In a school, I make lumpy custard

Being a rasta is really hard - so many expectations.

Says a baldie :) I know, he said something like that as we were walking back to the bus stop. Makes you value being vanilla for a moment.

I must say that little clan of yours sounds lovely :)

and back when i was a walking dread i had a nice drunk gentleman start waving his gun at me cuz i was a white kid with dreads, luckily i knew my shit and when he started asking questions i knew the answers, then his friends grabbed him and told me to haul ass… i then did my Usain Bolt imitation and got the flock outta Dodge.

That must have been a bit of a hairy experience.

Wow - that Moscow job sounds interesting!
Meanwhile, you have reminded me of a crush I had when I was a teenager. He used to walk and rub shoulders. Sigh. Happy days.
Sx

Did you give him the cold shoulder?

Yes, I’m looking forward already to my November trip out to Moscow. Flights at the moment are 60 quid return. It’ll be my most distant, and cheapest, city break.

Christ, promise you’ll behave when you’re out there - but really looking forward to your posts about Russian lives now.
Sx

I’m more concerned about my daughter given the hostile environment for girls of her bent, but I’m sure well be fine. She’s said shell be hunting out the best underground clubs as sin ad she gets there, so no danger of violent police raids there then.

I had to Google sforzato. You are still teaching me things.

I’m glad I had 2 daughters and 0 sons. Daughters rule. I’d be a miserable da for a son. I don’t play sports, fix cars, shoot guns or any of those manly pursuits. I barely qualify as male here in the New Jersey suburbs. A friend of mine went on a Boy Scout overnight trip and had to sleep on a submarine. From his description it sounds awful (for me).

I got my second jab yesterday. Soon, I can eat all the bats I want.

Well done, at last the jabs seems to be getting out. You must feel a bit relieved.

I also have a complete lack of competence and interest in manly pursuits. I’m sure having boys would have been ok, but I knew all along I wanted at least one girl. Then three turned up!

Hopefull the galleries will be opening soon and you can return to your real job, of New York Art Correspondent.

It’s wonderful to see your children find their footing - so very different! My daughter had two offers after getting her teaching certificate. Moscow and Izmir, Turkey. Not a fan of cold weather, she chose the sea and sunshine. 12 years later, one husband, and a baby, she’s still there. Thriving!

Love the description of the kitchen crew, too! And that an effort is made to feed children tasty food! Good god, when i was a child, school cafeteria food was notoriously horrid! Pizza on a rubberized crust, served with corn on the side.

Well this is because we are hard in Lancashire and our offspring prefer hardship :) It’s great that she’s slotted in so well into Turkish society. I liked your description about the respect you got over there as the pregnant girl’s mum.

The food wasn’t bad, but as is usually the case in schools, the female brigade is what’s best about the job.