The Masterplan - Update 3

This follows blogposts:

http://stephendcook.blogspot.co.uk/2011_11_01_archive.html
http://stephendcook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/masterplan-update-1-olympic-special.html
http://stephendcook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/masterplan-update-2.html

April and May have been incredibly busy months for me work wise which has been fantastic. In May I have even did a couple of 7 day weeks. As much of my work is GCSE revision workshops, there is light at the end of the tunnel and I have one more week left before I return to the more relaxed lifestyle doing one to one maths tutoring in a local school. The clear pattern of work I have had over the last two years however has led Laura and I to once again consider some different options for what happens to us in 2013. 

We are considering spending as much as 9 months away and returning to Blighty for maybe March - early June so I can earn some money for the rest of the year. In the last two months we have started looking at conservation/education community schemes around the world that we could do a 6 month placement at. Examples include conservation volunteering in Bali and Thailand.

One possible 2013 option for us is working with an education foundation in Sierra Leone, a country that we visited in 2011 and have a heart for. We should be meeting representatives from the foundation in July so I will hopefully have some more news in my next update at the end of July/early August. We are particularly excited about this opportunity because the roles seem to fit us perfectly. We will see... 

      

Of course much also depends on what happens with Laura and her photography ambitions. Over the course of the next 6 months she will be having some important meetings with NGO's to see the viability of becoming a freelance photographer for them. Incidentally, she travelled to Nepal in April and again, took some stunning shots. The first one here is my favourite.

In other news, rehearsals are in full swing for the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. I will have two jobs on the night of the opening ceremony, drumming and then as a marshal on the field. I will be there when the flame is lit! Of course, all other information is strictly secret but I can reveal it will be an awesome show. Director Danny Boyle is at many of the rehearsals alongside Underworld's Rick Smith who is doing the music. Rehearsals are long but enjoyable and I am just so excited to be part of the Olympic Games in London. 

So life is pretty amazing at the moment... in fact it has been since I left full time teaching. After the Olympics we have two and a half weeks in South Africa to look forward to including a 5* safari where Laura will be on assignment for The Guardian. Two weeks later we are going to Turkey with my parents and sister's family and can't wait to spend time with my awesome nephew. 

In between then we will be putting our house on the market but have an enormous amount of tidying/getting rid of 'stuff'/making gardens look respectable. Our new neighbours have annoyingly raised the bar and made their front garden look like Kew Gardens. Grrr.     

Next update in July/August. 

Thanks for reading.