Monday 28th March

 

It has been Mothers day here and Geoff and Maddy did not take the opportunity to buy me a gift! WE did so well having 2 Christmas’s but they didn’t manage 2 Mothers Day’s I’m expecting them to forget when the UK one is.

Life is quiet but busy here. School have had a trainer out from the UK but to avoid disruptions to lessons they train at the weekend, so I spent last weekend training. Geoff had a quiet weekend as Maddy went away with her friend to the beach (and came back with a tan from swimming in the sea). So he watched TV and played games on his computer. Maddy has been asked to try out for the girls football team today after her PE lesson and she seems quite keen, we will see how it goes!

We have booked a trip back to the UK in April for the week before Easter and will be able to pick up our books from Geoff’s mum, shoes (they aren’t big enough for me and Maddy here), some clothes from Asda and any other bits we see. DVD’s aren’t a big problem as we are streaming a lot of Tv shows at present, Bones, Criminal Minds, Stargate (!), . . .

On Thursday we are hosting a baby shower for Melinda, who is in my bible study group, she has about 2 weeks left before the big day. In honour of her being in the pudding club we will eat puddings and Maddy did some research and found there are a number of strange and interesting party games to play such as pin the sperm on the egg! I have passed this information onto Brian and Liz as they will have time to make and gather the items needed.

During one of my A level maths lessons recently this diagram was produced. What can you say? Maths is fun!

Saturday 12th March

 

We are still here despite the chaos around us. Cairo is pulling in two different directions at the same time. On the one hand people are banding together to clean the streets (the team we saw today were sponsored by Persil and were wearing red sport bibs saying so) and paint kerb stones, and then you hear about the rise in crime and how people in their cars are being robbed the same way it happens in South Africa. The police need to come back on the street, not as the intimidatory force they were in Mubarak’s time but as a force that supports the people. If they can’t then the military police need to step in to help!

Now Geoff is working we are starting to add house items, a bookcase, mirror, new throw for the sofa and Geoff’s piece of ceramic that should be on the window sill but he liked it so much it stayed in the house and we are looking for light to put in it. In the background you can see the flower curtains I made with Liz.

 

We did try to find some kitchen scales, Maddison really does need to weigh the ingredients when she cooks rather than throwing it all together, but to no avail, we may have to pick some up next time we’re in the UK! Hopefully we are going back for a week at Easter to pick up essentials and English chocolate!

Friday 4th March

 

Back to school and back to a blog a week! It was like starting a new school year, the students were twitchy and wanted to have their own revolution. Across the school there were several incidents – students refusing to enter classrooms, refusing to work. My year 7’s spent a lesson clicking pens tops, tapping feet, whistling, at one point most of them put up their hands and as I went round to solver their problems they didn’t need anything. The culprits came back and apologised the next day, but there were issues in their next lesson with a smaller number of students.

On Friday the school had a non uniform day where the students got to dress in the colours of the Egyptian flag, red, white and black. One of my year 7’s wore this!

Even the trees are being spruced up in this patriotic time.

As well as the curb stones being painted, mainly black and white, but it looks good.