But I Smile Anyway…

Good morning, Peeps! It’s the early May Bank Holiday here in the UK, I have a chilled start to the day, and can leisurely enjoy my drink, for a change, as we recap on the week!

Have you got your drink ready?

• If we were having chai, I’d start by telling you about school. We have had more kids sin, this week, but still a few absences. It seems conjunctivitis is a new thing to spread around, at the moment. We had two evenings of Parents Evenings on Monday and Tuesday. The last one for the year, where we talk to the parents about where their children are, and what to expect on their reports at the end of the academic year. I attended the Monday one, which was from 4-7 pm, so pretty long, but it went well, even though several parents didn’t turn up, so I could have gone by 6.30 pm, had they let us know! Still, all was well. Lil Princess had an appointment on the next day so I was unable to attend the whole evening, but, luckily, I share the classes with other teachers so we could cover ourselves, at least! The rest of the week went well. The children are enjoying the growth topic we are focussing on this week, and their progress in all areas is becoming more and more evident. We also had the annual class photos, as well as small individual pictures down, which will go onto each child’s reports. We were expecting carnage, with children everywhere, but it went on like a well-oiled machine! Phew!
• If we were having chai, I’d tell you that I got my edits back from my editor on Saturday. There is only a month to go, exactly until publication day, and I was a little panicked since we have a packed rest of the term, and if there was anything major to change, I wouldn’t have time, but thankfully, all the feedback from my early readers, and beta readers, as well as the sensitivity reader, meant that structurally, and developmentally there were no big shocks. In fact, she loved it… phew! There were a couple of name mix-ups and sentences which didn’t read right to her, so I changed things up where necessary, corrected the silly spelling errors and continuity ones, and sent them back! Fingers crossed there is nothing more to do!

• If we were having chai, I’d say that the editing prompted my Writer’s Prayer to make another appearance, too!

• If we were having chai, I’d tell you that I continued to read over the week and weekend, as usual, and seeing as the weather was so lovely, I managed a cuppa, and panettone and read in the conservatory on Saturday!

• If we were having chai, I’d mention that after what feels like an age, we went to the gurdwara for a function. I felt so at peace while sitting there, listening to the priest reading the prayers, and then singing the hymns. Makes me miss living closer to it, sometimes…

• If we were having chai, I would update you on Sonu Singh. He’s been enjoying more company during the week since Lil Princess was home due to a teacher strike, and Hubby Dearest had more work-from-home days. He also enjoyed the sun in the conservatory, over the weekend, with me!

This week, as I mentioned, earlier, we have a four-day working week, as it is the Bank Holiday, today. There is another strike for some teachers so both my kids are off again on Tuesday. We have the build-up to the Coronation, as well, which takes place on Saturday 6th May, followed by another extra Bank holiday! What fun!

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Morning, Peeps! So, one week of term 5 down, 5 more to go before the next half term break!

I’ve got my drink, have you got yours?

• If we were having chai, I’d start by saying school whizzed by, this week. I was only in for four days, but the time I was there, was busy. The kids always look like they have grown so fast, every time we have a two-week break! We are learning about growth this term, which is wonderful, and we will be planting plenty over the next few weeks!
• If we were having chai, I’d tell you that Wednesday was a total highlight of the week for me, as I finally got to visit the London Book Fair! I was on the train at 8 am and arrived by 9.30 am. It was so strange being a commuter on the train at that time. So busy! Once I got there, this place was HUGE! I don’t know what I was expecting, but the first few hours I spent there, I walked around and around in a daze. The LBF is a huge trade fair for those who don’t know. There are stands filled with publishers and different services authors, publishers, and bookstores would use. There is a massive area which is filled with agents who are booked by authors looking to try and gain representation. Equally, there are agents who have appointments with the Big Five Publishers to see if they can pitch the work of their represented authors to them. There are seminars and talks that are extremely informative, too. I walked a lot over the day. In fact, bu the time I lay down in bed that night I had walked over 22k steps!

• If we were having chai, I’d say that I was so excited because I got to meet my publishers face-to-face for the first time, too. We have communicated via video calls and emails for the last year and a half, so this was a long-awaited meeting. We got on like a house on fire, and I am even more excited for the future right now!

• If we were having chai, I’d tell you that I have reached out to quite a few author friends of mine, to get some more Book & A Brew with Ritu posts scheduled, so this means that I have been reading up a storm! (When do I not?)

• If we were having chai, I’d mention that it was Pops and Mum’s anniversary, too. Fifty one years together. What a feat!

• If we were having chai, I would update you on Sonu Singh. He seems to have a little cut on his ear, not sure where from, but as a result, he has been very jumpy. Bless him. But it hasn’t stopped him from being extremely cuddly. This weekend, he blended his services as a Kindle holder!

This week I think I will be catching my tail half the time, as I feel a bit out of sorts, what with the busyness of last week. School is full-on, as is homelife…

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As you read this, I will be either getting ready, or already at school! Where did two weeks go?

Honestly, I am not sure I remember what I have been doing… Anyway, have you got your drink?

• If we were having chai, I’d start by saying the weather has been all manner of crazy, all week, with sun, rain, wind and hailstones! Typical British Spring, eh!

• If we were having chai, I’d tell you I haven’t slept well for a few of the nights, for some reason, so I an shattered. But I have been reading lots, so at least I wasn’t bored. (Tired, yes. Bored, no!)

• If we were having chai, I’d say that I popped into school on Tuesday, with Lil Princess to do a few bits, and then dropped her to a friend’s house for a sleepover. She hasn’t stayed anywhere without me for a few years, so I was a little anxious for her, but I guess my nerves were unfounded as she had a lovely time!
• If we were having chai, I’d tell you that I cooked a lot more, too, this week, from a full Indian meal, with jeera chicken and chana masala, with rice and naan, to a full roast dinner. It is full to be back in the kitchen properly.

• If we were having chai, I’d tell you that it was Vaisakhi on the weekend, as well, and, usually I attend the Nagar Kirtan, or parade that takes place around Gravesend, but as Lil Princess didn’t want to go, we chilled at home, instead. Hubby Dearest and Lil Man attended instead.
• If we were having chai, I’d mention that we went to Westfields Shopping Centre for a change of scenery, too. Always fun, but the men definitely don’t enjoy it. Next time, it needs to be a girls’ trip!
• If we were having chai, I would update you on Sonu Singh, who I think has decided he is trying to be a vegan.. because he won’t stop trying to eat all the plants in the house! Also, I don’t know if he senses that we are all back to school/work tomorrow, but as I was typing this, he jumped on my desk, wandered around in front of me, then lay his head on my hand to stop me! He sat there for a few minutes before giving up and jumping down, bless him!

This week we are back in school. Lil Princess has some exams, and our week is just a usual but busy one in my school, too. But, I have the day off on Wednesday. I am so excited as I am attending the London Book Fair for the first time! I will be meeting my publishers face-to-face for the first time, too! I know I will be shattered by Friday, but sometimes a little routine isn’t a bad thing!

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I cannot believe that one week of our holidays is already over!

Have you got your drink?

• If we were having chai, I’d start by reminding you that I was in Birmingham with Pops and Mum for the first couple of days of the holiday. Lil Princess and I had a lovely few days just relaxing with them. We went on a couple of long walks with Mum and popped to one of the local malls, Resort’s World, with them both, and just generally did nothing but relax and eat lots of yummy food. It was a bit like a digital detox, in that I didn’t take many photos and post the,. Instead, we lived the moment. I did take one, though, of me in this t-shirt, which must have been printed with me in mind! If you know my history with silly accidents, you will know how apt it is!

• If we were having chai, I’d tell you that it was a break that Lil Princess needed for other reasons, as she gets overwhelmed so much that a chance to be somewhere where there was no expectation or pressure on her did her the world of good. When we returned, she wanted me to watch a series with her. It is a Korean drama called Extraordinary Attorney Woo, about a young autistic woman in the field of law and how she overcomes her quirks and disability with her brilliant mind to help her clients. It is an eye-opening series, and in light of things my daughter is facing…

• If we were having chai, I’d say that You know that cricket is around the corner, as Lil Man’s outdoor nets have started too and I have been looking at pictures from last year, comparing them to now. This child is definitely a MAN now, with his muscles and gait. He’ll always be my Lil Man, though!
• If we were having chai, I’d subtly tell you that Straight As A Jalebi is still pootling through the preorders, and I even got a first review on Goodreads, from one of my first readers, and such a lovely one, too! If you haven’t already, preorder on Amazon! https://mybook.to/StraightAsAJalebi

• If we were having chai, I’d remind you that I had my Society Of Authors meet-up, too, midweek. I was all geared up for a session about social media marketing, as many of the members are older and not sure of the more modern avenues to take, but because it was Easter and there was terrible traffic, there ended up being only 6 of us there. Still, it was a good evening, where we could talk all things writing, publishing and books, and also get a chance to talk on a more one-to-one level with some of the other members
• If we were having chai, I’d mention that since it is the holidays, I have had time to cook more from scratch, and I made some fabulous pakoras on Saturday when the in-laws came over for the day. We had them with tea, and a barbecue later! I also made Chicken Tikka Masala (with a little help from some prepared sauces…) which went down a treat with Hubby Dearest and Lil Man!

• If we were having chai, I would update you on Sonu Singh, who is enjoying having most of us around over the Easter break. Not sure he approved of my breakfast the other day, though, since it wasn’t chicken!

This week is the final holiday week before the last big term of the year. It was a bank holiday weekend, so we are relaxing on Monday, then I have a trip into school on Tuesday, Lil Princess has a sleep over at a friend’s, we will be going out on one of the other days, then Lil Man’s cricket starts up in full force, with some pre-season matches beginning from the weekend. Hubby Dearest has a couple of days off too, so it will be good to spend time together. Then prepare for school again!

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Hello there! I am so relieved that it is the Easter holiday! I think I really need the break!

Have you got your drink?

• If we were having chai, I’d start by saying that school was pretty fun this week, though quite hectic. We had a four-day week, or 3.5, actually, with the children and centred most of our learning around Spring and Easter. On Wednesday, we had a great day as I had arranged a Bhangra workshop with one of Lil Man’s old Dhol teachers, who happens to now be a parent at our school. He, along with one of his Dhol colleagues, spent the whole day doing workshops for the whole school, and we were buzzing! There was also a film crew there all day, filming a new promo film for the school! Quite a fun but exhausting week.
• If we were having chai, I’d tell you that I also had an EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Group meeting with other colleagues in our new academy. It was pretty interesting to see the ideas that were swung around, with my own eye firmly on all three of the main concepts of the group. I can safely say that we are at a stage in our own school where we are pretty good at all three… and that our input, hopefully, will enhance the thinking of some others. We also visited some of the other schools on Friday, which was our INSET day, and all I can say is that though there are always positive takeaways from these visits, I am so happy to be working where I am!

• If we were having chai, I’d say that I had a pretty busy weekend (all will be revealed below!), but I managed to have my poached eggs, and read a lovely ARC, called Her Fixer Upper by Emily Kerr. A great book!

• If we were having chai, I’d subtly tell you that Book 2, Straight As A Jalebi, was put on Pre-Order on the weekend, and it has been pretty mad!

• If we were having chai, I’d excitedly say that we crept from #5 to #3, then #2 in the Hot New Releases in Asian Fiction! OMG!!! If you preorder, send me your proof of order so I can add you to a special competition, where I randomly pick one person who preordered to receive a signed copy when the paperback comes out!

• If we were having chai, I would update you on Sonu Singh, who has been busy on the promo campaign, too! He’s really boosted the preorders… I think he needs treats!

As I write this, I am in Birmingham with Pops and Mum, and Lil Princess. We have a couple of days here to visit them, then back home, ready for a Society of Authors meeting, and then the Easter Weekend. Not sure what else is planned, but I hope to get some words in, as well as relaxation!

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