British schools are harsh. The amount of times my kids have been told to “be more resilient”, since they started school here 4 months ago, is a bit much. I assume they are used to dealing with kids who are being overly dramatic and so they draw hard lines. It’s like being in prison. They talk to you from behind the office window, they roll their eyes, they pound on the glass when they try to grab your child’s attention instead of using their name, they shame you for not feeling well. You would think they are dealing with the worst lowlifes on earth. This is not a caring and warm environment to be sure. This is what it’s like to feel unwell and ask the person in charge, who is supposed to have your best interest in mind, “may I please go home, I am not feeling well.” “You need to be more resilient.” It took my daughter over one hour today to talk the staff into calling me so that she could go home. She had to be her own advocate, stand her ground and argue and cry for one hour. She felt unsupported, shamed, deflated, and downright hysterical by the end of it. She came home sobbing. She couldn’t believe how “meanly” these women treated her. WTF? When are you old enough to be treated with respect, that you are not trying to pull one over on the school or your parents. That you are completely capable of going home and getting into pj’s and finishing your work independently. From the look’s of things here, it is not in years 11, 9 or 8. Be compliant, keep your mouth shut, fall in line.

My girls and I went to see Dirty Dancing at the Dominion Theatre this week. The actors were cast to look so similar to the ones in the movie. The clothes even looked identical! They added a few new scenes and cut some others out but overall, it was the film – live. I had never been to a west end show where the women in the audience were screaming and cat calling to an actor undressing on stage before. Neither had my teenagers who were shocked by it. They had never seen women behave that way before in fact, it was amusing. It was an inexpensive night out (tickets for under £30), with a theatre full of rowdy ladies, which turned into a dance party at the end. Fun!

We went to my son’s friends house for a meal and drinks last weekend while the kids went to an arcade. It was lovely to meet a new family and see the kids enjoy themselves so much. Two days later I received a call that their whole family tested positive to covid. sigh. We’ve all been feeling “off” this week. Several negative covid tests later, we are resting, and waiting for the one that shows positive.

Teachers all over the UK went on strike for one day this week over low wages and as a result, the kids had a day off from school. Teachers, nurses and rail workers are all striking regularly, this is not the England I remember. There is so much disruption on a regular basis. It’s hard to understand how society and the government undervalue these professions that are so vital.

Walking through Regent’s Park and Marylebone this week had me thinking about the royal cypher and when will it change, now that Charles is King. The royal cypher are the initials of the monarch that decorate lamp posts and post boxes all over town. Elizabeth Regina (queen in Latin) and George Rex (king in Latin) as seen in the photos above. I’ve read that the tradition is to leave the lamp posts as is as a way to commemorate when they were installed. I expect to see gates, postboxes and money change in the near future though. Maybe once the coronation happens in May?

My husband and I set out Sunday morning for a date walk/meal in the village of Leyton. Leyton is part of the Borough of Waltham Forest in East London. We waited way too long (over one hour) for potato hash and vegan haggis toasties at a Scottish sandwich joint in Leyton. The restaurant used to have a food truck set up outside of my husband’s office in Victoria many years ago. He had been craving this haggis sandwich since returning to London, hence our outing today. The food was very yummy but worth the wait, I’m not sure it was for me. He, who had had the toastie on the brain for a couple of years, was happy to wait. We walked the 5.5 miles home after, which was lovely on this gorgeous sunny day.