Blog 5

It was really funny last Monday on my first day back. There were so many ‘lovely to see you back comments’ but I didn’t realise that everyone hadn’t been told that it was my eye I had a problem with. Consequently some parents were clearly looking at me and thinking:

‘What was wrong with Mrs O then?’

‘She looks alright…’

‘Was it something to do with her age?’

The brave ones who have known me for years actually asked what the problem was. Thankfully it wasn’t anything too personal so I was quite happy to regale everyone who had time to listen of my adventures at St Thomas’s Hospital in London. I am back at school but my mum has rung in to say that I’m not allowed to play out at playtime or sweep leaves. I have to look after my little eye until my final appointment on 24th November.

The good ship Tavistock continued to sail without me and all staff, but Mrs Jamfrey in particular, did an amazing job in my absence. She simply picked up where I had left off and got the job done. I am indeed hugely grateful that she always fulfills her role of my super duper DHT and we are such a good team. I feel like I am getting back into the routine of life as a HT instead of a pirate! The hardest thing to get used to was the new telephone system that was awaiting me. It’s all very fancy and high tech. Don’t forget I remember yoghurt pots and strings as a form of communication. Thankfully I only cut one parent off and I now know I am line 203. Not sure who thought of that jaunty title but I am happy to go with it.

Remembrance is very much on our minds in school and we have some absolute experts in their knowledge of why we all start to wear poppies this time of year. We sadly haven’t got any of the new paper poppies to help save the environment but we have got an awful lot of plastic items such as snap bands, reflectors and zip pulls. I am sure they will have been made from recycled plastic. Today we talked about animals in the war and tomorrow we will be thinking about medical staff so don’t forget to ask your children what they remember.

I actually lived and taught at a Tornado airbase in Germany when the Gulf War was happening. Clearly I didn’t have an active role on the ground but I do remember all the squadrons getting ready to leave and the children of the service men and women talking about how their parents would be safe. I will never forget one little boy saying that his daddy, who was a navigator, would stay safe because he had a really good sleeping bag he could use at night. As you can imagine that brought, and still brings, a lump to my throat. Thankfully his daddy did return and the little boy will be a grown man. I wonder if he remembers that time?

There is so much going on in the world at the moment isn’t there that makes us catch our breath. We can’t help but feel compassion for other people who are going through the worst of times. Hold your loved ones close but never forget to spare a thought for others. It is important that we always remember the past and live in the hope that things will always change for the better.