We had somewhat better luck today. You must bear in mind that there's a certain effect of light and shadow and outdoor cafes and beer which causes one to lose one's sense of proportion, but it seems that Wimbledon (yes, the Wimbledon of 'Wumbles of Wimbledon' fame) (oh, and where there's apparently some sort of tennis thingy every year) is a really nice place.
It's got a great little town center: nice shops, wide streets, multiple outdoor cafes atwhich to while away an afternoon losing all sense of proportion. There's even a mall in the town, which is extremely rare and completely unnecessary given the variety of storefronts around. Also, Wimbledon Village is close by; this is a really quaint area, with a quintessential English village vibe, and with many, many utterly useless but cutesey shops in which to spend a Sunday, or to which to take foreign visitors so as to entice them to buy us lunch. Even the commute won't be that bad. Oh, apparently there's two weeks a year when you can't get near the place for the tennis thing, but we'll just have to come back and visit our friends then. Or maybe rent the house to our friends and thereby pay the rent for the year...
We also visited a school today, though, horror of horrors, it's a Protestant school (sorry, Grandma). It was a really great place, though. One teensy issue - Caroline will actually be almost a year behind, in school term terms. See, they start what they call "reception" in the September after a child turns 4. Reception = Kindergarten as far as I can tell. But in the US, we don't start Kindergarten until the September after a child turns 5. Hmm. Makes you wonder why Johnny can't write (sorry, Johnny F, I didn't mean you specifically...). This will be an issue no matter where she ends up, of course. Oh, and they go to school until mid-July. So unless we want to be arrested for not having our 5-year-old in school when we're legally obliged to, we'll need to send her to the last few months of reception. I'm actually optimistic about Caroline's ability to catch up quickly, since I think she's gotten quite a good education from her preschool in the states. Props to Mrs. H. and Mrs. T. and everyone else at BSEL for that...
I have to say here that the school we visited was just lovely. Everyone who walked past us while we waited for the tour smiled and greeted us, they had a great student to teacher ratio, the children all seemed polite and eager and the building had a really good flow. They even have a sort of mentoring program where the older children work as partners with the younger children. The only interaction with older kids that I can recall as a Kindergartener is when the 6th graders shook me down for my lunch money. My, how times have changed; and for the better, I think. Unless you're a 6th grader.
Michele and I are taking bets on who will be the first to visit us. We're not saying who we're backing, but we hope you all come at some point. We'll take you up to Wimbledon Village. Gee, I'm getting hungry already. Just please don't all come at the same time. Or during the tennis thing.
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