what an amazing pair of women they were.  Kit De Waal wrote her first novel in her late forties.  Inspirational.  There is hope for us all.
• Then on Sunday there was the hockey tournament for No 3
• And then I was invited by a neighbour to the Festival again in the evening, this time for this chap:

Mr Gary Barlow.  I was never a Take That fan back in the days, I liked them better in their second go and I had to say he appears to be a very nice guy.  (Incidentally, I love Emma Freud.

• And all this was EXTRA to the normal running of the household, which still went on, the shopping and the washing and the driving around and and and….and then we’re back at this morning when the alarm mysteriously didn’t go off and it was all a bonkers rush.

Sigh.

Bear with me this week.  It might be a long one…