End of an Era

Today was my last day teaching Alex. After three-and-a-half years, it was a big wrench for us all. Alex will be going to college next year, and we visited today. It's going to be a huge change for him, but I think he will thrive. Our last school outing was to the recently restored clipper ship Cutty Sark. We had a great day. It's an interesting place, as you can see:

Above Alex is pictured with me and with his nurse. Below he is surrounded by figureheads from now-disappeared ships. Nannie, wearing her cutty sark, or petticoat, is centre back holding the tail of Tam O'Shanter's horse:

I didn't get round to taking a picture of the surprise we saw from the ship, but thanks to the internet, I can show you HMS Ocean, a helicopter carrier and troop carrier, here for the Olympics.  

No doubt you will have heard about the Olympics security bollocks-up. Private enterprise, so beloved of our wonderful government, has failed to deliver on its mult-multi-multi-million pound contract, but didn't own up till last week, and the Home Secretary didn't notice. So troops just back from Afghanistan expecting leave (and then, of course, redundancy) will have to do the job instead. Some of them will probably get to sleep on here. The lucky ones. Others will be in tents in fields.

Alex and his mum gave me a leaving present - a picture of us together in an antique-style frame, and a super-cute cushion similar to this one (but much better) of a Guinea pig in a Queen wig:

Pauses for a quick tear.