School's out for ten weeks

Apologies for lack of postings recently, but life has been hectic in the run-up to the end of the school year. This coincides with a busy week at work, and getting ready to depart for Dobra with Eddie on Sunday.

Above: Eddie and Moni en route to their respective schools for the last day of the school year. Eddie's taking flowers for his teacher, which is customary in Poland. Flower shops are doing great business today.

Above: Your hair is a mess! Big sister enforces a well-groomed look on her long-haired layabout brother. The following day Eddie was taken for a haircut. Despite my wishes, he did not emerge from the salon looking like a Marine. Next time, mate, you're going to Wojskowa Jednostka Fryzjerska Nr.189* in Radom for the Polish equivalent of a sixpenny all-off, not to Ivi Point to have each hair artfully shortened by two centimetres.

The previous day saw the end-of-term school talent contest. The Crumfel is no longer; only Moni (bass) Oleńka (guitar, above left) and Hubert (drums) remain from the original line-up but they still practice regularly and write their own songs.

Sadly only covers tonight, including an entirely competent rendition of Dave Brubeck's jazz standard Take Five, better known by Polish TV viewers as the music from the Łomża beer ad.

School's out for ten weeks and one day. One fifth of the year. This is far too long. An article in last week's Economist says that American scientists claim that children forget about a month's worth of learning during their long summer break - 'summer learning loss'. American school holidays vary from ten weeks to three months (!) depending on state and school. In the UK it's a mere six weeks off.

This time last year:
Jeziorki in midsummer
Antonov An-12 over Jeziorki
God Save The Queen!

*Fictional Polish army barbers' unit