J1 has passed his driving test

The main news this week is that J1 has passed his driving test! He managed to get a cancellation Tuesday night and yesterday he took the test in my old Citroen AX and passed. Apart from the fact that now he can drive himself about in the car for 10 months (I think I told you I have put the car on the road for him and A* for a year each to help them pass their test) I get off having to make a 16 mile round trip to school, in the opposite direction, at the busiest time, every morning, before I have to go and put the horse out and get to work. It will just have such an impact on the quality of my life, let alone his! He is just high – and finished his UCAS form this week so on an upper at the moment.

Last Thursday I went to a meeting in Dunstable and dropped in to see Kylie. Do you remember – she used to work with me at Scarman and had an older daughter (by husband no 1) and Karl. Karl has just started school full time and is already in danger of getting expelled at 5. Kylie is also 4 months pregnant with second baby from Karl’s dad although they don’t live together. She also has mild MS and just looked worn down and exhausted and she is early 30s. I felt so sorry for her. She had a really difficult upbringing, but had so much get up and go which just seems to have been knocked out of her and now she is unable to work at all and will have all the responsibility of a baby without much support, plus another demanding young child in Karl. Some people make life so difficult for themselves.

Not an especially eventful week-end. Went for a lovely ride on Sean on Saturday, past shooting parties, active diggers and tractors and not a twitch from him. He really is getting good. FH was away at his works do. J2 had his sleepover for 6 and I transported them all to playzone – very painless. Then he went off with adult friends to Millwall. Bear picked him up and that’s when our marvellous planning broke down as J2 suddenly had to do something for himself – i.e. get the bus back. I got a phone call in Portsmouth about 1pm and he had forgotten his keys and J1 was at drama practice. Hence I had to get in the car and come back. No more. J2 now has to suffer coming with me as he really is too babyish to manage things on his own.

Someone chucked 3 eggs at the house on Sunday and I had to scrape them off the windows.

The lady whose lovely wedding I went to October 25th has left him already (after the expensive cruise round the Caribbean – am I cynical?) and is back living with her Mum. I don’t know the whole story but I think the mega rich hubby has a degenerative disease and she was not prepared to be carer. Siobhan’s son’s partner of 8 years has decided she wants to leave him.

On Monday night I had my team’s Christmas dinner (pizza) in Hitchin. 7 out of the 12 turned up. We are virtually all 40s and 50s and philosophical about life (5 out of the 7 are male and female lone parents) and it was just nice and relaxing. On Tuesday I had Hitchin Committee. Last night James from Scarman came over for dinner and supervision. He is the secondee from HMI VAT and thinks the voluntary sector is a waste of government money. Tonight is the Local Strategic Partnership event I have to help out at till 8-9pm then a quick jaunt to all night Tescos to get J2’s ingredients for cooking tomorrow. Last night I was up late completing a funding bid for a deadline at 12 mid-day today – trying to work out budget figures while waiting for J1 at the test centre. I am blasted and ragged!

I went to the docs this morning as I keep losing the hearing in my left ear, but he can’t see anything. My test results from a scan show I have a cyst on my ovaries, but nothing they are going to do anything about (too small). My blood pressure is brill (seriously).

This Sunday I am going on a day trip to France – not really my thing, but it’s FP’s birthday and he wants to go. I shall buy some very nice champagne for Christmas day. Big hug.