Heavy snow is forecast. Light flurries during the day but tonight it is coming down hard and covering the road. Tomorrow is supposed to be worse. We will see. On Sifnos the forecast is for clear skies, warm sun in the mid 60s for the whole week. Oh well.
February 3rd, 2009
Two days at home. What Joy! Today, a snow plough got to the road linking Quarry Court to the world by just after lunch. Even so, the roads are littered with cars and extremely icy. If we had managed to get to the M62, it was clear but our Exit – 22 to Oldham was blocked. Our section of the M62 is the highest motorway in Britain.
Even if we could have got to school, it would still have been closed. Our school campus is vast and on three different levels. It takes twenty minutes to walk from one side to the other. It would only take one child to slip and injure themselves on one of dozens of sets of concrete steps outside for a major compensation claim to be made. We cannot afford that. Nor do we have time to get the school grounds cleared before children arrive. And what if they damaged the concrete when they fell on it?
February 4th, 2009
Thursday will be our fourth day out of school this week. The building is open for those staff who want to go in but the campus is judged far too dangerous for young people in these litigious times. What a good decision.
I’m off to the heart specialist anyway so I don’t care. Atrial fibillation is what I’ve been diagnosed with. I think we used to call it heart murmur. Let’s hope it is nothing more serious.
February 5th, 2009
The BUPA heart specialist decided that there was nothing wrong with me although he didn’t like to say it but he thought I was a bit over weight. Nice man. Although school is open tomorrow for children, parents have been advised that the campus environs are very dangerous because of ice and snow. The children won’t attend for two reasons: firstly, their parents don’t want them in danger; (They would rather they were out playing on the road.) secondly, it is Friday and no one goes in for one day. I’m going back to the BUPA hospital tomorrow for a second round of tests.
I’ve been looking at an e-book reader for Pauline to dowload novels to and me to download The Times to while in Greece. They are still quite pricey but might be convenient. Antbody got any experience of them?
February 6th, 2009
Been back for my Echo Cardiogram today. My heartbeat was regular; my blood pressure was perfect and my heart valves were all healthy. The consultant said I had the heart of an Olympic Rower …………………..who had been dead for twenty years. Got to go to school this afternoon.
February 6th, 2009
Managed two hours in school without too much difficulty. Only 523 days to go. Spent the day watching football and rugby (Got to keep fit you know.), creating the Bob Album and emailing an aging hippy called Martin who works in a bookshop in Stroud in Gloucestershire. The last time we saw him was two years ago having lunch with us in our Greek house. Ruth has been lovely this week and taken an interest in my medical bulletins which, thankfully, have been fine.