Stage One Complete...

'When teachers stalked crumbling corridors in pin-stripe suits dishing out skills, sense and bloodymindedness'

Well that's it. The end. Finished. Yesterday was the last day I'll probably set foot in an English school in a professional capacity.

A little melodramatic, well perhaps but that's what being a teacher does to you.

'Children learning important skills for the future of England...

Seemingly everyone in the future will be working in circuses and not have to read, write or add up at all.'

I could waffle on about children, society, senior leaders, the government, OFSTED etc, but what good does it do?

Instead it was a brief and humble leaving speech, some firm handshakes and a philosophical look at the future and hopefully an exciting and challenging road ahead- direct to Bangkok (actually via Qatar and nearly Tehran, but that's a different story!)

The flight is booked, the house will be clear (eventually) and the bus on the UK farewell tour will commence- coming to a town near you!

Still can't help feeling a bit sad about it all, but that's contrasted with the knowledge and wisdom given by many colleagues that I like and respect that we're doing the right thing and everyone it seems would swap places with us.

So stop analysing Bangkok Booths and get on with the rest of your lives...

'Behind the facade lies something altogether more sinister (and not in a cool horror way)'

This is not wife swapping!

Just in case anyone thought otherwise...

D has said it all really. Hopefully there'll be some exciting photos of packing boxes and empty rooms in Brum!- stay tuned bloggers...

Getting started

Last September we decided we were off. We weren't entirely sure where and weren't particularly bothered-as you might be able to tell this was not exactly a calculated decision. What we were sure of was that we wanted to be able to live somewhere else, experiencing something else before we were unable to do it.

We'd only been married about 6 weeks but the daily grind of British schools plus abysmal weather had stopped being a particularly attractive proposition.

So what was it to be? There was talk of living on the coast somewhere. Possibly doing a different job. A lot of thinking and not much doing. Then came the answer-the TES website. Like a teacher's almanac. Within days we'd seen a number of potential jobs and began applying. Again, we weren't being picky as we didn't actually have a clue where to pick. So we applied. And applied. Until somebody picked us.

It was a toss-up between Kenya and Thailand. A few hairy stories and scouring through websites later and we were led to Thailand.

So here we are. Still in Bearwood. Still working in British schools but now with an added bonus; in about 4 months time, we'll be living in Thailand. I can't say we're not a bit worried-well, I'm a bit worried anyway. As much as I'd like to believe I'm Mrs Adventurous, I've only ever lived in and around Birmingham; I even went to university in Birmingham and the thought of being thousands of miles away from family and friends and Birmingham City Centre is all a bit frightening. However, after a rather stressful couple of years for us both, it really is just what we need. We're looking forward to it-I certainly wouldn't turn this opportunity down for the world.

So, I'm putting my fears aside and trying to get on with the last few weeks of work, trying to learn to sew (long story), going on a diet and vaguely attempting to sort the house out. None of which will probably be done until panic sets in at the last moment.

I'm not sure if this blog is being set up to share our experiences of the run-up to leaving and then chronicalling our life in the Far East or whether it's a place to chunter, moan and wastefully procrastinate. Probably the latter but add a couple of pictures and nobody will notice...

D x