Ref-log

knitting a vase

2012-03-04T08:28:00.000-08:00

My latest knitting project - French (bobbin) knitting andan old champagne bottle.

I like this idea - maybe I'll go into production!

giraffes and other animals

2012-03-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

There was TV programme about vets on last night and I wasn't really paying attention to it but there was a giraffe and I started to think what an interesting piece of design it was - made to reach those succulent top leaves etc. But: why do they have horns? So I looked it up on the internet and found this http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_horn-like_objects_on_the_head_of_a_giraffe

Interesting eh?

And then I had to get up normal working time today even though a Saturday and I felt a bit grumpy as I left the house - till I saw daffodils, hellebores, the plum tree and the camellia all in bloom - ahh, that was better.

Came home this afternoon and walked up the garden to the pond where, sure enough, the frogs have been busy and in a few weeks we'll have lots of tadpoles up there. Spring is sprung.

http://www.nouvellesimages.com/South-Africa-Giraffes_Heinrich-VAN-DEN-BERG_art~150.001830.00_id~cartespostales_mode~zoom

Lent

2012-02-26T05:13:00.000-08:00

This year, I've decided that for each day of Lent, I will try to throw away or give away - this can include taking it to the charity shop (thrift store) - at least one item that I don't need or which is broken/junk in the case of throwing away; or else recycle something to become useful. If that then gets given away so much the better. I'm not doing too badly and the shelves and cupboards can attest to this!

Here's a bit of recycling:

This is a vase made from scraps of wool knitted up on a bobbin (French knitting) and an old jam jar. I quite like it. I'm giving it away tomorrow.

It's been a good learning experience in terms of discovering how little we actually need but also how things which we regard as lovely, or things which we have made - especially for others - can also make us happy in our surroundings.

And surroundings are interesting. I stood at the top of six flights of stairs at school one day this week and listened to the echoes of the voices at the change of lesson (class). Wouldn't schools be sad without the voices of children? I went in to work one day this week about ten minutes later than usual so I actually saw a fair few of the students as they walked in. A traditional scene I suppose in lots of ways - I was glad that the vast majority of them looked happy and as if they were anticipating a good day ahead.

I suppose we all give away a bit of learning every day, and we get repaid handsomely.

the first step

2012-02-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

I am sorry that I cannot remember where that quotation came from - maybe someone knows?

As seems to so often be the case, today I learned that I don't know anything at all.

Still, continuing the theme of quotations, here's one from T.S. Eliot:
“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”

and another from Lao Tzu (attributed):
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

(http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the_first_step_towards_getting_somewhere_is_to/13879.html)

But, Spring is on the way, with crocuses and daffodils beginning to show. Hope springs eternal ...... (who said that?)

Hold Your Beliefs Lightly (G Perry)

2012-02-14T14:42:00.001-08:00

Still continuing with the theme of learning at the moment. I should post every day because there certainly is something every day but I can't keep up with scribbling it all down.

It was a grey day but I love to see the Thames as liquid steel.

So, today I went to the British Museum and we went round the Africa exhibits - excellent, especially the textiles, and I loved the 'cloth' made from metal bottle collars - the Grayson Perry exhibition (see below), Ancient Rome and Egypt - all in 4 hours! The ancient exhibits always make me think of Ozymandias.

There were two written comments in the Grayson Perry exhibition that really made me stop and think:

“The “journey” has become a tired metaphor of reality TV describing a transformative experience. I come on a journey every time I visit the British Museum. I enjoy idealised foreign travel in my head. Walking from my house in WC1 within 20 minutes I can have an encounter with the world.”

and

“We have always had images at gateways to warn and protect. Cathedrals had carvings over the doors showing the Last Judgement and the damned going to hell – now we have CCTV to dissuade us from misbehaving. Some images are there to accompany us into different states, drunkenness, sleep or death."

Why did these two especially have meaning for me I wonder? The first because, I suppose, I love to people watch and to ponder the lives behind the people I see every day - the postman bringing letters from long lost friends, the train guard whose humanity shone through his fit of the giggles on the loudspeaker, the lovers oblivious to all but each other, the grandma and her ward for the day who are exchanging their knowledge of worlds old and new. The second because I remember my father telling me of Gog and Magog guarding the city of London, the images we carry through life to remind us of how others have taught us how to behave.

And, as a colleague said to me recently, I hope never to be deprived of my dreams.

More learning! Reflection and reflexivity - thinking about what has happened and what may yet happen
- and overall, Perry's comment: Hold Your Beliefs Lightly

Why? because our ideas change with new knowledge, often born of troubles and because we should never take ourselves too seriously!

sunlight on snowy fields - and stuff

2012-02-11T09:33:00.000-08:00

http://buddhistcelebrities.blogspot.com/2010/07/auspicious-symbol-of-buddhism-lotus.html

Today has been totally about learning. I've been on retreat in Sussex (Hove actually) and I've learned a little bit more about Dharma, Karma and Sangha. The teacher was amazing: spoke with no notes at all, witty, down to earth, practical examples, eye contact - and he can sit cross legged for hours at a time!

And I definitely made some Sangha friends. Some were total novices like me, others more experienced and some actually Buddhists. It was brilliant to chat.

I decided to drive back past Brighton Marina and up across the Downs. (why are they called downs when they are up?). It was the last of the sunlight glinting on snow covered fields - absolutely stunning. The sun looked the shiniest penny you have ever seen glinting through a frosty window.

As the sun got lower, the brown tree branches that had shed their coating of snow took a kind of auburn hue against the white backdrop - amazing.

lovely day

will I get home tomorrow?

2012-02-04T14:27:00.000-08:00

It's snowing steadily. I've loved being here for this study weekend, which is only half way through. My favourite bits:

listening to people speak passionately about their research
finding out ways to support them
hearing academics challenge each other in an erudite fashion
getting loads of ideas
having a laugh
finding people seem to think I have something useful to say!

More tomorrow too, brilliant stuff.

Hope the folks at home are keeping it warm and tidy.

learning from colleagues

2012-02-02T15:14:00.000-08:00

I went to an excellent CPD session today, run by two colleagues. They gave up their time freely to run this and gave an amazingly packed hour on forums, MLE, blogs, prezi and twitter.

You can take a look at the #shscpd stream if interested.

Thanks to these two ladies!

Janshs Thanks for a great #cpd session from @vickitoria35 & her colleague #shscpd

Janshs #shscpd @vickitoria35 explains #chats

Janshs “@mikemcsharry: loads of great esafety resources in email from ofcom - it's not on t'internet.It is now http://t.co/HqehknhM” #shscpd

Janshs Do you have to be brave to join in twitter ? #shscpd

Janshs Share your interests to develop #PLN #shscpd

Janshs #shscpd @vickitoria35 shows us how to use prezi as well

Janshs #shscpd the best staffroom in the world #twitter @vickitoria35

Janshs #shscpd @vickitoria35 talking about how to develop a PLN on #twitter

Janshs Prezi by @vickitoria35 now #shscpd

Janshs “@dnew1: @Janshs good session on blogging” #shscpd

Janshs Another benefit of blogs is that you are less likely to lose work #shscpd

Janshs Moving on to prezi in a moment #shscpd

bellaale #shscpd if it wasn't for Twitter, I wouldn't know amazing virtual (but real!) colleagues such as @vickitoria35... ;)

Janshs Plagiarism needs monitoring #blogs #shscpd

Janshs Blogs enable some students to express themselves netter than writing #shscpd

Janshs Blogs mean students can use skills other than prose #shscpd

about 7 hours ago

Janshs Blogs very flexible for different media use #shscpd

Janshs #shscpd @dnew1 says blogs good for reflective learning

Janshs “@mikemcsharry: @janshs use liewriter to compose off line then upload - I do it quite a lot.http://t.co/Uy3VmhSJ” #shscpd thx

Janshs Good for resource sharing as well as asking for help #blogs #shscpd

what a difference a day made

2012-01-31T13:48:00.000-08:00

Musing about what I suppose was a fairly ordinary day. What learning took place for me?

Between 8 and 9 a.m. I darted around seeing people and discussing various bits and pieces.
9 - 9:30 received some training in online data interrogation from a colleague.

spent some time re-learning stuff I already knew about resource preparation and also did a bit of Management by Walking Around.

Lunch time walk around and a chat to some young people - always a learning experience.

2-3 meeting regarding premises - food for thought here.

3:30 - 4:30 attended inclusion CPD

5 - 6 impromptu team meeting.

7 - 8 wrote some academic references.

How lucky I am that this was a fairly normal day!

always worth a try

2012-01-29T09:35:00.000-08:00

I was at a very good staff development day yesterday and I chose two workshops: one on improving student retention and one on personal career development. Surprising cross overs and also with my day job.

Well, no time like the present to try ideas out. So, I spenf a couple of hours today writing personal post cards for students to emphahsise the progress they have made and to make suggestions for further improvement. It will be interesting to see what effect this has.

So that's my bit of learning for today. Short but might be useful.

a good apple crumble

2012-01-26T11:44:00.000-08:00

The day started with a lovely surprise with a bunch of daffodils from a friend - smashing! Daffodils - a splash of sunshine and a dash of hope (see Wordsworth for a more eloquent description!). Thank you to her.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yellow_daffodils_-_floriade_canberra.jpg

Later on I was at a funeral which was as happy a celebration as one can hope for in such circumstances. The eulogies made me think of that saying: they won't remember what you said or did but they'll remember how you made them feel. As time passes that may well be true. It was a good man we said farewell to today. It was especially nice to see a mutual friend who I haven't seen for about a decade. She reminded me of a day when the kids were all young and we had overheard them saying that a good apple crumble is one of life's essentials!

Life's essentials - what have I learned about those? Does apple crumble sum it up, I wonder. Nursery food that remind us of childhood, when the summers were always sunny and the winter snow was just deep enough to make a snowman. Can we retain that simple happiness throughout life? Of course we accumulate worries, stresses, problems, things we might have done better. But, to me, these things do not take away the small or great wonders of nature, or the friendships that span time and distance. They do not diminish our happy memories nor cloud daily delights.

The nightime wakefulness might still find me a little weaker than in the full sunlight - but I still know that the dawn will arrive (sometimes with alarming regularity!).

fortune cookies

2012-01-25T14:15:00.000-08:00

Well, one of those roller coaster days today. Left feeling a bit drained and strangely other worldly.

Colleague gave me a fortune cookie today: success is a journey not a destination. Interesting. I keep coming back to the same idea: learning sometimes has to be done over and over. Then on Twitter this eve I saw this from @timbuckteeth : Without disruption there is no innovation

I've also been thinking about a quote from Ursula le Guin: It's good to have an end to journey towards but it's the journey that matters in the end. This always made me think of my mother, who epitomised the fact that it is not our outward achievements in life that matter, it is not our worldly successes that count, but how we make people feel is perhaps the defining characteristic of our lives.

And sometimes we get it wrong - no point beating ourselves up about that. And sometimes others get it wrong and it hurts but no point bearing a grudge.

We cannot move forward without disruption. The journey is everything. As Peppermint Patty said: how do you wake up with a smile? Go to bed with a coathanger in your mouth.

Tomorrow is another day.

salt and vinegar

2012-01-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

I do love to see my best friends down at the seaside - and always a learning experience. The younger of the two came up with a brilliant comment - we were discussing 'first boyfriends' etc. I said I had once been walked home by a boy called Chris Smith and gave him a kiss (this would have been circa 1974). Then I didn't go out with him again. She said "did you think he'd taste of salt and vinegar and he turned out to be cheese and onion?"

Brilliant! And it's sort of the story of life isn't it? We think we'll get just the thing we want and quite often it's not quite the way we'd like it to be. I loved this youtube clip http://fb.me/Zb1zl0kR via @busynessgirl on Twitter based on Dr Seuss Oh the places you'll go, a book I've always liked.

I had a brilliant Friday eve and Saturday this weekend. Friday night I treated myself to a dinner, bed and breakfast in a lovely posh hotel - even got a free upgrade! The grounds were amazing. The room luxurious and the meal delightful.

Sat in the bar afterwards with a pot of mint tea and my book.

On the way there, I went along some of those roads that have trees arching over like tunels. With my full beam headlights on and the winter bareness, the trees took on a spectral beauty, like driving through the skeletal belly of some vast beast.

The following morning, I drove towards the Sussex coast and saw the sun blinking off the sea as it appeared on the horizon.

And St Matthew's Passion on the radio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=475pqwwbZ1w

Then a lovely day with my friends, chatting, giggling - all that stuff.

But life isn't always that way. Somtimes, as Dr Seuss says, you're in a slump and it's hard to get out.

I really believe that we have to take into acount our friends and family and how they'd not have had quite the same life had we not existed (a la It's a Wonderful Life), the achievements we may have had, the fun and the laughter. And the love of course.

leadership and learning

2012-01-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

When I first became a Head of Department I suppose that I took some interest in a range of leadership styles that I had encountered personally or through reading. I remember two things quite clearly (though, of course, memories are personal and others may remember differently). Firstly, I remember walking round my 'empire' after everyone had gone home one day early on and realising the responsiblity and the thrill! Secondly, in my first department meeting, I told my new team that whatever went well, I'd ensure they got the credit and whatever went not so well that I'd carry the can. I think I stuck to that. I also said that I'd be in early every Wednesday if they needed to see me for a chat. After about four weeks, I wondered why they kept asking me things - then I remembered: I was the 'expert'!

We had ups and downs in that eight years. I tried to stick to my principles; sometimes I succeeded.

Since then, I've had a senior leadership role and I've tried to help others in middle leadership roles. I like to think I've been a 'buffer' when needed and that I've supported both practically and just being around for a chat. In 14 and 1/2 years, I've line managed every subject area at some point; I've done some pastoral lin management; I've stood in as Head of Dept and Head of Year for a term or two when needed as well as doing other roles. It's been an education!

sunshine on a cloudy day

2012-01-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

What a glorious day! I did a bit of tidying in the garden and built a new compost bin from a kit. Filled it up with leaves!

Then I sat for quite a long time in the sun with a book and a succession of cups of coffee.

This the view from where I was sitting. Two parakeets flew over.

So what did I learn from this? I don't know, I was thinking how lovely it was just sit in the sun, with birdsong in the background and a good book on the go. Small pleasures, who can deny us these?

it's important to just keep working on stuff

2012-01-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

Live to work or work to live? We probably all ask ourselves that question every so often and resolve to improve the balance. I suppose it's why I have hobbies like handicrafts and gardening.

Funnly enough though I often think of my work as a bit of a hobby in that it's such good fun. My brother asked me again recently whether I always know if I am working or having fun. I replied that quite often I'm just messing about!

However, we do need to take things seriously as well. What I am learning so far in 2012 is that (occasionally) you have to make sure that other people know you are serious as well.

But not always.

can't remember where I took this pic of a shopping mall in France but I reckon it's fun working there.

getting around to it

2012-01-08T05:25:00.000-08:00

Missed a day or two again. This doesn't mean I haven't learned anything- just that I am not keeping up!

Yesterday I re-attached the polytunnel cover that had come off in the wind, only minimal damage luckily. I also collected a wheelbarrow full of dead wood blown down in the garden. Quite looking forward to the little fire in the outside fireplace that I'll be able to have with that when there is a dusk worth sitting out for (maybe they are all worth sitting out for?).

Today it's been a different sort of dead wood; I finally did a job I've put off for months - the sort out of my wardrobe to take to the charity shop. Once again, I have kept a few things that I'll probably never fit into again - and even if I could, I'd probably be so pleased that I'd treat myself to something new. Well, I'll call them motivation items.

There's loads more throwing away etc. to be done around the house but I am pleased that I have made a start this first weekend of 2012. By the last weekend of the year I hope to have a much more minimalist existence.

Having said all of that, I bought myself a nice book yesterday with ideas for upcycling so of course that means there are some things I am hanging on to with the purpose of makiing new things! Well, maybe everyone will get upcycled Christmas gifts next time around.

It's only half way through the day. I am still trying hard to practice kindness in thought as well as deed. Maybe this afternoon I'll do a little sewing ...

(Sewing .... or sowing ideas ..... hmmm)

Indeed I made two bags from accidentally shrunken woolens and some bits and pieces:

Ripples in a pool

2012-01-05T14:20:00.000-08:00

I knew I'd miss at least a day or so!

I've just finished reading The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Buddhism.

I marked several passages; here is one of my favourites:

"Try to consider as transitory all adverse circumstances and disturbances. Like ripples in a pool, they occur and soon disappear."

Or, in other words, will this matter this time next week, next month, next year?

scarf thing

2012-01-03T14:04:00.000-08:00

Here's the scarf thing I've just knitted - it's kind of loopy!

Three things learned today:
Knitting can be fun
Knitting can be frustrating
and
Always read the instructions!

( the project I started after the above, I wasted about an hour grr)

The World Turns on a Sixpence

2012-01-02T05:49:00.000-08:00

What has today taught me?

When the sun shines I feel better and it even encourages me to get on with indoor tasks that I have been putting off (like the ironing - Before enlightenment, chopping wood, fetching water. After enlightenment, chopping wood, fetching water. (Confucius?)).

And of course, doing those chores made me feel better.

The world turns on a sixpence; one minute we feel happy, the next not. Perhaps what I am learning is that I have to keep on working at learning! It's as though I have to learn the same things over and over. Or at least, reflecting on them. Learning should perhaps involve some sort of struggle to understand. Sometimes, we learn best by trying to explain to others. And I still think that there are some things we are not meant to understand straight away - like that moment at the end of the film, The Last Samurai, where he finally understands that all cherry blossoms are perfect (sorry if you haven't watched it yet, spoilers!).

http://craftymommyandme.blogspot.com/2010/08/blossoming.html
I was reading something by a colleague today that made me think about that last point: "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" (Aristotle - he was not my colleague, I'm not that old.)

I have lots of pictures, cards from children and snatches of poetry etc on my office wall at work. The one people never get is the picture of a hippopotamus - no, it's not strains of Leonard Rossiter - it's to remind me of my insignificance in the universe but that if I did not exist, there would have been a small gap, and that's why I have to keep learning!

Phew, a bit circular today, sorry.

Learning365

2012-01-01T10:41:00.000-08:00

Thanks to @davidErogers for passing on this idea via Twitter: “@ICTEvangelist: A 365 project for learning post.ly/4f9d6 #newapps #weekendlearning”

I am hopeless at keeping these kinds of projects going myself. But I do like this idea.

Learning - is it about learning a fact, a skill, from an experience? Is it about reflecting on your day? All of these and more I guess.

I liked this blog post http://daviderogers.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-is-learning-personal-reflection.html passed on to me by Hayley Allan (http://educatingtrainers.blogspot.com/)

So what have I learned today (1.1.2012)? That staying calm isn't always easy but it almost always pays dividends.

And that's all for now. :-)

Reflections

2011-12-27T01:47:00.000-08:00

As for many folks, I suppose, at the end of the year I reflect back and look forward. Whenever I have a performance appraisal meeting, my boss always asks me what have been my successes in the last year – my mind always instantly goes blank! It’s a bit like group photographs – I quickly look to see if I don’t look too awful and based on that I may or may not spend time looking at the rest of the picture. It’s too easy only to see, hear or recall the negative, the not so good. It’s all too easy to take the blame when things go wrong or to worry about the worst happening. It is too easy to rail against fortune.

Despite knowing these things, I don’t expect to change overnight. I am not going to make a New Year’s resolution to ‘always look on the bright side’. I’ll just keep trying.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.
Dalai Lama

I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.
Dalai Lama

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.
Dalai Lama

After those quotes, one from a novel might seem a bit strange but I liked it:

“It felt strangely grown-up too, as though that’s what being an adult was – the ability to know which secrets needed keeping. And which lies will save the ones you love.” (Matt Haig: The Radleys)

Secrets and lies are not really good things, though sometimes, in life, we learn that silence is the best policy. We don’t have to say out loud everything we are thinking.

And keeping busy is always a good thing. As I posted on Twitter recently, my dad never let me say I was bored- ever - it has been a lesson for my life.

In a recent e-mail chat I posited this (what do you think?): moving away from secular notions of ‘goodness’, which are still relevant and shouldn’t be belittled, I do feel that we all have to keep working at transformation through kindness, even when it seems hopeless and indeed, sometimes it is fruitless but we need to keep trying – perhaps for the sake of our own sanity?

I am not always kind, certainly not in my head, but I’ll keep trying. I don’t always keep busy with useful, positive activities; I’ll try to do better. I will remember that there are times when it’s best to stay quiet.

And I'll keep Cornwall close to my heart.

(sorry I cannot remember which website this pic came from)

And I'll be in the garden if you can't find me.

Harissa and Hastings

2011-12-21T11:04:00.000-08:00

Back from a smashing day out in Hastings with two best friends. Picked them up at St Leonards, drove to the Sheds in Hastings, then coffee, a mooch about, a nice lunch, more mooching, more coffee and then dropped them back at the station.

All I bought was two tins of Harissa paste from a great Moroccan shop and a little tiny present.

Seriously, what could be nicer than spending time with good friends? The weather doesn't matter and everyone around seems to feel the happiness you exude.

I saw this Wordsworth poem in a cafe, and liked it:
The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon,

The winds that will be howling at all hours,

And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,

For this, for everything, we are out of tune;

It moves us not. --Great God! I'd rather be

A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;

So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,

Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;

Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;

Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

chocolate ginger

2011-12-04T07:08:00.000-08:00

Chocolate ginger always reminds me of my Dad - he loved it! The holiday season may not really be about stuffing ourselves with goodies but I cannot see how it's a bad thing if a sweet (or four) reminds me of Christmases Past.

Bought a few new shiny baubles this year but haven't put them up yet. I did get this nice gel burner too and have put it on display already.

Christmas Past - tangerines in stockings and midnight vigil with my Mum (no-one will go with me nowadays). Everyone I loved close to me geographically.

Christmas Present - a time to get in touch with friends and family spread so far around the world. It's sort of my 'job' to keep everyone together - self-appointed :-)

Christmas Future - the whole point about being human is that we do not know what the future holds. Maybe this time next year we'll be millionaires! Or maybe we'll have forgotten any unhappinesses, stresses and strains of 2011 ... because, after all, who knows what a year will bring to our perspective?

Flames are lovely for helping us reflect aren't they?

cafe conversation

2011-11-26T11:42:00.000-08:00

When I was very young, a long time ago, my father used to write me stories. When he was in hospital for a long time, he wrote a series of fairy stories for me which I still have. Sad to say I do not have the letters which he wrote when on train journeys; tales of spies, shady characters and romantic ladies who shared the train with him (or so he wrote, using all his imagination).

Nowadays, I delight in eavesdropping snatches of conversations in cafes. hairdressers and shops. Perhaps, some day, I'll write them down. They are innocent fun, harmless and charming.

Just one of the reasons I love my Saturday afternoon jaunts.

misty sunset

2011-11-19T10:33:00.000-08:00

Wish I had a picture to go with this. Was driving home just after sunset and it was a beautiful sight - lacy black bare branched trees against misty stripes of varying greys, pink and light turquoise. Wow.

What a beautiful day too: I sat at a pavement cafe in mid November! Somehow jingle bells from a shop I walked past didn't seem quite right.

The songs on my car radio were autumnal choices too: stories of things lost or not quite gained. But that's life I suppose.

One voice

2011-11-13T06:48:00.000-08:00

"One voice can change a room, and if one voice can change a room, it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it can change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world." Barack Obama

In Remembrance Assemblies this week I spoke to the students about thankfulness, remembering and hope. We need to be thankful because, in the words of a young soldier on the news this week, that each day is a gift, not a given. We need to remember, because if we forget we can repeat mistakes. We must have hope.

"What is true of the individual will be tomorrow true of the whole nation if individuals will but refuse to lose heart and hope." Mahatma Gandhi

But these things are not easy. Each of us sometimes forgets about the gift of our life. I don't just mean the gift that we have life but the gift that our life brings to others. A kind colleague wrote to me recently: " ... you find time to give boosts to my confidence; I'm not sure you realise how inspirational you are ..." Well, I am probably not truly inspirational but I am pleased that I have sometimes given her a boost. If I was not around, someone else would probably have done it but still I am grateful that I was able to give that gift on this occasion. And sometimes, we repeat mistakes - because we are human, but we try again. And the last one can be the most difficult, even when the sun is shining in a perfect blue autumn sky.

Can your voice change the world? Well maybe it can change a small part of it. When heart and hope are feeling a little wobbly, you have to find one thing to hold on to. I tell my students that when they are in an exam and feeling a bit overwhelmed, take three minutes out to imagine a favourite place (real or imaginary) and to use all their senses to imagine what is there. It is a calming tip that I use myself when I need to boost that hope thing.

Wishing you all peace.

a week of crafts and flowers

2011-11-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

It was a misty morning when I set off for work today (yes work on a Saturday, well I don't have to often and some people always do). I was a bit glum but I'd done the laundry, the washing up, and put the rubbish in the bin. And whilst doing this last one I saw a sight for sore eyes: this little flower bravely holding on amongst the twigs and leaves of Autumn:

I've been upcycling a bit lately too. Started with some rag rugging made from Mum's old pillowcases::

Moving on to some junk shop finds to use as a legacy note/scrap book:

and today some charity shop scarves made into cushion covers:

And the moral of the story is: when it's a grey day, look for some "sunshine", keep busy, create, and if you can feel virtuous by recyling all the better :-)

wondering why

2011-10-31T13:57:00.000-07:00

I was driving through the beautiful autumn scenery this weekend and wondering just why humans are inquisitive, creative, determined to do more than just live and survive. How is it that we changed from creatures that fed, sought shelter, protected ourselves from danger? Is there a plan here and if so, what? Perhaps it is all just coincidence. Why does music stir us, why do we write poetry, make up stories, paint pictures, create furniture and clothes, gild ourselves with cosmetics?

Is it all for the glory of God?

OK, moving along with this particular stream of consciousness ....

So why do we have jobs, money, schools, politics (and politicians)? I suppose once you have a social group you need mores, laws, rules and thus someone to ensure that they are upheld, developed over time, reviewed, evaluated and passed on.

Scary innit?

Autumn

2011-10-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

The colours have been lovely this year. So I pick a wet and dull day to take some snaps.

so what is leadership?

2011-10-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

I had a great chat with a colleague today about what we mean by the term leadership. Well, lots of erudite writing exists about transactional, transformational, buffered, distributed leadership ..... and much much more. She asked me what I see is the key aspects of leadership and I trotted out some of the usual trite stuff about shared vision and so on. I also remembered something a colleague once said to me about delegating responsibility rather than just delegating tasks. Does that make you a leader ... or the person to whom you are delegating? Does helping to build leadership in others make you a leader?

I started to wonder if we need a new word. So much has been written about the differences between management and leadership. Are we entering a phase where we need to acknowledge that there are overlaps and ermm outerlaps?

Later in the day, she asked me if I had planned my career and I had to admit that I had not. I talked her through my life story (well she did ask) and was struck by her response: "so you've never said no to an opportunity?" I admitted there was one major opportunity I had turned down but broadly agreed with her assessment.

I believe that I've been lucky, blessed even.

Is leadership 'letting go' of management? I think it is certainly letting go of micro-management. Leadership from within a team is an interesting concept that is currently exercising my sociological imagination.

My colleague came up with the idea of chats recorded on video and saved on our VLE. Perhaps we should start some panel chats .... has anyone done this? I'd love to hear about it ...

note this is duplicated on my Janshs blog

A walk on the wild side

2011-09-18T05:19:00.000-07:00

After the last two posts and a chat via e-mail with a friend who mentioned Maslow's hiearchy of needs....

physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, self-actualization

http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs

Which parts of our physical, psychological, emotional, social and creative selves are related to the landscape? If I feel better when I am in the garden than in the house, what should I be learning from that? I feel happier at the seaside - whatever the weather, I feel moved when on the moors. Thunder and lightning, a star filled sky - all wonderful.

The garden (and hedgerow, and farmed lands) sustain needs for food, and I get great happiness from growing or hedgerow harvesting -- this must also plug into my self-esteem and creativity. Sharing produce with others helps to develop a sense of belonging and friendship.

Our relationship with other aspects of the landscape, coast and weather is less 'controlled'. Perhaps there is a sense of letting go when we experience these wilder places. I cannot remember where I read "some people walk in the rain, others just get wet". In reality, I suspect that each of us can do either of those things and it depends very much on our state of mind at the time. If I could tap into that ability to 'walk in the rain' all the time, if I could communicate that to others .... then I might be getting somewhere. Maybe it comes back to rice and flowers after all. And spaces and faith, of course.

Why I miss Cornwall

2011-09-18T02:24:00.000-07:00

Found a great book on Devon and Cornwall in a second hand shop yesterday (R. Duncan, 1966). I liked a couple of bits in particular:

he quotes Halliday (1959): "If you take the three-hundred-mile journey from London to Land's End, we travel also in time, back towards our beginning,"

and he finishes up with

(it) "is something to do with the moors and the cliffs, because both of these seem to despise and defy humanity. It is their indifference which attracts me to them. In an age which is obsessed with human progress and materialism, it is a great relief to stand on some headland ... and look out at the Atlantic which is aloof to both." (written 1966, before the moon landing)

carousels and candyfloss

2011-09-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

It was a bit grey and blowy down at the seaside today but still lots of fun to be had, mooching around the shops in the old part of Hastings and scrunching through the pebbles towards the sea!

Apparently these shed type buildings are called the Net Shops and are Victorian places to dry nets and so on.

And here is the vertical railway (I didn't try it out).

And a few boats to finish off.

I love the English seaside - crazy golfers in howling gales weather, a cuppa on the seafront, and everyone (well almost) looking happy! And the sea breeze blew my cobwebs away.

still musing after all these years

2011-09-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

Thinking back to that Church in Zennor. There was this profound sense of peace and love ...but it was also there on the heath driving there from St Ives.

I remember being a bit cross when I visited York Minster to have to pay an entrance fee and seeing a sign that said 'you can worship in the side chapel for nothing'. Of course I know these places need income. It's just that I can worship on the pavement if I desire.
But I'm not yet a Christian. It seems to me to be too bound up with 'humanity' to me - does that make sense? When do we feel a greater power? I feel it oftentimes when I am under the stars as I stand in the garden at night (well of course I do, that's the sense of the immensity of the universe isn't it?) and sometimes in smaller things. I have always thought it was the sea that I miss from Cornwall and I take myself off to the seaside quite often on a Saturday. After the trip this year, I am beginning to think that it is the light that I miss. Or is it the Light that I seek?

Christianity is too bound up with humanity for me to embrace it completely ( a human construct?). Then I remember the whole point about God made Man ..........

thoughts welcome

a nice bt of greenery

2011-08-26T06:51:00.000-07:00

A few more photos from my Cornish holidays this year

sea

2011-08-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

a leaf of faith

2011-08-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry, the title is kind of a private joke ...

but, you know, God in the small things and all that .... the natural world, friendship, love - these are the leaps of faith that enable us to make connections ...

(Trebah Gardens)

We often hear of unconditional love, and I don't deny it's existence. I am starting to wonder if there is also such a thing as residual love. One example might be the love we continue to feel for people from whom we have been parted, by death or otherwise. That residual love seems to stay with us and we can tap into it when we need or desire it. That's what we might call individual residual love.

Is there also such a thing as group or communal residual love? For example, the esteem we feel for well known personages which continues after their lifetimes, especially in their works, or the people and communities they have helped.

Is there something deeper? Why, for instance, do some places of worship, or some special gardens, seem to exude peace? Are they imbued with the deep soul of people who have been there? These people may have only visited once or often. Is it just tradition or habit which leads to Temples, Churches, Mosques being built on the site of ancient religious sites?

(Hepworth Garden)

There are special images I recall from growing up and they involve many sensory experiences: like walking the lanes to the Minnack Theatre on days which were alway sunny on my back and skin, the scents of the wild herbs, the blue sky; like that big old moon close to the horizon walking home when I missed the last bus from Penzance to St Ives.

God in the garden, at the seaside, in the lanes, on the moors ....

.... a leaf of faith: who knows where we will find love or affection? Who knows when the world may turn on a sixpence (that's 2.5 pence to you) and everything will change? Things we thought lost may yet be found; wishes we make with coins in fountains may yet come true.

and here is a prayer I noticed in the Church at Zennor:

Circle me, Lord.

Keep protection near
And danger afar.
Circle me, Lord
Keep hope within.
Keep doubt without.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep light near
And darkness afar.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep peace within.
Keep evil out.
david adam

May your own God bless you this night

The spaces between

2011-08-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

This is probably not the most picturesque shot I took whilst on holiday - I like it though because it made me think about the spaces between what we see - and how they are sometimes just as interesting or even more interesting than what we thought we were looking at, or thinking about.

Then I thought about focus. If you focus on the space, does the boundary become more or less well defined? If the boundaries did not exist, there would be no spaces. So, if we start to consider 'down' times in life as spaces between boundaries rather than as just 'emptiness', we might start to think about how we can move on to the next area.

Meanwhile some more pictures...... and I didn't realise how often spaces seem to appeal to me until I looked at these ..

Mum's Cactus

2011-07-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Don't know why it keeps coming out sideways. Anyway this is my Mum's Christmas cactus. Only it never flowers at Christmas, nor at Easter. Don't think it's a cactus either, perhaps it's a succulent.

The thing is it's in flower now, which is unusual even for this little chap. I like to think it flowers when it knows I need it to.

I am very reflective at the moment. It's been a long twelve months and just coming out of a sort of mist.

And there are these lovely red flowers every time I open my front door.

Smashing

TGFZ

2011-07-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

Thank Goodness For Zeppelin

Start of summer break - I should be really really happy, right? Hmm think the adrenaline high has gone and left me in the doldrums.

So I did what I always do and went to the seaside!

Had lunch on the seafront then wandered around a bit. Felt heaps better. Then ......Lost car park ticket and had to pay a full day ...... back to grumpy!

Drove home with Led Zeppelin on Loud! TGFZ

to do

2011-07-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

So, it's a Sunday, I have finished all the things I absolutely have to do

Hmm, lots things I could be getting on with of course

Hmm

And it's raining and miserable outside so I really might as well start cleaning cupboards out and so on

Hmm

the end of an era

2011-07-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today has been tinged with a little sadness as it was probably the last time I shall facilitate a tutorial at Tunbridge Wells. I have been going there for a few years now and although the stairs nearly take all my breath away, the staff are excellent and provide great help with IT and accommodation. Pretty good facilities as well. It feels like every year I have met a rather special group of people and I always learn at least as much from them as vice versa.

I always prepare and then generally completely change what I am doing in light of the discussion that takes off!

Oh well got to be reflection in action - eh?

We seem to always get a good turn out and quite often have to raid other rooms for extra chairs.

So sort of the end of an era for me; but the next challenge is to build on what has become a thriving online forum and develop the ideas for next year's group. Onward and upwards.

I have come to love that view of Kent from the A21 (I've mentioned it before) but I'll see it again because I've also come to love the shops. Found a great cafe today in the an arts/theatre centre - sat for ages with friend, chatted, looked at books etc. Wonderful.

reflections down by the river

2011-06-26T02:14:00.000-07:00

Went to Rye today and walked up a cobbled street after lunch by the river.

Don't know why but I started to think about a typical weekend form my childhood or early teenage. It would have included at least some of the following ingredients .....

At some point we'd have gone for a walk and done a fair bit of hedgerow foraging. Dad would have told me the names of all the wild flowers and something about them. Don't ask me how he knew all this having himself grown up in the East End of London. He was the epitome of an enquiring mind. He would also talk about country lore and the weather and so on.

Every Saturday without fail, we would go to the local lending library. We would read whilst there and also bring books home.

Entertainment was varied. Dad loved the Old Grey Whistle Test on TV so I was allowed to stay up late for that. Sometimes, we really did sit around and read plays and poetry aloud or Dad would help me make props for school plays. He also made up some great ghost stories himself!

We might play Cribbage or Dominoes or Dad and Mum might tell stories of their own childhood. We might listen to the radio or I might need help with my homework - especially the Latin and French, or even the Maths. Mum might be at the sewing machine and showing me how to turn sheets sides to middle.

So I grew up to be interested in plants, self sufficiency, history, stories, plays, art, philosophy, religion, Mathematics, languages, music.I never really shared Dad's love of politics or boxing - though I'll still watch both of those kinds of 'matches' if the occasion arises!

I wonder if I'd have been very different if childhood had been different? I like to think I'll try to find an interest in a wide range of topics or themes. It's almost always worth the effort!

Thanks Mum and Dad.

in the garden

2011-06-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

Lovely day (between showers!) so I have mostly been in the garden!

the veg beds

the wild bit

mock orange blossom

the bog garden

rockery plants

colourful pebbles on the rockery

potager

kiwi through tunnel window

worthwhile exercise

2011-06-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd try this little exercise after reading http://tinybuddha.com/blog/find-your-calling-5-steps-to-identify-your-purpose/

It was a worthwhile exercise. Haha you thought this was going to be me taking up sport!

1. Notice what captivates you.

In my reading list I currently have some stuff about doing research, a few novels (easy to read/feel good ones mainly, though not all), some books of poetry and quotations.

I suppose it’s the ones that spark ideas for me that really grab my interest. But I do love a bit of escapism as well.

2. Take your life inventory, reflecting past callings.

I sort of miss having some study related activity. I have decided really not to do any more for some time though. I want to put more energy into writing.

I also miss my more creative activities like painting and sewing. Perhaps I should actually go back to some of those – or take up something similar.

I still love my gardening but I have realised it is the design aspect I like most so I am going to re-vamp the front garden when I have a nice long period of time to do it properly.

3. Journal on what your calling is (fifty things!).

Planning Sharing Caring Efficiency Testing Music Obsession? Equality

Ideas Promoting Praising Strategic Experimentation Imagery Building Opportunity

Creating Linking Reflection Hope Discussion Multi-generation Developing Seeking

Designing Enabling Reflexivity Optimism Debate Talking! Credit Mystery

Writing Leading Speculation Passion Recording Listening A voice for all Friendship

Learning Showing Consideration Innovation Pictures Guiding Equity Love

Reading Helping

4. Ask others what they think.

The place for comments please

5. Use your values as a guide (What’s whispering in your ear? What will you do about it?)

Maybe I just need to spend more energy on aspects like linking people’s ideas and development together – I mean, matching them together so they each know what the other is doing. This can be done face to face and through writing, and other media.

Still thinking – oops didn’t put that one in the table above!

oops there goes another rubber tree plant

2011-06-12T06:20:00.000-07:00

I can't remember where I saw the saying: if you let go of an impossible dream, you leave room for the possible to happen.

Every so often I get those little moments where I realise that (with all the optimism in the world) I am day dreaming about something quite impossible - or so nearly impossible as to make it more or less the same thing.

So it makes sense, doesn't it, to stop wasting time and energy on that activity? Or does it? It hurts to let go, we all know that. It requires effort too. Sometimes, you just don't want to. The Buddhist way of looking at this dilemma might be that the fruit tastes so good that even though we know it is bad for us, we keep going back for a taste.

And what part does hope play? If we let go the dream, are we saying all hope of that is gone? If we keep a shred of hope tucked away in a corner of our minds, are we 'cheating' in saying we let go the dream?

I suppose that these are the times when I find it best to just try to stop the day dreaming and just see what happens - que sera sera, as my Mum used to sing to me when I was little.

(I am not recommending this necessarily for others who have much greater problems on their minds, much greater and more important hopes and fears. This is just me with my fairly small bits of day dreaming. It's not about the bigger issues.)

a day in the garden - despite the rain

2011-06-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

I did manage a bit of gardening today, planted a few flowers out, bit of mulching. Then I sat for quite a while under the umbrella and read but eventually the rain got too much and I had to come in. So I brought a few flowers in with me - and I'll take them to my office tomorrow to keep the holidays going just a little while longer. The scent of the pinks (dianthus) is amazing.

So just some reading now and then I suppose an early night as it's work tomorrow.

It's just a bowl

2011-06-04T04:44:00.000-07:00

Couldn't think of a good title for this post because I am mixing up quite a lot of stuff in it. First of all here's the first bowl of cherries from the cherry tree. It's also the first year I've gotten to any of them before the critters that live in the garden! The background is my old kitchen table, as usual.

This morning I have spent a happy hour or so (so I was thinking of 'Happy Hour' for the title of the post) ironing rectangular items - quite satisfying in a slightly geeky way. Here you can see linen that dates back to my mother and grandmother alongside my stuff from the 70s and 80s, and a few newer bits as well.

Yesterday, being the last weekday of the half term holiday, I took myself off to Whitstable. The last time I was there I was a bit down in the dumps, all for reasons that were nobody's fault but my own. It was the start of my seaside trips that lasted all through the Autumn of 2010 and began again a couple of weeks ago. I grew up by the sea and had a favourite boulder that I would sit on when a bit out of sorts with the world. I've recalled that the sea always makes me feel better. Is it the salt air, the vivid colours, or the adrenaline boosting power of the waves? Who knows.

Yesterday was a gloriously sunny day, though the sea looked a bit choppy, and I sat for ages with a coffee right by the board walk. I love that board walk in Whitstable - fishermen's huts, shingle, a bit of sand, and windswept but hardy little flowers. I think these are wild geraniums (Cranesbill) - if you look carefully you'll see the sweetie wrapper that I didn't spot till after I had taken the shot.

I was tempted by the oysters but the poor lad in the booth was working alone and every time there looked like a lull another group appeared so I didn't in the end.

Here are another couple of Whitstable photographs.

Then last evening I learned how to play my i-phone music through the hifi and I also read a detective novel (Sam Casey if you're interested).

So nothing philosophical in this post. Just me enjoying myself. Someone told me a while back that it's OK to do that now and then .....

Life is just a bowl of cherries after all.

You ask me why I buy rice and flowers

2011-06-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Confucius: You ask me why I buy rice and flowers? I buy rice to live and I buy flowers to have something to live for.

I had a lovely day out with two best friends in Brighton today, the sun shone and ... I forgot my camera! We had a lovely chat too with a lady in a shop who said the three most important things in life are to read, to write and to dream. That lady should get a blog, I think. This poem was displayed in her shop:

“If, of thy mortal goods, thou art bereft, And from thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left, Sell one and from the dole, Buy Hyacinths to feed the soul” Muslih-uddin Sadi

Friends, defintely something to live for.

On those times when I have felt that I was plummeting out of control, there was always a helping hand that appeared over the precipice to haul me back up again - thank you.

On the way, I had a good old sing-a-long with the radio. When it got to the Beach Boys ...

God only knows what I'd be without you
If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me

Well I looked at the glorious Sussex countryside and thought of all that does make life worth living (even when we are dealing with those people who are EGR - extra Grace required (Jim Jackson)) - and I smiled.

a windy day at the Seaside

2011-05-29T05:09:00.000-07:00

It was a windy day in Le Touquet but we still had a lovely trip for a couple of days.

shopping day out

2011-05-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday found me in Guildford High Street – another place I haven’t been to for years! I liked this clock and bell tower thing and it was another interesting sky as well.

I did a little shopping and finally bought my i-phone – now I just need to work out how to use it. ....

I had a rather nice lunch as well and had time to fish out my little notebook and do some reflective writing. Maybe one day I’ll put all this reflection to some useful purpose. I might write it down all in one place or maybe I might even start to practice the ideas that I preach to myself. Today’s thoughts were largely about the notion that we can be happy without the approbation of others, that it is our own feelings that can make us feel calm and peaceful even if others do not necessarily share them with us. Thinking about it, how can it ever be bad to have good thoughts about others and to see the good in them?

Friday evening

2011-05-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

Home in time to sit in the sun -

the wilderness by the pond

and a pretty Delphinium

You can't be indifferent

2011-05-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

I have been to two lovely events in the last two days! How lucky. The first was at the College of Teachers seeing teachers gain chartered status and other awards as well as some honorary stuff. Great speech from Professor Mick Waters. The second was at the Open University as part of Adult Learners Week where students and educators alike were commended. Professor Chris Baker spoke this time.

Both were great events and celebrated learning in its widest sense. At each event, other people spoke up for those commended and these people also did a great job - explaining in a really nice way the achievements of the person they were putting forward - sometimes with very moving stories.

I think Mick Waters speech gave me most to think about. He talked, for example, about Colleges not being places but groups of people who work and learn together. Chris Baker took the words right out of my mouth when he spoke of the partnership between students and tutors. (Well would have if I'd been speaking as opposed to just thinking!)

It seems to me that when true learning happens, you cannot be indifferent to it. It might be the wonder on a child's face, the joy on a spouse, parent or child when their loved one achieves, the ex-student who runs up to say hello in the street.

People ask me why have I been a school teacher for so long and/or why do I do the open university work on top of my day job? There are two reasons: I enjoy it and it is a privilege.

At the College of Teachers, Lord Mitchell asked us if we could sum up our lives in 6 words. My boss on the day job said why would you want to? I suppose it is about thinking what is your main focus. But I have found it incredibly difficult to do!

ice cream castles in the air

2011-05-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

Popped down to Eastbourne today. Don't think I've been there since 1977. Apart from more chain shops and cafes it was much the same and nice to see some old family name shops etc. Parked on the sea front and walked up to the railway station and remembered waiting in the station cafe and hoping the time would not come for my train home! Walked along the sea front and remembered sitting there as a teenager. Had some nice fish and chips and a cup of tea for lunch as well.

It was cloudy but spots of sunshine as well.

#thingsmybigbrothersays

2011-05-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

Well my big brother is coming to see me tomorrow so I'd better organise cake - he cannot go 24 hours without cake, I am sure of that. I wouldn't mind but he is very very skinny! Ah well.

He has often been my inspiration in all sorts of funny ways. Here are some of his sayings:

I have often done something that was supposed to be fun and it turned out to be hard work. And I have often done something that was supposed to be hard work and it turned out to be fun.

There is no sense in worrying. Either what you are worrying about will happen and you will find some way of dealing with it. Or it won't and then you wasted energy worrying.

Every minute has sixty second. Every hour has sixty minutes. Every day had twenty-four hours. This time tomorrow, the world will have moved on and things will look different.

How can you say you know a subject if you don't score at least 70% in a test?!

My other brother has inspired me too. He has been known to say:

My Dad taught me I could be whatever I wanted to be and my Mum gave us the work ethic to make that happen.

Dad was a man from a working-class background who worked very hard to help us see the world beyond the world that he knew.

I have been lucky enough to have had many inspirational people cross my path in life, from my own teachers in school days, to tutors in higher education, to my own students (lots of those, with lots of thought-provoking stuff), to friends and family, colleagues, and my own son.

Lucky indeed. I believe it is important to seek inspiration and to know it when you see it.

The Hopi Elders Speak

We Are the Ones We've Been Waiting For
You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is The Hour.
And there are things to be considered:
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your truth
Create your community. Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.
Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water. See who is in there with you and celebrate.
At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally. Least of all, ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.
The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves!
Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary.
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we've been waiting for.

http://www.spiritofmaat.com/messages/oct28/hopi.htm

a long day

2011-04-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

Today feels like it's lasted about 48 hours though I cannot say why. Crossed quite a lot off my to do list, managed to see my best friend for a cuppa on the way home and now feet up. It's just been one of those days when so much seems to have happened that I cannot remember it all.

I'd like a walk or a sit in the garden - maybe in a little while.

oh and a rather touching moment when an ex-student ran after to me to say hello in the street - was nice

Pimms ....

2011-04-25T11:57:00.000-07:00

Well it's not quite Pimms time here but I am growing the cucumbers and strawberries ...

Time Travel

2011-04-24T15:26:00.000-07:00

Bit of a mixed up day. Bit of marking followed by taking Mother-in-Law out to a lovely spot (Chiddingstone Castle) and I forgot the camera. Home and cooking a roast dinner then sitting out back w/ son and his OH followed by looking at wedding pics from a Very Long Time Ago.

Might watch Dr Who on i player before bedtime. Haha more time travel ....

procrastination

2011-04-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

Nice day getting various jobs done today in and outside the house - strangely putting off doing more "important" stuff though ... oh dear

new polytunnels

2011-04-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

I used to have a polytunnel but the cover fell through eventually a couple of years ago and I replaced it with a polycarbonate greenhouse but it was never right and it suffered badly in the snows over the last two years. I had kept the old frame and bought a new one so now I have two lovely polytunnels. Planted one up today - there is stuff in there - as well as the kiwi that I built it around - honestly, they're just a bit small at the moment!

Ozymandias

2011-04-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

Just back from trip to Greece. I find it hard to understand how I have never gotten around to this trip before! I love the airports and the flight - great for people watching: from the teenager with the Edward Carlisle hairdo to the erstwhile gap year turned yuppies turned yummy mummies and daddies, the 'lads', the beautiful people - and us!

After some exploratory tourism (see feet wrapped in cold flannels above), I sat on the balcony seven floors up and watched the sky along the horizon turn from pink to lilac to smoky inky blue as the swallows darted amongst the ruins of the temple of Zeus. I could not help but think of the poem ... "I am Ozymandias,King of Kings, look on my works, ye mighty, and despair" ... on the other hand, 2500 years is not a bad legacy.

As a Saxon-Celt, it seems strange to think of the academe that existed here two and a half millenia ago. Amazing how different societies and civilizations develop and then co-exist.

The next day and it was off to the Parthenon, with all of its associated temples and theatres on or near the Acropolis. Thence to the Agora, Hadrian's Library and the Roman Forum. Even in the current state of disrepair/attempted 'halt and repair', these buildings are awe inspiring and astonishing. What will be here in another 2500 years' time? If we could come back (H. G.Wells style) would we see Morlocks and Eloi co-exist? I have never wanted to live forever but confess to a sneaking desire to see.

Day three saw me atop the other big hill with monastery on top - sadly adorned now with aerials and graffiti.

We also visited the site of the first modern Olympics - sets the hairs up on the back of your neck.

And on day four it was time to come home, after a quick visit to the amazing Acropolis Museum (the new one).

This city never sleeps (though it seems all the dogs do). All night, the trams, cars, horns keep going. Wonderful really.

I can see why people come here and stay. I leave a little part of my heart high on a hill in Athens.

the newts are back

2011-04-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

The newts are back in the pond but are too quick for me to photograph so you got a few flowers instead - all in the garden on an early summer's eve

A few flower pictures from the garden - honesty, forget me nots, cowslips and marsh marigolds

Invaluable in a shipwreck

2011-04-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

Came across this great quotation in a presentation today, perhaps you've come across it before. "Acceptable at a dance and invaluable at a shipwreck"JF Roxburgh, the first Headmaster of Stowe (when asked by a visiting parent in the 1920s to describe the type of young person he wanted the school to produce).

Got the above from here http://www.warminsterschool.org.uk/artman2/publish/seniorschoolnews/Acceptable_at_a_dance_and_invaluable_at_a_shipwreck_printer.php

I love it! Isn't that actually what we'd like to believe about ourselves and thus for anyone who we coach/mentor/teach?

I'd like to think I can cope in a crisis - though I don't always. I try hard to have the manners and mannerisms that help me get by with a variety of people - ditto.

hellebores and other stuff

2011-04-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

I love hellebores, this clump gets more magnificent each year, but they do hang down so you need to stoop to get their individual splendour.

I also planted up some mint - including one that tastes of chocolate and mint ...

and then it was time for a cuppa and a read of a magazine and a garden equipment catalogue

love being able to get outside - I even cut the grass!

seaside 2011 begins ...

2011-04-02T11:08:00.000-07:00

Went off to Brighton today

needless to say the sun went in for a little while when I got the camera out!

Still (despite being very busy and trouble parking - not to mention the cost!) I had a nice time. Sat right on the beach front and had some lovely grilled sardines with bread and butter and a coffee. Was reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and may have laughed out loud a couple of times - got a few 'looks' - oops!

Listened to Jason Mraz on way home in the car e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjvWW6rr77c

Might cut the grass tomorrow .....

summer's here?

2011-03-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day. Did a little work this morning then off to Chartwell for a little while. Bought these toppers for my bean poles (yes, I know they're a bit wobbly):

The garden is what you might call 'romantic' aka 'a bit of a mess'. My brother says it is 'eccentric':

But summer must be nearly here because I have started the first little fire to sit by in the twilight and watch the bats and stuff.

And of course we got an extra hour of sunlight as well so that was nice.

wishing on a star

2011-03-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2aoi9_rose-royce-wishing-on-a-star_music

sums up how I feel this evening ..

rather like Fawlty Towers

2011-03-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

Rather like an episode of Fawlty Towers weatherwise today: it was a bit cool when I went out, then it rained a bit, then the sun came ut, then it was overcast but warm ...

So these flowers aren't in the sun but I still get a cheer in my soul when I pass them on the way out of the front door each day:

I'm hoping for some gravel to freshen up the edge of the path for Mothers' Day (hint hint son)

in the sunshine

2011-03-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

sorry I didn't get a pic of it but there was this moment when I looked out the kitchen window this morning and a shaft of light hit a single daffodil ... I had to wander up the garden for a look ..

feet

2011-03-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

You got the feet this eve! Been sitting nearly all day so the achy feet must be psychological....

why I do the job I do

2011-03-21T14:48:00.001-07:00

It's been a long day. Tomorrow, I probably still won't get through all my e-mails, people who want to see me for good reasons etc.

All the same, I like what I do (most days); so I'll keep doing it for a while longer.

By the way, always good to speak to others who love their work as well. That's one of the best things about it!

it's still a bit cool outside

2011-03-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

Still a bit too chilly to eat out at lunchtime. But I am determined to at least get out and prepare the veg beds later on. Might light the fire outside later too.

Mum's best china - I like to use it occasionally.

rhubarb

2011-03-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

The garden's coming back to life and looks nice in the spring sunshine.

This one is my favourite spot, so you may have seen it before:

and here is the spot which I call the woodland area (it's only about 2 metres by 2 metres!

and finally, the seat in the 'meadow' (3m by 1/2 m!) next to the pond

Went for a trip into Kent today and the countryside was as beautiful as ever. But my little bit of Surrey is rather lovely too. Now it's back to marking and more coffee!

Friday!!!

2011-03-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hooray it's Friday! This weekend all I have to do is catch up! No outside stuff or trips or whatever - just catch up with marking, chores etc. I'll feel great on Sunday evening. Ahhhhh

And for now, it's feet up and relax!

Was going to post a pic of my feet here but thought you might prefer I didn't .....

pictures of spring

2011-03-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

Chores

2011-03-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have been enjoying my Lent project this year. It's about reading a chapter a day and reflecting. It's nice to have 30 minutes or so a day that is not about work, home chores, study, not even about the usual diversions (food, TV, Twitter, texting, e-mail).

30 days left.

Wonder if I'll continue ..

never bored

2011-03-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

My Dad would scold me (quite gently, as he was that type of parent) if I ever said, "I'm bored." Read, improve your mind, do something - he would say. He used to let me stay up late to watch The Old Grey Whistle Test and Clochemerle. He took me to the library every Saturday.

And why am I thinking about this today?

My job is never ever boring - even if a tad repetetive at times, it never bores me. And when I get home I can choose from a myriad things to do.

Never bored - maybe that's what'll be on my tombstone ;-)

still crazy after all these years

2011-03-14T15:30:00.001-07:00

heard on radio today: got along without you before I met you, gonna get along without you now

then found this super version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhBuLDBvdNA

struggling

2011-03-14T13:38:00.001-07:00

struggling to keep up with work, not feel ill, do my Lent project etc etc

watch this space (if you want to)

Travelling

2011-03-13T04:02:00.000-07:00

Had to pop up to the North of the country this weekend. Still, it was a break from cooking etc. and there certainly were brilliant views from the room – looking out over Southport sands. I should think that these are some of the most expansive sands in the country. It certainly looked a long way to the shore line.

The sun did come out a bit more after I took this photo

.... but I had a bit of trouble opening and closing the window so I didn’t keep messing about with it.

Later on, the view from Parbold Hill

Southport

2011-03-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

The view from my hotel

back to marking now...

a nice day

2011-03-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

A nice day. Invited to my friend's daughter's school show at end of March. Boss said nice things about me publicly and privately. Home a bit late but hey! pancakes! oops ate them too quickly to take a pic - sorry ;-)

change what you can't accept

2011-03-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

An idea from @keithschofield on Twitter Accept what you can't change. Change what you can't accept.

- made me think: perhaps this will be what I'll do for Lent. Sounds better than trying to give up chocolate - a non-starter anyway.

I think the second part might be more difficult than the first though

Can I change what I cannot accept? Within myself? Other?

First of all, what cannot I accept? The thing that I keep going on about: the part of me that finds it hard to deal with EGR people (extra grace required), the part that keeps wondering why things happen - they just do (see Job). So I need to change me?

or ..... change something that I really feel could be better?

hmmm

anywhere you like

2011-03-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

I was given a book today with the instruction to read a chapter a day so I just have. (The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren).

Interesting. It comes back to something I think I posted about quite some time ago: that we are not the centre of the universe and when we try to understand why something happened 'to' us it might be worth considering what the purpose was for the other person or people involved.

A long long time ago, when I was a very small child, my family moved to Cornwall. We had a car and were travelling along a country road, soon after moving there. My Dad stopped to ask a man walking along the roadside "where does this road go please?" The reply? "Anywhere you like m'dears, if you keep going long enough."

The thing is, it's not really our business what the purpose was for the other person. It's our business to find out where the road is taking us - and what we will do on the way.

soooo tired

2011-03-07T11:24:00.000-08:00

Still really tired from those two late nights. But kind of buzzing as well! So much stuff in my head re work, life, the universe etc.!

And this is a picture from last summer - just reminds me what keeps me centred - the sea!

oh the places you'll go

2011-03-06T07:57:00.000-08:00

Just bought Oh The Places You'll Go Dr Seuss

Spouse comments that my tastes in reading matter are somehwat eclectic! Sure!

This will be a great book for assemblies at school, especially alongside the photo of me with Daryl Dawkins (basketball player) that my son's OH took last eve. Daryl is approximately 2.5 feet taller than me I should think, so she did well to get us both in the frame.

But why the story to go with it? Well Daryl has sure used his talents to go to the hoop - and remained a lovely and charming man as far as I could tell. And I like to think I have used my talents as best I could (so far at least). And we don't always have things go our way, and it's not always easy to even see what our talents are.

As Dr Seuss puts it:
You'll come down from that Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump. And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun. Un-Slumping yourself is not easily done.

Times when we slump, it's hard to see what our talents are, it's easy enough to blame others as well. But there's almost always someone wiling to help - even if it's just something that makes you smile. So to all who have ever cheered me up when I've been in a Slump - Thank You!

addendum

2011-03-05T18:44:00.001-08:00

out late again, more basketball, brilliant match

en famille as well, nice

Tunbridge Wells again

2011-03-05T06:58:00.000-08:00

Back to Tunbridge Wells this morning. This time I was leading a tutorial - it went well (in my opinion!). Had coffee then did a little shopping; now it's time for a nap on the sofa! Phew, can't keep the pace going nowadays.

I enjoy my tutoring. Sometimes people ask me why I do an extra job. I think my life would have a big gap without the tutoring work.

During my coffee break, I got out my notebook (as usual) and jotted down the activities that make me most contented with my lot ... days of intellectual stimulus were high on the list.

But I'm tired now.

Oh and Kent looked glorious again.

home late - Jenny kissed me

2011-03-04T17:02:00.000-08:00

Home very late - astonishing at my age, 1 a.m. !! For some reason feeling a little nostalgic and sort of romantic (not exactly romantic, it's not the correct word). I love this poem and it's going round in my head with some memories. I know it's written by a man for a woman but I think the sentiment works the other way around as well.

Jenny Kissed Me by Leigh Hunt

Jenny kissed me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in.
Time, you thief! who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in.
Say I'm weary, say I'm sad;
Say that health and wealth have missed me;
Say I'm growing old, but add-
Jenny kissed me!

and a favourite song: I miss you like crazy Natalie Cole - trying to find a nice version for here

24 hours later

2011-03-03T12:42:00.000-08:00

I don't actually measure the time between posts but it probably is about 24 hours. I have enjoyed today. Started with some running around, then a tour, then e-mail catch up, a meeting and playground duty followed by more running around, more e-mails, and me leading a training session. Then more e-mails and some paper work, more meetings, topped off with grocery shopping and cooking supper (and eating it). You are saying - phew not a very interesting day to post about .... but isn't that the point? Some days are just plain 'OK' and that's pretty good ... some days.

a good day aint got no bad

2011-03-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

Just a brief pop into the blog today; a lovely quiet day at work and at home. These are days to treasure. Exciting days, full of opportunity and achievement: they are lovely, of course. Half hidden ideas and hopes, all wonderful. But much to be said for quiet contemplation - and the chance to make the most of it.

In a bit of a reflective mood

2011-03-01T13:03:00.000-08:00

My boss introduced me to a new phrase today (you may well already have come across it but was new to me): EGR people (Jim Jackson) - extra grace required. Lots of results on google search: http://www.google.co.uk/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1TSEH_ENUK358&=&q=extra+grace+required+people&aq=1&aqi=g2&aql=&oq=extra+grace+required#sclient=psy&hl=en&rlz=1G1TSEH_ENUK358&q=extra+grace+required+people+Jim+Jackson&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=1d1123905e79d67a

This idea really grabbed my imagination. Having also been reading Toxic Workplace (Kusy and Holloway), I thought it an interesting different viewpoint. I also compared with this quotation from Barton (Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership) (p.23) "Behind my heroic image of myself I saw my tiresome perfectionism, my resentment of those who did not try hard as I did and my huge appetite for approval."

This is just a quick glimpse into my stream of consciousness (yet again) but I feel that this is an idea I'll be coming back to. I am constantly asking myself - if I find someone a little harder to deal with - how much of that is to do with me?

It's a pic from last summer:

back to school feeling

2011-02-28T10:49:00.000-08:00

It was not a bad day at all really; very varied and lots good stuff - including an invitation to do some more work for the College of Teachers.

Back to school feelings can be excited too - I choose that one ;-)

gardening in the rain

2011-02-27T06:57:00.000-08:00

I usually enjoy gardening in the rain and carried on for quite a while after it started but eventually it got too heavy and my fingers were too cold to carry on snipping etc. I was going to build a pergola today to mark the spot where the (relatively) tidy bit of the garden meets hippy paradise. But the wood wouldn't fit in the car and I was too cheap anyway so I made this arch way instead out of trellis and bits of twig and string and stuff.

The old gate thing was already there and it's looking towards the pond where some pretty spring flowers are coming out. The ground between is still a bit soggy though!

Back to work tomorrow after mid-term break. I know how this chap feels.....

My Day Out

2011-02-26T13:10:00.000-08:00

I love the drive to Tunbridge Wells - there's a point on the A21 where you go round a bend, down a hill: the whole of Kent seems to be laid out before you --- and today the sun came out at the same time!

Went to a spa today - 1st time ever, could get used to it! No pics, sorry. Nice lunch in Tunbridge Wells first then 5 hours of swimming in salt pool, jacuzzi, and manicure thingy - ahhhh v relaxed now.

I specially liked the salt pool but you feel really heavy when you get out!

We passed on the champage as both driving.

the food of love

2011-02-25T16:10:00.000-08:00

not a great pic but it did taste better than it looks, sea food risotto for me, him, the boy and his OH

a nice eve with all of us

honest toil

2011-02-24T07:45:00.000-08:00

First time I've done some gardening for ages. Since before the snow probably! Did some digging, weeding, pruning, bagging and general tidying out front. When the spring flowers are over I am going to dig the whole lot up and have a major re-vamp of some sort.

The back garden is a sorry state and will take more than a couple of hours to put right ... still the frogs don't seem to mind, they are busy in the pond! And some stray flowers that aren't where I put them remind me that I am not actually in charge out here ..

Was lovely to feel the sun after so many grey days. Rather nice to chat to passers by and their dogs as well!

flowers and fungi

2011-02-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

Funny the things that can cheer you up. Last Friday I got this beautiful bouquet as a thank you for giving a little talk:

which certainly cheered me up!

Then today, I noticed that my home grown mushrooms are finally -taking off'!!! woohoo

Hayling Island

2011-02-21T15:45:00.000-08:00

Went to Hayling today to see big bro bu was not sunny enough for a pic today so

from

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.driftways.co.uk/img/big/198635351.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.driftways.co.uk/tags/beach-huts.html&usg=__XK6O4nlkCXlePvT6IQrQLEPdgBs=&h=597&w=1850&sz=180&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=hVoIawdFWhXRYM:&tbnh=56&tbnw=175&ei=Y_hiTeuzCYqUOsTAqK4J&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhayling%2Bisland%2Bbeach%2Bhuts%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1189%26bih%3D465%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=55&vpy=119&dur=530&hovh=127&hovw=396&tx=189&ty=84&oei=Y_hiTeuzCYqUOsTAqK4J&page=1&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0