Things I Love About my Job

That I get to go somewhere different all the time.
That although it is a job, it doesn't feel constricting in the same way my old one did. I can have a day off if I really need to and only have myself to answer to about that.
That I get a little bit of the feeling of belonging from the school I go to on Thursdays and Fridays. I teach the same classes each week and all the people who work there have been very welcoming. I really like it there. I was thinking about it when I got home tonight and I realised that although the staff are tired a lot of the time (they work in a school and half of them are teachers so that makes sense), they do not look miserable, they do not seem bullied, and there is no back biting that I have observed. A complete contrast to my old school.
That I get to read on my way to and from work.
That I work nearer to central London and so can nip somewhere interesting on the way home if I want to. (More on that in a minute!)
And mostly, that I am just tired, not tired and miserable, not tired and stressed, not tired and living in fear of the next inspection, monitoring visit, 'book look', or observation by those who claim to know better than me what I should be doing.
And, I have time! Time is such a luxury and I had so little of it before. My weekends are my own as are my evenings.
Here is where I nipped on the way home...

 The Tower of London-to see the remains of the poppies. We were going to visit with my Dad but we left it too late. It got ridiculously busy on the last week leading up to when they were to be taken away, and that weekend was when we planned to visit. My Dad is not able to walk that far or stand for long and we decided it was best not to go. I didn't want to miss seeing them altogether hence this evening.

 It was only a short tube journey from Bethnal Green where I was today. This is the moat, where a lot of the poppies have gone. Even with the ones that are left, the thought that each represents a life lost still has a powerful impact. I wandered around taking pictures and enjoying the rain and the lack of the need to be anywhere in particular.

 Rainy London evenings are beautiful. I have always liked paintings of rainy nights in the city.

 This strange collection of animal sculptures looked real in the dark. I couldn't make out what the lion's mane was made from. This is a flash photo, making the rain look like snow.

 I decided not to go back to the tube, but walked to London Bridge instead. It is not that far and made a change to going home via North Greenwich, where you sometimes have to wait ages for a bus.

From the quiet under the bridge I went up the steps (the smelly steps!) to join the hoards of people walking across the bridge. Walking very fast-I was in more of a strolling mood but tried to alter my pace! I was lucky with a train and was home by six. Now I must get on with my Christmas crochet-the crochet I have been thinking about for months but did not really start until last week!