And.......relax.........

Saturday evening. Actually, I've only just relaxed...as such. I've been reading course work. We've a first "diagnostic" assignment to complete in the next week. It's only supposed to be 750 words and its real purpose is to gauge how good (or otherwise) we are at writing "academic" documents. Having read (or at least skimmed through) a couple of the bibliographed (I just made that word up! Good, eh?) documents I not at least have a shape forming in my head of what is required. I can even think of examples from my own experience. Phew!

However, the more I read, the more I think that a year is never going to be long enough to learn all that needs to be learned. Document after document tells me how teachers are failing widely to do this or that......how the other could be done better (ooo, err, missus!) In some ways I think I need to get onto my first practical placement. I need to be reminded that I love being in a classroom and that I naturally do many of the things that the literature is telling me about. For example, the current assignment is about "assessment for learning"; not of learning. Examples of what teachers should be (but often aren't) doing are things like questioning children before a teaching session to see where they are in their understanding and thus know where to start. Hey! I thought. I've done that! When I've been asked to sit with a particular child to work through a knotty bit of, say, maths, I've instinctively questioned them first to find out what they do and don't understand and started where necessary. Gosh! I'm a natural.

Today has, of course, been the first "day of rest" since the whole she-bang started. Issy and I had rather too much wine last night to compensate for the most alcohol free week we've suffered in years. Good though. Edward had his newly re-scheduled piano lesson in the early afternoon and we went to lovely Barrow-in-Furness afterwards for one thing and another. Later in the afternoon, Thing Two and I did more of his model boat while Thing One was out playing with a friend. We generated quite a heady atmosphere in the dining room with lashings and lashings of plastic solvent glue. PONG! We've probably lost a few brain cells between us.

I'd better go and stir the soup now.

HUNGRY!

Kiss, kiss.

R.

PING!
Just keeping things alive.

Otly Update!

Phew! What a relief. Otly has made it to Switzerland without embarrassing me and it sounds like Christopher Robin has already started in on the same list of things that I would have done much more slowly.

Here are the edited highlights of his and Alice's trip as sent to me just today:

Day 1 (Thursday 16th October)
Short trip to Huddersfield. Check-in to hotel and do a little shopping

Day 2 (Friday 17th October)
OTLY's big service day.  The poor old Land Rover was subject to 16 man
hours of servicing (2 mechanics @ 8 hours).  But at the end of the day
he was sounding like new!

Day 3 (Saturday 18th October)
Left Huddersfield and drove to north Wales. Why North Wales? Well, we
were not progressing fast enough to reach our destination (Breacon
Beacon in mid-Wales) so we stopped about 1/2 way.

Day 4 (Sunday 19th October)
Drive to LLanerchinda Farm in Mid Wales. Great hotel run by a fantastic
host family, serving amazingly good food.

Day 5 (Monday 20th October)
We enjoyed a long walk/march through the forests and countryside and
"trundle" in OTLY around the amazingly narrow, winding and
steeply-rising-and-falling roads.  The Devil's Staircase for example had
an incline, and then shortly afterwards a decline of 25%

Day 6 (Tuesday 21st October)
Set of for Southampton. Met up with my parents and my little sister and
her boyfriend for an evening meal. Drove to Portsmouth and boarded the
ferry to Le Harve

Day 7 (Wednesday 22nd October)
LONG drive to Paris, around Paris and on to a little town called Nitry.
This has to be THE best kept secret in France. Our hotel was a lovingly
restored monastery - and the owner had spared no expenses. Each room has
its own theme and we stayed in the Millers room.  Very special and
rather romantic.

Day 8 (Thursday 23rd October)
Another LONG drive, this time close to Lausanne where we checked into
our hotel (my usual hotel when I'm in that neck-of-the-woods on
business) and then off to meet up with  friends for an evening meal in a
great hotel with stunning views of lake Geneva, over to Evian in France
and the entire surrounding area (large parts of which were designated
World Heritage Sights!).

Day 9 (Friday 24th October)
The last leg of our standard journey (just 250Km) home.
And, ..... YES! He fits in the secure underground parking!
Thank goodness

Day 10 (Saturday 25th October)
Started doing a little work on OTLY. Removed the rear seats, along with
the rear seat belts (don't worry they're going back later) and started
to clean, remove everything that's not "essential" and cover all
surfaces with a tough carpet! (Mainly to keep the noise levels down and
make him look a little tidier)

Day 11 (Sunday 26th October)
1 hour drive eastwards to a mountain town near St. Gallen in order to pick up our dog. As you probably remember, the dog is called Guinness. She's a 5 year old
bulldog. Guinness appreciated the carpets, and seemed to approve of OTLY as she
jumped in without any help! Not bad for a dog that's only knee high!
Alice got to drive OTLY - she's still beaming

Day 12 (Today)
20 minute drive to work. (Close to the airport).
My workmates love OTLY and they are now more convinced than ever that
I'm fully mad.

So, there you have it. I always fancied that accoustic matting stuff. Good choice!