7 Quick Takes: 2nd September 2011

1. I haven't been a lazy blogger, I have been away - we got back on Tuesday from two weeks enjoying the sun in Spain. Apparently the UK has had its coldest summer for eighteen years, which means it hasn't felt as though we have had a summer at all. That two weeks of warmth will carry me through to next summer (if we get one next year, that is!). Photos to come later.

2. Ironically we have come back to a spell of gorgeous late summer weather. High 70s predicted today!

3. I hit the ground running when we got home as I went back to work on Wednesday. My brain had switched itself off to the extent that I struggled to remember the key code for the office door and entered a batch of reference numbers wrong before I managed to get back into gear.

4. The laundry is caught up. Most suitcases are emptied. Phew!

5. Cherub fell in love with the water while we were away thanks to the confidence building properties of an inflatable ring, and with immaculately good timing she had a first swimming lesson yesterday. She was a bit nervous beforehand (as she always is with anything new), but absolutely loved it. A friend from school was in the same class, along with two girls she knew from playgroup, so all was good.

6. The girls go back to school next week - Angel and Star on Tuesday (though Angel doesn't actually start classes until Thursday) and Cherub on Wednesday. Much excited anticipation as they are looking forward to starting their new schools and classes.

7. Last but not least, Angel got her GCSE exam results while we are away. (If you don't know the English exam system but are a Harry Potter enthusiast, think OWLS without the magic.)  One A*, five As, two Bs and three Cs, which we are all happy with (C and above are effectively pass grades) - perhaps the best achievements were the B for biology and Cs for physics and chemistry, given that the science teaching she has had over the past three years has been almost entirely poor or non-existent, and she taught herself half the course from revision guides.

Read more quick takes at Conversion Diary