Lee Chapel Primary School

Another arduous day on the Atkins Diet.

Some years ago I did some shows at Downham School near Billericay.  One of the classroom assistants that saw my shows there was a lady called Hayley McKechnie - she is now a fully qualified teacher and works at Lee Chapel School in Basildon.  When the Tudor topic reared it's head for her Key Stage 2 pupils, she remembered my appearances at Downham and recommended me to her new school - and here I was!

I drove over from Amanda's house in Steeple View, so the journey was only about 10 minutes.  Parking was somewhat limited, but they let me have a space, which was very nice.  I was indeed treated like Royalty all day - utterly spoilt rotten, which was very pleasant and something which I will be insisting on at every school I visit from now on.

If every school I visited was as nice as Lee Chapel then I would be a very happy King indeed.  The group was a year 5 collection of classes, just under 70 children, and all in fantastic costumes.  They were bright, bubbly and fun to work with.  The adults who sat in with us were equally fun and also laughed like drains throughout the day which is something that always makes my life easier.  I was then even more spoilt during the lunch break when a very nice assistant called Mandy, nipped over to a local shop and bought me a nice chicken salad sandwich for my lunch.  Very yummy, mind you so was the sandwich.

The afternoon session was even more fun than the morning, if at all possible.  I was in "the zone" as they say and gags galore kept suggesting themselves to me.  Things culminated in a ripping jousting tournament, which was loud, mad and wild, but resulted in yet another victory for the ladies.  It was close, but they came through for a probably just about deserved victory.  This now brings the score up to:

GENTLEMEN 19 - 29 LADIES

It is getting too easy for them now and there is just not enough time left in the school calendar year for the Gentlemen to pull it back.

I am driving down to Folkestone on Sunday for an evening with Michelle Coda and her family, and then I am off to Sutton Valence School near Leeds Castle on the Monday for my first visit to that school.  And young Ms. Coda is coming with me to observe one of my Tudor Days for the first time.  I hope she likes it.