Yipeee!

I crawled out of bed at the crack of Dawn to read on the BA website that UK airspace is open again. Woo hoo!

Thank you to all the deities that were prayed to.

We're going to celebrate by going to The Bush to feed mosquitos.

Yay!

Stress!

I've run out of optimism today. The English airports are still shut. It's Tuesday. We're supposed to fly out Sunday and yes, we have time, but as each day goes by it becomes more and more worrying.

My Father #1 says what we need is the weather to change. The ash is hanging around thanks to a high weather system hanging around. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be praying for bad weather. A low pressure system will change the way the winds flow and move the ash off England and into the Atlantic.

Boy's school has been fantastic. They've e-mail through revision work and have been in e-mail contact with him about his coursework due this morning and the end of the week. He's been cracking on with it, with no nagging from me. He did have an IT blip, but an e-mail got their IT department to sort it out.

The stress of this is seeing me outside more often puffing away. I'm continuing to write and am getting nowhere at the moment. I'm going to curl up with a crap book and sulk.

Please pray to your favourite deity to get the weather to change. I want to come home now.

Opportunities

This has been one of the situations where I believe I am one lucky woman. Boy and I are continue to chill in Trinidad. UK airports are still being cagey about flights and I am grateful we are not one of the many thousands camped in airports around the world. We are comfortable and happy hanging out with my family.

It does mean Boy will miss a week of school. But bless him, he's been cracking on with his revision and got his coursework sorted while we've been here. In the next 4 or 5 weeks he'll begin his exams and thus, move into the next stage of his education. It's no bad thing that he's had 3 weeks of doing very little. Hopefully, he'll hit the ground running upon our return...or rather... given he is a teenager...he'll hit the ground in a slouching slope.

I've been cracking on with my writing and now have quite a promising project. Time will tell whether it will turn into the novel it can be, but we'll see. Up until now, the majority of my work has been short stories. I liken the difference between writing a short story and a novel to dating and marriage. A short story is like a date, you go out, hang around for a while and then it's done. A novel on the other hand, is a long-term committment that you need to be prepared for rough times as well as the good. My problem is I haven't come up with a project I'm willing to commit the years needed to see it through to the bitter end. So we'll see.

Being here means extra opportunities to soak in the sun, see more relatives - I seem to be related, one way or another to most people in Trinidad, eat more fantastic local fare (hello cornflakes upon my return) and annoy my brother and his family. The only downside is I'm fast running out of cigarette papers and yes, I can smoke ready-mades, I just don't enjoy them. A fact which has my brother crowing. We'll see if I can stretch out what I've got left. No Dave, you needn't remind me it's an opportunity to quit. I'm not ready yet.