Second set of house guests installed safely - Mum & Dad - we set off for round 2 today, which again had two featured events, ie the Constable Landscape Exhibition at Tate Britain and the BP Portrait Award Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

This is my favourite from the Constable Exhibition - not one of the 6 Foot Landscapes he was famous for, but a lovely picture, I thought. Constable is one of Dad's favourite painters, which was why we went to view it, but we were all pleased we'd gone and enjoyed seeing the final pictures alongside the sketches and preliminary versions, and the oportunity to see new pictures usually in private collections.

Here's my selection from the BP Portraits - "Napi" by Gregory Cumins - not the winner, but he came 3rd with a not dissimilar one last year. It doesn't show to great effect this small, in reality it is a brilliantly subtle piece, reminiscent of the works of Rothko et al, but with the bonus of a portrait hidden in its depths.
Another successful day out, then!

So I was fairly restored to health just about in time to be prepared for out first set of house-guests. Pete and Jackie arrived Friday night, in readiness for the first cultural events of this Summer of Culture 2006 on Saturday.
We kicked off with a stunner, the Modigliani Portraits and Models Exhibition at the Royal Academy.
My prefered way to view an exhibition is to go round selecting the piece I wish to go home with. I managed to get a short list of about 8, and finally a nude and a non-nude, and I think the picture I brought home in the end was the brown eyed version of Jeanne Hebuterne - but if you see it when you go to the exhibition, then I obviously plumped for the other one. They were all wonderful, and I would have gladly accepted any as a gift - even the nude of Joan Collins, who must be even older than we thought, as Modigliani died in 1919!

After a side trip along the South Bank to glance at a few old faves in Tate Modern (Picasso's Weeping Woman is still the World's Best Picture to my mind) and some nice photos of "Breast Friends" by Rankin at the OXO Gallery, not to mention coffee and melt in the mouth tartes at Patisserie Valerie, we hied to Shepherd's Bush Empire for the Main Event of the day, the Gotan Project concert.
Now Tango is Pete and Jackie's thing, and not really us, but the concert was brilliant. They came mob-handed - apart from the female singer, the bandolian player, the guitarist and the pianist, there was a string quartet and two on the mixing boards. The result was explosive; a mix of trad tango with jazz, dance and rap, with a colourful light show and plenty of variety and virtuosity on display. We loved it.

So it's the first day of the holidays, and all is well with the world? With the world, possibly, but yours truly is running a temperature, and trying to prepare for imminent visitors feeling very under par. I came over extremely hot yesterday afternoon - of the burning up but not sweating variety - and although a handful of aspirin, a gallon of cooling drink, a tepid bath and a sleep made me feel a bit better, I'm having to repeat the aspirin and drinks at regular intervals (including 4.30 am) to keep it all under control.
Nobody ever said Life was going to be fair, did they?

We decided that it wasn't anything to do with moulting that was keeping the birds away from the garden - just that we had temporarily replaced the beloved fat balls with a fat and seed filled coconut shell we got at Poundsaver.
Obviously it was not to the birds' taste, because not only have they left it quite untouched, but as soon as we put a fat ball back in its place, the tits, robin and magpies returned, accompanied yesterday by a jay for the first time - I've seen them in the surrounding woodland often, but never in the garden before - and today by a wood pigeon. So our XS garden continues to be populated by XL birds! At least now the young 'uns have gone it's a bit quieter.

...which seems silly - lots of other schools broke up today, and two extra days seem very unfair when we're all pining for holidays.
The children have visited their new classrooms and met their new teachers - especially the ones who are having the NQTs, as they've spent the last few days with us in the nursery, getting to know their children. We've closed their files and sent home the reports. We would have had Sports Day last Monday, but it was cancelled due to temperatures touching 35C and no shade on the field; but we went ahead with our Teddy Bears' Picnic on Wednesday, and had a good time hunting for a "lost bear" in the nursery garden,involving splashing through water, crawling through tunnels, etc, followed by a picnic lunch (or two - we did the same in the afternoon for the afternoon children, of course) under the trees.
So now we've had enough and just want them to go!

Our garden is only very small. It seems even smaller at the moment, as we currently have an invasion of very raucous birds. It's our own fault.
It all started last year, when I decided that the laburnum was overgrown and needed cutting back. The tree surgeon came and agreed to cut it back, but warned us that the extent of trim we were asking for would probably lead to the demise of the tree. Well, he went ahead, the tree died, and there we were with a six foot stump.
What to do? Failing the uprooting of the stump - my 73 year old mother would have set to and dug it out no messing, but we are of less stern fibre and decided against that option - we needed to beautify it a bit. So I bought a bird feeder and some fat balls and hung them on the bare branches in a decorative way and waited to see if the birds would ignore the cat life and be tempted in.
They were. We tempted some robins, a pair of great tits, and Mag and Mr Pie. The latter two couples have come to rely on the feeders and fat balls to such an extent that they have both raised large families on the bounty.
And this week they got them all off the nest - 4 strapping young magpies, solicitously accompanied by their still anxious parents, so 6 magpies in all squawking and rioting about our small space, plus the less raucous family of at least 3 baby tits and parents, but still squeaking and chirruping in between the visits of the Pie family. It's Bedlam.

Spent the afternoon watching my first serious Wimbledon of the year. It says much for the entertainment of the World Cup, as I'm usually glued all fortnight. However, I watched the men's semis today with great enjoyment, especially after a long hot week - I was in vegetable mode, so passive ogling of toned male muscle seemed just the ticket. You had to feel sorry for Jonas Bjorkmann getting blown away by Roger Federer, but even worse for Markus Baghdatis fighting Rafael Nadal tooth and claw with no success. Baghdatis was such a character it was hard not to root for him against the Nadal machine, but then the young Spaniard was so gracious in victory I was completely won over. Bodes well for the final, is all I can say. Sunday a.m. we set our run for the Hash, so Sunday looks set to be a day of classic sport all round, from morning to night!

Well, we're into the last lap for our nursery children, with just over 2 weeks to go to the end of the school year. We are finalising their records with one last statement of their attainment in speaking and listening, emergent reading and writing, and number and problem solving skills, and closing their files. We have begun to liaise with other settings who are taking some of our children or sending us new ones for September. We have changed our role play back to a house, where mummies and daddies can take "big brother and sister" to Big School, complete with packed lunch box and school uniform.
Some of the children are looking forward to moving on - they feel they have outgrown us and are starting to push the boundaries a bit (we are pushing back though!). Others are a bit nervous and want reassurance that their lives won't be changing too much; whilst a few are downright anxious and reverting to crying for their mummy when she drops them off and getting upset easily during the day.
Next week we begin to walk the ones who are staying at our school and moving into Reception over to visit their new classes and teachers, so that they have a clearer idea of what this "Apple Class" place is! Or Plum, Cherry or Pear, as the case may be.
The week after our new children start to visit us for the first time - we've already welcomed their parents and tried to explain our learn through play ethos to those who want to know why we don't teach them to read and write ("If they can't say it, they won't write it" we reply).
Roll on the holidays!

- once again our hopes are dashed, and we must wait 4 more years for the next try. Why on earth did Frank Lampard take the first penalty? he's had the most shots without scoring of anyone in the competition. After watching the far superior Brazil v France match after our own heartbreaking debacle, I'm now with Frankofyle in supporting Zinadine Zidane and his aging aces for the title, whilst devising evil plans for wiping that smirk off Cristian Ronaldo's face. Frank thinks it will be France v Italy in the final. I'm thinking France v Germany. Either way we're holding out for France as winners.
And it's farewell Fred Trueman, too, that doyen of cricket fast bowling and Yorkshire own-trumpet blowing. I don't remember his era personally, only from the replays since - the Fred Trueman in my mind had that terrible '70's quiff sported by older guys of the time, but a sad day, nevertheless.
It's left to that young Scots whippersnapper Andy Murray to raise our spirits - not English of course (otherwise Andy Roddick would have beaten him??) but a British hope at any rate. Pass the strawberries.