The end of an era...

I managed to survive my farewells on Wednesday night without turning into a blubbering mess... Which is more than I can say for Scottie, my head of department, bless him. He really is the most emotional man I know, but he did manage to get through his speech, & said some lovely things. I got some very nice leaving presents including a print of the College copied from an 1870 lithograph, a wine goblet etched with the College crest, and some John Lewis vouchers. Ripper also gave me a gorgeous birds-eye view map of the whole estate which he had done.

Thursday, my first day of holidays I spent pottering around the house, doing a bit of cleaning & tidying. It had been a bit neglected over the last couple of weeks. I met Will at his house at lunchtime and helped him do a bit during his lunchbreak. It is slowly getting there, but we really do need to get it on the market ASAP. Thursday night Becs & Rhian, a couple of friends from my rugby team came around for dinner. On Friday afternoon we had a maths department trip out. Nick, my replacement was in College going through a few things in the morning, so he also came out with us which was really nice. Wendy's parents own a gorgeous old (built in the 1890's!) steamer which they moor at Windsor, so they kindly took us out for a couple of hours on the Thames. It is a beautiful boat, and in the past it has won the top award at the annual classic boat rally held in Henley. We had a great afternoon, & I finally got to go through some locks!We got some great views of Windsor castle, & I particularly like the pic of Ric & I, where you can just see the castle in the background.

Wendy's father used to teach at Eton College and we cruised past his old house on the riverfront. He also pointed out the headmasters house. As you can see below, it's not a bad old pile...

I am about to head into London for the Wireless festival at Hyde Park. There are a few bands playing early on that I'm not overly interested in, but I'll go in for Jack Penate, Dizzie Rascal, The Streets, & Basement Jaxx. It was a bit overcast during the morning, but the sun is out now & it should be a lovely afternoon/evening. England has had heatwave warnings throughout the week, the temperature has been up in the 30's.