I keep having nightmares. Only they don’t sound like proper nightmares, if that makes sense. Like I can’t describe what makes them so scary when they’re about perfectly ordinary things. Nice things. But they all have a lurking sense of menace and wrongness.

A box of books arrived in school today. It’s a present from the Queen. It’s lovely book. It has name plate in the front with a picture of the queen. It’s also the same book for every child in Y6. The same book for every 11yo in the country.

22yo, watching the Shakespeare doc, announces that Shakespeare only looks like Matt Baynton in Bill. We’ve decided that all other depictions aren’t the Real Shakespeare, but Shakespeare’s helpers.

Searched for goats, only had demonic entities

Lev Parikian@levparikian.bsky.social · 5d ago

Go to your camera roll and search “goat” then post a picture of a goat you like

I’ve discovered butterfly pea flower. All my beverages for the next two weeks will be blue. Then pink.

This half term has been simultaneously endless and gone in a blink of an eye. Also, tiring.

The most annoying thing in school this year? (Not the worst thing. That’s always child protection) AI generated complaints. Paragraphs of wonky legalese that take time away from important work and antagonise everyone.

I’m glad #onlyconnect captioned that answer ‘smooth on the inside, crunchy on the outside’ because I yelled out the answer in the Voice.

I wish I’d known when the kids were babies that the absolute pure joy you get when you make your baby laugh never leaves you. I feel the same way when 14, 20 and 22 yo laugh. When they absolutely lose it and can’t stop. It’s the same purity, the same love. It stays.

@madeleinerich.bsky.social Snag have started doing capes. Alas, wool #itchynotmysterious

What can I do tomorrow as a weekend treat that doesn’t sound exhausting or involve getting dressed up or is a long way from home? I need to feel like I’ve had a weekend.

I haven’t made lunch. I can’t be bothered. I will be very hungry later. I will regret not making lunch. I will be annoyed at myself. And yet, I haven’t made lunch.

Rejection sensitivity dysphoria is an absolute kicker when you’re in charge of an organisation. Every resignation triggers spiralling dread and crisis of confidence.

Now everyone’s stopped telling me that Andor is the best thing to come out of Star Wars, I’m watching Andor. And it’s the best thing to come out of Star Wars.

The judges are obviously fed up of sitting still at this point #strictly

Having a last go with the pizza oven before bedding the garden down for the winter. (It’s still warm, yes. But it’s also dark.)

I’m having a cinnamon bun for breakfast because tomorrow is cinnamon bun day and you don’t want to go in unprepared.

I’m entertained that all the #celebritytraitors refer to each other by their first name. Except Ross. They’re all calling him Ross Kemp.

Today I started our first ever school newspaper. We had the important job of choosing a name for our paper. I’m sorry to say I rejected the suggestion “Earthquakes and Cars”.

It’s “variety bags of small chocolate items” season. I’m not even pretending they’re for trick or treaters. Freddo, anyone?

Someone thought it would be cute to plant a Mulberry tree in our Early Years space. Visions of little cherubs singing “here we go round the Mulberry bush”? What actually happens is that children play in a mulch of bright purple mulberry berries and every carpet in the school makes the cleaners weep.

The Statutes Project@statutes.bsky.social · 3w ago

There's an urban (rural?) myth that James I passed a law requiring the planting of Mulberry trees. He did promote them, but there was no statutory requirement. Rabbit hole here: shkspr.mobi/blog/2017/01... #History

Nigella is speaking truths this week #gbbo

Never got over being in the supermarket in Belgium and seeing Gems biscuits. Bags of un-iced gems. Yep. Just the bases. No icing blob. Like a bag of worst bits.

I made treacle tart yesterday. I wish I had made it bigger.

There’s a new Sostrene & Grene in town. And it’s so perfectly curated to my interests and so appealing and irresistible that it got right on my last nerve.

One of the neighbours near our school has complained to the council about our building works. After I wrote her a nice letter reassuring her & explaining. The building is a lovely new nursery and preschool. In place of an ancient prefab It made me sad about people.

In the Catholic Mass, there’s always a prayer for the bishop. It takes the format …”for Vincent, our bishop”. Today my kids told me they always say it Vincent R. Bishop. And now I want to write a story about a grizzled Diocesan exorcist who fights crime by exposing the frauds behind demon sightings

When 20yo was in Reception, she came home one day and said “My ears are tired from listening for a TOO LONG TIME”. And I think about that at work most days at the moment.

We acquired a *giant* cactus in school and I am calling it ‘Big Spiky Boy’ until all the kids are calling it that too. To Ofsted.

Yesterday evening I met with two of my most energetic and enthusiastic staff. They had loads of good ideas and today I have woken up with a sort of inspiration hangover. What happened yesterday? Did I agree to… a whole school talent show??