In which we start to get organised

Right. 8 days to go until we jet off to the great unknown to join the great unwashed in that great big world that exists outside BPP and THE LAW. It is all getting very exciting. We are both jabbed and antimalarialed up - Claire slightly more than me. I think at the last count Claire's bloodstream is awash with rabies, hepatitis A and B, yellow fever, typhoid, tetanus and polio, so please watch out. Annoy her and she may bite.

I, on the other hand, am slightly less infectious but no less excited. Preparations are getting there, although once again (and I fear this may turn into a pattern) Claire is MUCH more organised!

Whilst she checks the guide book (our trusty Rough) and makes LISTS (we LOVE lists) I am wiping snotty noses, bathing grazed knees, cajoling into showers and persuading small children to eat their greens. Such is the life of a prep school matron and yep, I am back at Hanford
http://www.hanford.dorset.sch.uk

I answered the call on Thursday evening and have been working there since Friday. Several matrons are stuck abroad due to this pesky volcano - I can't spell it and all I can remember is that it sounds like a sneeze - leaving the matrons that were there very stretched. I spent 4 months working there in my original gap yah which was nearly 7 years ago! Eeek! How time does fly. My services have been called upon now and again since then but as this is Hanford, nothing changes so it is simple to slot back in.

Normal duties involve putting them to bed (getting in and out of showers, getting them to put their dirty stuff in the wash, teeth brushing and general nannying) and then getting them to shut up and go to sleep. Not as easy as it sounds when you have 40 8-10yr olds all of whom are sleeping in the same dorm as their best friends and you're trying to get them to go to bed when it is still light outside. Morning routine means getting them up, dressed and tidy for breakfast, serving breakfast and then tidying up after them once they've gone to Chapel and lessons, sorting out the dirty washing and putting away the clean. All good fun and I get to spend a lot of time playing with them after prep and before bedtime.

There are some real characters, and they all have what I consider to be proper names - such as Celia, Georgia, Caroline, Honor, Fenella, Alexandra, Lara, Cordelia, Ophelia, Rose etc. None of this modern stuff. Most of them look as if they've been dragged through a hedge backwards by the end of the day but they are all, for the most part, happy children who are, most importantly, allowed to be CHILDREN.

This is taking up most of my time at the moment, which is a good thing as a) I need the cash! and b) it is distracting me from the Day of Doom (aka Friday) but it'll only be for a few more days before I can join the real world.

Apologies to everyone who has been ignored due to my lack of internet and phone reception. Key people include our darling and beloved Krishna and The Beloved....