Z gets set

I made marmalade this afternoon.  Other bloggers have been saying that for a couple of weeks ago, but Tim only had Seville oranges in for the first time yesterday.  I know I'll be busy next week, so I thought I'd get a batch in at once.  I used the method I tried for the first time last year, which means cooking the oranges whole - it's Lindsay Bareham's recipe from The Times last year (well, I think so) but I've made a couple of changes, just because I don't think she always explained it in full, so if anyone would like it, let me know.  A couple of people have excellent recipes using a pressure cooker (I can do a link to one of them), and the traditional method I used to use is also very reliable - but takes longer and is more work.

I've been thinking about anniversaries again, but this isn't one of them, deliberately.  I only mark good anniversaries, and my stepfather and father both died in the second half of January - not on the same day but not many days, although a good many years, apart.  24 for my stepfather, 41 for my father.  I feel the loss of both of them.  Whether you believe in an afterlife, in whatever form, or not, there is surely some sort of after-life in being remembered and missed by people who knew you.

Next week, I'll mostly be at school.  It's a governors' link week, which means that the governors linked to a department go in to lessons, meet the head of faculty, talk to pupils, that sort of thing.  The music teacher has been ill with flu, and I will not bother her with visits - I'll send her an email shortly, suggesting we leave it a couple of weeks until she's back into her stride - but I'm also Special Needs governor, so I'm going into a Lexia class, an Asdan class and an Outdoor Education class.  Then I've got a morning being educated by the Local Authority on the pros and cons of being an Academy, a committee meeting, a meeting with the Head, another committee meeting and a lunch with governors and heads of faculty.  So that'll be how I spend my week.  Housework has to be done on Monday morning, when all the business emails come in (so, lucky the Sage has learned how to reply to them) and then there will be no time, not if I want to visit friends in hospital too.  This is otherwise known as not having a job.  Oh, and a friend is holding a Bodyshop party on Friday night, so Dilly and I are going to that.

I've just realised that I've mentioned everything I might have blogged about next week.  Bugger.  What shall I talk about, then?  Or maybe I should take a week off.

I don't think it's likely.  It's bad enough not having anything on the radio just after 7 o'clock to get used to.  I don't want to listen to The Archers, I genuinely don't care and actively want not to get involved again, but I'm always cooking at 7 o'clock - well, normally - and now I do it in silence.  I always listened to Front Row until dinner was cooked, and now I don't listen to that too.  So it's quiet around here nowadays.