Ear, ear.....

Just a quick post before going off to Glastonbury for a few days. This is a picture I took in Sheffield (UK) in 2003 of a famous celebrity. As you can see, other people sidled in the way so I only got his left ear! Can you guess who it is? (Hint - not the lovely Colin Firth, for once.)

My blood is boiling!!!!!! Grrrr!!!!

Have been to a Year 13 parents’ meeting this evening (that’s Upper Sixth in old money), the main purpose of which was to impress upon us how important it is for us to help our children get good grades in their A levels.

Yep, fine, in agreement with you so far.

We were treated to a Power Point presentation which began with a little film of students receiving their results last August; cue happy, triumphant music, with joyful teenagers celebrating their wonderful grades. (Daughter, who was there at the time of filming, tells me they turned the cameras away from those who were sad or disappointed.) This was followed with favourable Ofsted quotes, diagrams demonstrating the structuring of staffing, etc.

Ok, fair enough, a little harmless self promotion is allowable.

Next came some dates and info about applying to universities, student loans and the like, with a brief nod to those who might want to start a career instead.

Yep, useful stuff.

There then followed the most shameless propaganda and pressuring I’ve ever heard in my life! Basically, to sum it up, if your child doesn’t work hard – and therefore doesn’t get the grades they want – their whole life will be forever ruined. The universe may implode if your child only gets a C for History!

Oh good grief! There are always alternatives, people. When I did my A levels (many, many moons ago) I didn’t get the grade I needed in one subject. Yes I was disappointed, but it wasn’t the end of the world. I took the subject again, as a one year course, at the local college and worked in a shop in my free time. It did me the world of good to have a year in the working environment, and I got my grade at the end of it.

The meeting actually concluded with a little story about a girl who was undecided about going to uni so turned to the teacher for advice. He told her that if she didn’t go she would probably not meet the man she was going to marry, or her chief bridesmaid and [turning to us parents] we would never have those grandchildren we want to bounce on our knees!!!!!!  WHAT!!!!!  So, not only do girls only want to go to uni to meet a man to marry, but their whole blood line will die out if they don’t go. Hold the presses! Ring the scientists! That must be why the dinosaurs died out: obviously none of them got the grades they wanted in their A levels.

A bit of algebra

Do you remember algebra from school? I was ok at the early stages ( x +2 = 5) but when it got to double brackets that you tackle as a smiley face.....well, I’m just glad I only needed to remember that for exams!

Anyway, I was at an Al-Anon support meeting tonight and the speaker told us of something she’d read that had helped her, and it began with a simple bit of algebra:

a + b = c

In this equation a is yourself, b is someone or something that is immovable, and c is the end result, the situation you’re unhappy about. Now you want to change c, since you’re unhappy about it but, try as you might, you can’t change b. So what can you do? Change a of course! Change yourself! Change your attitude to b!

In the context of Al-Anon, b is the alcoholic friend or relative and c is the unhappy family life or friendship that results. You cannot change b, only b can do that, but you can change a (yourself), and this will ultimately change c.  For example, if someone keeps trying to provoke an argument you can choose to do something about it: refuse to rise to the bait, keep calm, walk out of the room, go for a walk etc. By doing this you have changed the end result!

It reminds me of two well known prayers:

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

courage to change the things I can, 

and wisdom to know the difference.

1940s day

Had a GREAT day out with my lovely Mum today. It was a special 1940s day at Gressenhall Museum of Rural Life, one of my favourite places to visit. They had organised a good range of activities, with re-enactors galore, like live music, school lessons, films, home guard drill, classic cars, lots of stalls to buy from (bought a lovely pair of navy gloves) and a fly past of a Hurricane, a Spitfire and a Lancaster! Met two uncles there too - and Winston Churchill!!!!! Of course I couldn't resist dressing up for the occasion, which turned out to be a good thing as they let me in for free because of it!
Here are some piccies.....

All dressed, ready to go. The coat is actually a modern one bought last year, but looks good in this context too.

My 40s dress bought from ebay 10 years ago. I had my very straight hair in rollers all last night to get the right look, and have a blue crocheted snood on to keep it tidy. The shoes are modern - bought online from Hotters - but look right.

I sooooo wanted one of these cars.

Look at this cute caravan!!!!

Two beautiful ladies dressed for the occasion.

1940s living room in the 'corner' of the marquee.

The sign by the stall where I bought my gloves.

Mum with an American jeep named after her! ;-)    (Sorry pic is a bit pink -  an occasional quirk of the camera I used.)

Look who paid a visit!!!!

BRING BACK BLACKBOARDS!!!!

Right! I wish to start my campaign to bring back the good old fashioned, roll around, wall-mounted blackboard. Let me state first of all that I am not against interactive whiteboards (which are very useful tools) just the ordinary write-on wipe-off whiteboards.  

My main objection to whiteboards is that you use plastic pens to write on them which, even if refillable, have to be thrown away to join the vast rubbish heap of plastic which will take centuries to rot away – if ever! Chalk, however, is a natural substance and, like the pens, is also available in many colours.

Whiteboards have to be cleaned regularly with smelly ammonia sprays to remove ‘ghosting’; blackboards are cleaned with mere water when they get too dusty.

Finally, I find chalk a much easier medium to write neatly with (thus setting a good example for pupils) because it has just the right amount of ‘drag’, unlike slippery pens.

Blackboards were removed because they were considered old fashioned, being replaced with the brand new gimmick of whiteboards, but now it’s time for the blackboard to return!

So join my campaign, friends......BRING BACK BLACKBOARDS!!!! They are our future, our ecological friends!!!

Apologies

Hi folks!

Apologies for not posting for such a long time. Have had some family problems which have taken up a lot of my time - don't want to go into details, but I just praise God for support groups, the lovely Canon Beryl, and my beautiful daughter and Mum who help me to cope when things are hard.

Will post a 'normal' post next.  ;-)

Busy day!

Hi everyone!
A very busy and productive day today. After breakfast I walked to do the Tesco shop, dragging my tartan granny shopping trolley with me. Daughter refuses to be seen with me when I use this trolley, and Mum says she'll get one one day when she's old enough! As I'm not at work till September (hooray!) I'm trying not to use my car for distances that I could easily walk - unless there's too much to carry. So that was a total of 1 and a half miles walked, with added drag factor on the way back.
When I got back I prepared the main meal of the day, putting it in the slow cooker. I used the meat left on yesterday's roast chicken together with red pepper, onion, celery, mushrooms and carrots to make a delicious thick stew.
Next, with help from an agile 17 year old, I achieved my aim of putting two boxes of old, but still precious, toys into the loft. However I also ended up with loads of bags of old letters, bank statements etc (belonging to a certain hoarding Male) being brought out of the loft to be disposed of. So the dining room is now all cluttered up with those! There is too much to shred at home, and it takes ages to burn in the metal dustbin-like incinerator, so I think I'll actually pay to have these shredded.
After eating the delicious stew with rice and a bread roll, it was off to choir practice next. That was another 1 and a half miles walk all told. Needed two big, heavy music hymn books today so used my other trolley to carry them. This one is a beautiful wicker basket on wheels with a walking cane handle. I got it from Ebay and I love, love, love it! It's only disadvantage is that it only holds half as much as my tartan one, but it's perfect for little jobs like this. Had a great sing-song, practising hymns for Sunday's main morning service and special 'choir's choice' Songs of Praise in the evening. It was very hard trying to pick just one hymn - there are so many beautiful words, tunes and memories to choose from. Eventually I picked "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation". I sing Alto in choir but requested that we sing the last verse in unison so I could let my voice soar for "Let the Amen sound from His people again, Gladly for ay we adore Him." Yessssss!!!!
Finally I'm now on my computer telling you all about it! A good day - praise God!

Me in my choir robes - taken about a year ago.