Today – h’m – went out soon after nine, scurried round the library (how I think I’ll have time to read eight books in three weeks with Christmas intervening, I don’t know), then to the supermarket, where I had a voucher for £10 off if I spent £70, then to the petrol station – I was quite near the wire there, told I had 35 miles-worth of diesel, it took 49.something litres, wouldn’t have driven to Norwich and back – and by then it was 10.50 and we were meeting Russell’s sister at noon. I had time to unload the shopping and we set off, only five minutes later than planned and we were in the restaurant ten minutes early. As was June. Splendid. Ronan joined us at the time specified. Excellent.
I had a letter waiting for me when I arrived at school last night. A lad has done something very silly. He’s written to apologise, not given excuses, but has made commitments for the future. He sounds desperately penitent. And that’s at least enough, possibly an indiscreet amount of information. And there’s the rub. I know my blogging has been a bit perfunctory of late. I have wanted to share so much with you, but it isn’t possible. I google myself and find out more than I expect to be in the public domain, and it’s not hard to find me here. I have a distinctive name and Z isn’t much protection. I’m pretty open about myself, though only to the extent I wish to be, but there’s a lot I would like to talk about that I may not.
For instance, there has been an ongoing *situation.* One of our Headteacher candidates had to be offered a place to stay and the school booked him in at a fairly local, though not immediately local, hotel. He stayed two nights and considered staying a third, but eventually didn’t, asked if there was any cancellation charge and was told there wasn’t, and left. The school was charged for the third night. Some toing and froing, then I was involved, wasn’t able to speak to the manager at the time, emailed him, emailed him again nine days later, phoned again, got the ‘I was on the point of dealing with it’ reply – yes, it’s sorted, he was very polite and so was I. But I can’t talk about it, obviously.
And this keeps happening. And life is very interesting and engaging, but I can’t tell you. So the ‘sorry I haven’t been blogging but I can’t say what’s taken my time’ post is not interesting to write or to read. But I love blogging and I love to engage with you all. So I think I’m going in another direction for a while. It’ll probably be ok over Christmas, but then I’ll be back to school, and I don’t exaggerate when I say I’m consistently busier than I have been in over 25 years of school governorship.
At times, initially when there’s been stuff I haven’t wanted to talk about, I have reminisced about my childhood and my dogs and family and so on, and it’s been well received. I’ve a shocking memory for things that happened way back, but there is a lot that I could dredge up if I were to try. So I think that’s what I’ll do for a while. After Christmas, however.
Dear Z. I think there are large parts of all bloggers’ lives about which we have to be discreet. I find that I can actually blog about a third of our lives, and often it’s the most interesting parts that we mustn’t talk about.
Ann, and indeed one of our daughters always try to rein the old man in, and When I think about it I know they’re right (well, usually) . None the less, I think most of us manage to keep it interesting enough, anyway. Pity we can’t all be Pepyses and leave a REALLY interesting record for posterity.
Well, you’re right – if it’s about me, I say what I want to, but as soon as others are involved, I have to stop and think. And school or any other outside body is quite another matter.
I will admit to having been rather concerned about the amount you were sharing about the HT interviews…
But, as it is such a huge part of your life, it must be hard not being able to say more.
Pleased the party went well.
I’ve just looked back – “Well, it was a tremendously close decision, we had excellent candidates. Weren’t we lucky? We have been so anxious. Turning people down wasn’t made any easier by liking them personally and having built up a rapport over two days, but the delight of the successful man was a pleasure to hear.” was the most I said at the time, but now you’ve worried me in case I said too much beforehand.
I paused blogging when I realised that there were areas I couldn’t, or wouldn’t, go into; and that these were increasingly filling my life. I occasionally regret that, but not often! My approach, at the moment, is only to blog when the mood takes me. In the New Year, I’ll be aiming for frivolity, fury and, who knows what else. Occasionally.
In the meantime, have great festivities! xx
I don’t blog, but I do love reading others’ writing. You had a very busy day! This morning a number came to mind for no reason at all. Then realized, I was remembering the license plate number of my Dad’s car from 1978, Where did that come from? Odd how little memories will pop up from time to time for no reason at all.
I do enjoy reading about all your memories and look forward to you blogging about them again.
Thank you all for being so understanding.
I am thinking about doing some more nostalgia posts, although I’m not sure I’ve got time to write them!
There is something about this time of year that makes you want to reminisce a bit, isn’t there?
I have been a bit bogged down with work just lately, that and Christmas shopping. There doesn’t seem to be enough room in my head for any blogging ideas. Like Tim, I subscribe to the idea of only blogging when you’ve got something to say but like Z, I try not to blog about things that involve other people and I certainly cannot blog about work.
I fear my blog has become quite constrained as some one picked up on something I had said a year later, sent me quite upsetting emails about it, then sent DH an email telling him to control my blogging. DH never reads my blogs, certainly would not control what I write (isn’t is all about your knitting DH said) and was quite angry that this person, S. saw marriage as the husband controlling all his wife did.
This has led to a major change in our lives, spiritually and socially, we have been quite hurt from the fall out of this and it has limited what I can record about our doings, probably why the number of blogs has fallen. I shall blog still, nothing I say would link back to S. so he won’t have a need to send hurtful emails in the middle of the night!
Have just re read this, not sure if it is clear, but S’s emails were a year after the blog entry, only 37 viewings at that time so a small audience, no one I know locally has ever mentioned my blog either.
Doing a Petite Anglaise or a Dooce is absolutely out, a recipe for disaster. I’m bogged down, but I wind down with blogging and I know that if I were to leave it too long, I might find it hard to pick up.
Madeleine, you hinted at something to me before and I’m quite shocked – some people are plain nasty. You’re a kind and careful person, I don’t believe for a moment that you said anything injudicious, but if someone was upset I’m sure you altered the post in question. That it was pursued and your DH was involved shows more about S’s nature than anything else. Well done for continuing with your blog, one should never give in to a bully. But it does have its effect and your confidence must be dented – but it only reflects on S, not on you. I’d trust you to the end of the earth.