Back to blogging

It has been a while since I posted so here I am in blogosphere.

So what have I been up to writing wise? Currently I am putting some work together for my MA- a pitch and scene in fact- and I'm drafting the first set of pages for my second section for CGP's AS English Revision Guide.

Yesterday I ventured into London for a friend's house warming which was good- a well needed diversion. Today I've had a bit of a lazy day in preparation for the work I need to do tomorrow.

Other news: last weekend, I did some of my OFSTED training which was really interesting. We looked at things like how to analyse data from Raise on Line, lesson observations and feedback and I learnt a whole load of acronyms like PIB, SIP, TA, EF, PIR and lots more!!!!

I'm now settling down for a quiet night in.

Bank Holiday

Happy bank holiday weekend one and all! To those anywhere other than the UK this may make no sense. It's actually sunny for once so I shall have to make the most of that. Methinks a long walk is in order. Then perhaps the cinema or theatre.

That and a bit of writing will make for a relaxing weekend.

This week I have received two free holiday vouchers as a result of my obsession with those ridiculous scratchcards you get in papers or magazines. I'm suspecting there may be a catch somewhere but for now I'm considering when to go to Disneyland Paris for two days and when to go on my Mediterranean cruise for four.

I've also had a few social invitations of late which is lovely so I shall have to get my diary out and pencil them in. I've been a bit of a social recluse of late... must be part of my grand plan to become a mad writer??!!

As far as my MA goes I'm currently reading Mamet's Three Uses of the Knife and need to dip into Kundera's The Curtain. I'm looking forward to reading this as I enjoy Kafka.

CGP have also asked me if I'm available to contribute another section to their English AS Revision guide, so I'll be working on the Origins of English section also.

In all, a busy time... if you get a chance read Candy's latest post on age labels on books- interesting debate.

The Apprentice again

I watched The Apprentice yesterday in between feeling nauseous (which has been the situation a few times the past couple of weeks. Must be coming down with something or seriously stressed!) and I was disgusted again at the way human beings can behave.

Okay, last time I watched the programme and Jenny rounded on Shazia, I thought she just had a problem and was looking for a scapegoat, this time I'm beginning to suspect something more sinister.

Sara? What had she done? Then the others went along with it. It really deeply saddens me when I see grown supposedly intelligent people being manipulated and behaving in a gang like way on the basis of what some have said can only be racism.

I didn't see the whole programme so I can't make a full judgement but from what I've read on message boards (yes, I have been reduced to reading messages about The Apprentice and I have no problem admitting this!) she made some interesting suggestions for cards that were just dismissed for no apparent reason.

Having been on the receiving end, in the past, of ignorant and, sadly- in some cases- bigoted people, I can well understand Sara just going quiet. Shock, disbelief and complete incomprehension may well have played their part in her reaction. Why try to change the minds of people who clearly can't think straight?

I will forever be amazed at how individuals less credible than others think that simply because of the colour of their skin, their accent or cultural heritage they are better. The very fact that they feel the need to behave so abominably, rounding on people to deflect attention from themselves, exposes to me their absolute inferiority and inadequacy.

How on earth can we be in the twenty first century and things like this happen?

Six Random Things

It seems that it is the season to play tag... yes here's another one:

Rules are:

a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up

So... Low Carbon Kid aka David Thorpe did the tagging, then tagged several people I might have tagged myself so I may have to omit d

Six random things about me:

• I was born and grew up in Kuwait.
• I play the alto saxophone.
• I taught in the school J.K Rowling attended- after she had been there and left!
• In the summer of 1994 I taught in a Palestinian refugee camp and visited the Gaza strip.
• I had pink hair at one stage in my life- a terrible mistake I hasten to add.
• I taught Carol Vordeman's daughter and met the woman, herself.

Okay-that's it done! Anyone who feels the urge to write some random things about yourself consider yourself tagged!

Tag and the Odyssey

So I've been tagged which means I have to pick up the nearest book and write lines 6-9 for you all before bothering five unsuspecting people with this task, then post a comment on Candy's blog- she tagged me! So here goes:

I'm at my desk at home, and my rather messy desk (those of you who know me will know how messy my desk can get) has several books on it, but the nearest one is the book I am part way through reading: Simon Armitage's verse adaptation of Homer's Odyssey, which isn't half bad. It's pretty good in fact. Page 123...lines 6-9 read:

...and there on the front of his face was a...
ODYSSEUS: A what?
EURYLOCHUS: A snout-
not a nose but a snout and out of his mouth

I'll leave that with you to figure out. Okay so who shall I bother that Candy hasn't already?

Jon, Jez, Nicky who's on honeymoon and will probably not do this, Jason Evans who will probably be way too busy, Anne Frasier who will be equally or more busy and let's try Kaleb! I've tagged six- I know!! I have a feeling very few will do it... but c'est la vie. Okay off to Angela's blog now to comment and to let all those poor souls know that they have been invited to waste fifteen minutes of their lives on this.

The Marathon

Well, I have spent an age writing my creative piece and my rationale for my MA, as well as putting all the bits and pieces together and retyping a section that the computer swallowed! It was a bit of a marathon!

Fingers are now firmly crossed that it hits the mark.

It's a beautiful sunny day where I am and I will probably go for a walk to enjoy it. When I woke up it was drizzling and I thought of all these people!

Anyone running or watching it?

The Apprentice- did you see it?

Okay, who saw The Apprentice yesterday? I don't often post about things on TV but I just couldn't resist today. Alan Sugar's logic is bizarre. Last week he got rid of Nicholas, the barrister, and this week he gets rid of Shazia, when in both instances I thought it was the team leader's fault.

Shazia was really organised and tried to sort things out while the team leader Jenny just doled out orders and complained and moaned at people. I know Shazia left the laundrette when she ought to have stayed or explained the system to someone but really- shouldn't the team leader have figured all that out? She was a real control freak if you ask me and her face when she got through just said it all. Victory.

I just read an article - in my completely transparent distraction from work activities- that suggested that good old Sir Alan might be being advised over who to chuck out in order to raise TV ratings! Well, it's certainly possible and it would explain his really weird decisions so far. Any views if you're at all interested or looking for a distraction like me?