When I was at school I was a keen sportsman.  I used to participate in pretty much every sport I had the opportunity to.  I enjoyed participating for fun, but I really enjoyed competition.

Out of school activities changed a lot during my time at school, as teachers reduced the amount of extra-curricular activities they supported.  However, I was lucky enough to have a few years in which we had a full fixture list of Rugby, Football and Cricket matches against similar schools in the surrounding area.

During the shortest days of winter, some matches were held on Saturday mornings, but generally they took place after school.  The afternoons building up to a match were the longest ever.  Time passed slowly.  Double geography passed at a glacial pace.  Chemistry dragged like the half-life of uranium.  I didn’t do patience well.  I would spend the afternoon looking out of the window, excited about what was to come.

I’m not sure where you’d put my day dreams on this scale!

Over the years I haven’t got much better at patience.  The bigger the occasion, the worse I tend to be.

This week has been slow!

It’s not that life is dull, but in a week’s time we should be preparing to board the ferry to take us to the continent, the first day of cycling under our belts, on our way to Amsterdam.  I’m just excited!

I know it’ll be over in the blink of an eye, but it’s taking forever to arrive.  Easter seems to have switched April into slow-motion and the recent cold spell has introduced a dose of suspended animation.  I suspect early May will be no better.

I need to dig deep and find five days of patience… wish me luck!

Please wake me up on Tuesday morning!