The Final Countdown

Two posts in a week - a treat, eh?

I got up this morning and ran - a rarity these days, I might add, since I don't really like to be constrained in doing something I enjoy by the working day ahead. But there's plenty of time to prepare work, run, get dressed, have breakfast slowly and leave for work if you - for some reason - are wide awake at 2:30am, and decide to get up then...the hell with three hours of sleep. As I meandered through the streets they were quiet and largely devoid of life, save for the odd person about. People in London, as a general rule, don't acknowledge others' presence - rather strange and alien to me. You could be the only last two people on earth and they might still pretend you were never there. Sometimes it seems Londoners would let others walk off a cliff instead of telling them one was there. I'm rather surprised, on the Underground, when tourists are clearly unsure of where to go, consulting their maps and trying to make sense of the Underground map in a diffferent language and all that, that local people don't just go up to them and tell them where to go, and save them a whole lot of confusion. It's different as you progress out of London, I feel. Up north at the in-laws people exchange greetings to strangers as they meet and are more helpful and demonstrate more normal behaviour.

Where was I? It was very nice, cool and quiet at 5am. I ran and enjoyed the lovely light summer mornings. It's one thing I really miss as the year progresses into its second half, as the days get shorter - I've never really got used to that, and I have to come up with more ways to deal with that time of year. I find the period from November to early February rather depressing - it's dark, starting to get really cold, I tire easily and have less energy... and don't seem to enjoy as much the many family birthdays and events that fall during that time of the year. It's a very stark contrast to how I feel in the summer. When there's more light I'm mostly eager to get up and make full use of the day.

I did about 5 miles today in about 39 minutes. I wasn't really clocking the mile splits, just more concerned with moving at a pace that felt like under 8 minutes per mile. Running doesn't necessarily clear the mind for me - when I run I think of things at work and how to work more efficiently. I run through lesson plans in my mind, anticipating how students might react to the lessons, how to make it better and more fun for them. I think about life and society. All this while Nureyev-ing over the occasional branch or the more common dog smudge.

Summer school is in its last two days and on one hand while I'm glad for the break, and looking forward to our cycling holiday and the trip north for our nephew's christening (guess who are the godparents?), I'm a little saddened at the inevitability of not seeing our summer school students until next summer, possibly never if they opt to spend their next summers differently. There have been returning students from previous summers whom I've been extremely glad to see, and we've caught up as if the previous nine months were a mere blip - I hope it is the same again.

A student asked during casual conversation, "Do you have any children?" And when I replied no, she did an extravagant wave of her hand at the others and said, "These are your children" which made me laugh. I like being a surrogate father to students of different nationalities, although if I'm being honest, there are some that I'm happy to return to their natural parents. But over the course of the year I sometimes find myself glancing at photos from summer school, musing about how the various students are in their home countries, and hoping life is going well for them.

I've got two days to make the most of it. And I will.


My eleven lovely children. A Dad couldn't have been any prouder. Can you see the resemblance?