Mr and Mrs Outstanding

The school inspection is over and we have received the feedback from the 12 person inspection team. The school has been classed in the "Outstanding" category in ALL SIX of the inspected areas. The highest possible award. That means we are all outstanding. Sheila is outstanding, I have always known that but now I have joined her.

Its great news for the school because our main rivals in attracting the students (and so the students cash) is a school called St Christophers. They were also awarded the outstanding label but have been advertising themselves as "the only outstanding school in Bahrain". They will now have to change that. We are a much much younger school than them and it has always been viewed that we were a bit second rate. "If you can't get your children into St Chris then the British School is not too bad" would have been said amongst parents. Now we can officially challenge that view and continue to go from strength to strength.

I am hoping to play some outstanding golf this weekend but we have some grocery shopping outstanding so we better get that done or we'll be hungry all week. We are really looking forward to Michael coming out and I am on the hunt for a car for him when he gets here. The lease for our car is up in November when we would be buying one anyway so I'll just bring that purchase forward a bit so that he has wheels. Although we are close enough to walk to work it will be blisteringly hot by then. Its amazing here that when you look at a car you dont need to consider the size of the engine at all. If its "only 2.5 litre" then its a pretty small one. I think I'll try to limit myself to 3 litres but if I see something bigger than that and its outstanding enough a deal then I might just go for it. 6.4 litre is about the biggest so it probably wont be bigger than that! At 18p a litre you have to be careful you know.

The weather at the moment is absolutely perfect. 33 degrees yesterday. We went for a celebratory drink with the other teachers and sat outside Block 338 (a pub). If was absolutley outstanding. An outstanding way to finish an outstanding week.
Cheers
David and Sheila

Last but not least

Hi y'all. Its almost half way through another week already and the school inspectors are with us. The long wait is over and its something of a relief that they have finally arrived. It means we are no longer gathering stuff together to prove that we are a s good as we say we are. The first day of the inspection went smoothly thanks in no small part to the calm efficiency of Sheila. She never flaps when the pressure is on. Two more days to go and inshallah, it will all be finished.

Michael is the only member of our immediate family who has not yet visited Bahrain and I am pleased to say that he is coming at the start of June. We have managed to get him a summer job with a huge construction company here on the island. Its the same company that built the world trade centre here in Bahrain, the one with the three wind turbines in it. The experience will hopefully stand him in great stead for the challenge of securing a job at the end of his course.

He will have work for up to three months so will remain here in Bahrain while we return to sunny Kirkcaldy for a spell. He can look after the house and the car and our vegetable patch. We have sown a few seeds again and I see this morning that the first of them have popped up. It'll be a big responsibility for him ... not so mush the house and car but the vegetable patch in all that heat.

He has never driven on the right, never driven an automatic and NEVER driven amongst the wacky races here so it will be a great experience. Fortunately he'll be here for over a month before we leave so he should be well trained by then.

Golf news - I managed to come second in the Captains Prize competition at the weekend. I have been playing much better recently. I think I am starting to internalise the changes that I have made to my swing and I feel sure another improvement is possible. I plan to have another set of lessons to follow this set during the hotter weather ready for a blast at the opens when I am home. Let's hope for some great weather.

OK more later.
David

First week almost in

It's almost the weekend again. Its been a hectic first week back. The school is being inspected next week although they like to call it reviewed rather than inspected. We have been running around all week gathering all the evidence we have to show that we are as good as we think we are! I'll be glad when its past. We are fast approaching final exams so its all go on every front.

This is the Formula 1 weekend here with the race on Sunday. there's a mixture of excitement and protest on the island. There is threatened disruption for the entire week of F1. So far it has just amounted to some tyre burning and gathering of large groups of people (I think). As usual we dont see anything between school and our little But'n'Ben. We have our usual golf planned this weekend so hopefully it will all go smoothly. We might get a bit of traffic disruption because the F1 track is quite near the golf course. We will take a different route to try to avoid congestion but it might not be possible.

Our pool is now at 25 degrees and is fantastic to swim in. I am swimming for half an hour every morning before work. I have fitted a clock outside so that I can time myself because counting the lengths is impossible. I am not improving my swimming much but you should see my turning, its awesome!

OK end of quick update. Better get showered for work.
David

Back from our Jolly Hols

Hi Folks, we arrived back last night safe and well from our wee trip to Oman. We had a very relaxing and enjoyable stay. It was a bit hotter there than when we kleft Bahrauin but I must say that it is hotting up here now too. The pool was beautiful this morning. The slightest chill when you first get in and then perfect.

Oman is a very mountainous and rugged country. The mountains are very jagged but due to the heat have no vegetation on them at all.

This was the view looking back towards part of Muscat. Muscat is a pretty sprawled out series of smaller towns that basically join together to form a big city. I really recommend Oman. I would love to go back with a rental car and do a big tour. The scenery is pretty spectacular in places abd the weather simply magic. There were a few big cruise ships in as Muscat is part of the Middle East Cruise route.

This was dfown by Muscat Harbour. We watched the fishermen catching fish with no fishing rods. They simply lobbed a bit of nylon line with a hook and a half loaf on the end and voila ... a fish. They weren't very big though. It did however prompt Sheila to enquire why I spent all that money on a rod and reel and all of the other paraphernalia that I have. No need for a "Lofty's Cobra" or a "Canadian Wiggler" here. I dare say I might have managed to catch some bigger ones had I had my gear with me. I might just start a bit of fishing here in Bahrain.

OK speak to some of you soon.
David and Sheila.

A man and a woman in Oman

Hi y'all, long time no post. I am on holiday this week and next but since Sheila needs to keep most of her holiday allocation to make sure we get a long summer break she is still working. She does however have a couple of public holidays so we have decided to have four days in Oman. Apparently its a really beautiful country so we thought we would give it a bash.

We fly from Bahrain on Saturday morning and return on Tuesday. Sheila found a four star hotel offering half price deals so fingers crossed on the accommodation front. It looks really nice on the website but of course the pictures could be well out of date. We are going to stay most of the time in the Muscat area. You can get organised tours to show you round so we'll probably do that. If we think the country merits a return visit we can always go back. Its only a one and a half hour flight. It will be nice to feel like we are on holiday. Return visits to Scotland don't really "feel" like a holiday because we are in our own house. Its about time someone else was booking a flight to sunny Bahrain. There's two empty bedrooms and the pool is beginning to warm a little. I am swimming every morning again. Its still a little cool when you first get in but apart from that its great. Still too cold for her ladyship though. "Is it like the bath yet?" is what she asks. "Not quite" is my reply!

I'll try to remember to charge up my camera and then take it with us and then actually get it out of its little packet. I am a liability of the picture front I'm afraid. I promise to try though.

The weather here is beginning to hot up. Its been a MUCH cooler and longer "winter" than normal. We have had showers of rain almost every night this week. Pretty unusual I think. Some lightning last weekend saw the abandonment of the golf competition but not until after I had finished my round. I wasn't going to win any prizes anyway so for me it was an advantage that it was scrubbed. Its rescheduled for 14th April I think.

OK have to start thinking about case packing! Thats one advantage of last minute booking. It will be Saturday before we know it.
Cheers for now
Happy Easter
David and Sheila