Brilliant Break in Belfast

Some would say November is not a good time for travelling and sightseeing in the northern hemisphere. I disagree! Just back from five days in Belfast. Despite it being grey, wet and coldish every day Karen, Rachel and I had a fabulous time. We made the most of the daylight hours available and then rewarded our efforts with a drink or two at a pub.

On Saturday we found our way around the city and scoped out what there was to see and do. This is a picture of the continental market in front of City Hall. In the background you can see the whale. Sorry, I mean the wheel. It's just the way the Irish pronounce it had both Rachel and I searching for a whale. As darkness descended we found our way to the Crown Liquor Saloon - a very ornately tiled watering hole. We'd planned on just the one. However, some Scottish blokes we bumped into shouted us a few rounds and then invited us to their friends 40th that they were in town for that evening. After dinner Rachel and Karen put in an appearance. I was in need of sleep after our early start to get to the airport.

On Sunday morning we headed out for undoubtedly the coldest 'Hop on - Hop off' bus tour I have done this year! After previous experiences (mostly with Mum) I went prepared with scarf, gloves and woolly hat. Oh, and my camera too. We enjoyed live tour guides whose commentary we understood most of the time. The tour took us to Stormont (Parliament Buildings). It was deserted and unlike all other tourist destinations I have visited it was not at all difficult to take photo's without random strangers walking through. In case you're wondering that is my friend Rachel in the picture below. I have it on good authority that Stormont is much more impressive than the White House.

Other sites of interest included the wall murals on Shankill ...

and Falls Roads.

Having survived the cold it was time to seek out the next pub on the list of places we should visit in Belfast. It was a difficult decision. We sat by the river, near Waterfront Hall and next to 'The thing with the ring' or 'Nula with the Hula' while we deliberated.

On the shortlist was McHughs. Eventually chosen as it was closest (like a 5 minute walk, if that) to our current location and advertised live music on Sunday afternoon. Shortly after making ourselves comfortable at a table, Guiness in hand, the acoustic two-piece band launched into a Crowded House number. I wonder if they spotted the patriotic attire of my friends? A few drinks later, following a chat with one of the musicians we had our second invitation in two days. Both Paul and Iggy were playing gigs later that evening. As Iggy's gig was at the pub around the corner from our B&B we said we would pop in later on. So, on the way home after dinner we did just that.

On Monday the weather was still not smiling on us. It was another earlyish start to pick up a rental car. After a slight disagreement over whether we had paid for it online and a trip to the nearest internet cafe to print out a receipt we boarded the little Nissan Note. Where I come from the word receipt is used when you have PAID for something. We couldn't believe the rental guy had the cheek to suggest we print out our bank statement to show it had been paid for. As we had made the booking less than 48 hours ago, on Saturday afternoon, this was ridiculous. Everyone knows it takes UK banks an age to process transactions, minimum 3 business days before they are likely to appear on any statement. Needless to say, Karen the banker and I, got our way eventually.

First stop was the CS Lewis statue we had heard about on the bus tour. Our combined navigational skills took us directly to the site and the biggest challenge was to find a park.

Then we headed north out of the city on the Coastal Causeway route. We had our second stop just north of the city at Carrickfergus Castle. Then we continued on up the coast. Next stop was lunch at Ballycastle. I was keen to see the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Unfortunately we were a few weeks to late to actually be able to cross it as it is removed over the winter due to safetly issues pertaining to high winds. Still worth the stop and will be easy to find next time.


Around 3pm we reached our main destination - the Giants Causeway. A World Heritage Site with endless photographic potential. A shame my camera was low on batteries. We made the most of the remaining hour or so of daylight snapping away. The first place we had been in our travels we it was more of a challenge not to have a random stranger in the picture. However, not impossible.

Again, lack of light cut short our exploring. This is a place with plenty of potential for walking too! What could we do but visit the pub - the Causeway Hotel was closest. Ordering drinks, Guniess again, at the bar we got chatting to a couple of guys. Again, I think perhaps we were noticed by the patriotic clothing of my companions. But then again, there was only one other couple in sight. Turned out these blokes were Kiwi. Turns out one of them is the drummer for Op Shop. They were on their way to Dubai where the band is playing at the Kiwi Ball after the 7's this weekend. They were totally unaware that Crowded House were playing in Belfast the following evening. After experiencing such hospitality from people over recent days it was our turn to reciprocate and Rachel promptly suggested they try and get tickets. After an exchange of numbers we hit the road. Only one quick stop on the inland route home - at Ballybogey. I will leave it to your imagination the type of photos that we took here.

On Tuesday we had arranged for one of Rachel's friends and her fiance (a Northern Irish local) to take us to the heartland. We piled into the back of their tiny rental car and buckled up for the ride. We did a lap around Loch Neagh stopping at a cemetary to view one mighty old Celtic cross. Then it was off to Tommy's family farm for lunch. His parents have a newish house which is one of eight or nine in the lane. All belonging to other family members - aunts, uncles, sons, daughters etc. After lunch we borrowed gumboots and went for a walk through the moss. Lots of fun with Suzy the dog.

It was a bit of a race to get back to Belfast for dinner before the concert but we made it. Had a brilliant time at Crowded House. The kiwi blokes we met on Monday got in with free tickets and we stood with them and also Paul, one of the musicians we met at the pub on Sunday. Rachel got pretty close to Neil Finn, maybe three rows back. We settled on being about 5 metres from the stage and not jam packed in.

As you can tell we had a busy five days. But we didn't fly home til late afternoon on Wednesday so had time to visit Belfast Castle on the northern outskirts of the city. There were conferences, meetings and a wedding on so most rooms were out of bounds. With no other tourists there we had the information centre to ourselves and then enjoyed a selection of scones with cream and preserve in the basement cafe.

Here ends the detailed account of my most recent trip. The last planned for 2007. Til next time good night from Belfast.

Countdown

The last month has primarily been taken up with work. Partly to pay for the last trip and partly to pay for the next. In case you are wondering, that is in a fortnight. Off to see Crowded House in Belfast! Counting down - can't wait.

There has been one trip to London - the weekend of the World Cup final. Had a great night out with Rachel and Karen in a pub in Fulham. Annoyed plenty of Poms and made friends with the few South Africans there. Can't say I was sorry to see England lose.

The week after my return from Italy was half term break - which meant no work. I helped out at a Children's Holiday programme a couple of mornings which was fun and kept me away from the shops.

Next I ventured to Oxford for cousin Mel's flatwarming. That was lots of fun and great to catch up with a few Kiwi acquaintances. I must warn you though. If you are planning to attend a party dominated by the calibre of students that universities such as Oxford or Cambridge accept - be prepared! You will no doubt meet some people who live in a very strange world. Some who very much like the sound of their own voice, talk for the sake of talking, whether they make sense or not. I suppose "sense" is a subjective thing.

Last weekend we had Cleo's 3rd birthday. Had lots of fun the night before making jelly. There was a sea theme. So layer one of the jelly in glasses was a deep bluish colour. It took 4 brains - 3 with science degrees to come up with a plan of how to suspend wee plastic fish in the jelly. After some trial and error dried spaghetti was used to thread clothes pegs which held the fishies at the right height. Ingenious! A few hours later and layer two of jelly was ready to be added - a nice greeny blue. They went down a treat. As did the three layer sponge cake with blue icing and a starfish.

Now the countdown is on. And I don't mean to Christmas. Sophie is about 36 weeks pregnant. Baby expected in early December. Each afternoon I get home from work and don't find Sophie and Cleo here I start scouting round the house. Often the TV is left on, sometimes there are toys strewn across the floor and half eaten food on the kitchen table. Is this a sign of a hurried departure, I wonder? Well, no not so far. But maybe one day soon it will be. I'll keep you posted.

Sightseeing in Rome...

Inside the Colosseum

Outside the Colosseum

Sun's out in Rome. so are the tourists at the Colosseum!

Trevi Fountain - great place to enjoy Gelato, YUM!

Inside the Pantheon.

Pantheon Sun Spot

Deceptive on the outside - The Pantheon.

Early Sunday morning at St Peters, Vatican City, before the crowds arrive!

Had a fabulous time in Italy catching up with Ro and John (my aunt and uncle). Met them for the last few nights of the walking tour they were guiding. After my experience of school trips it was interesting to observe how a group of adults behave on a trip. Funny, not much changes as people age! There are always people who don't listen, ask too many questions, tell inappropriate jokes, get lost or stuck in the toilet.

Four nights meant barely a taste, more like a lick, of Italy. I did have time to sample authentic Italian pasta, pizza and red wine. Will have to plan another trip to see more of the country and sample more of the food. Don't think it will be too hard to persuade a friend or two to accompany me!

Cinque Terre Villages

Wandering through the Cinque Terre Villages. This was my favourite day during my recent trip to Italy. I hadn't seen the sea since July in Valencia, nor any decent hills! As you can see from the photos the weather was splendid. An early start meant that the ascents weren't as gruelling in the shelter of the shade.

Lunch in ....

No prizes for guessing where these pictures were taken. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to check out La Torre Pendante! I promise no special photographic tricks were used to take the photo on the right. It really is on quite a lean!

Still faking it...

Don't want to work too hard but have to finance my travels. In the last fortnight I have had two interesting assignments. First was at Impington Village College - very close to home. Three days there in Food Tech - yay back in the kitchen. Even better, the Teaching Assistant did all the work. Laws are funny things. I am getting paid to turn up and keep an eye on things, take the register, but don't really teach.

This week I have again spent three days in Technology or TK for short. Change of focus to resistant materials - that's right - basically woodwork and metal work with the odd plastic project thrown in for fun. So I traded in the knives and rolling pins for vices, saws and chisels. Again, not too much work required on my part. The technician took the lessons and I took care of the register. With classes packed with boys there was no let up on the abuse about the All Blacks early exit from the World Cup. I forgot to mention the reason I found myself filling in as a TK teacher at Soham Village College. Rumour has it that Mr Mason has been suspended. A young year 7 boy was doing a detention using a chisel to remove chewing gum from benches. Detention was cut short when he put the chisel into the side of his face. Ooops. A pretty extreme way to get out of detention!

The new house

From the street. Semi-detached I guess as our neighbours on the left are joined to us. The downstairs window is my bedroom.

Orchard Avenue

My room - the half closest to the street.

The back garden - typical English style, that is overgown!

Summer at Select

ABOVE: Fun at Select party. Don't I look good as a mummy?

BELOW: Some of my Spanish students at Select

Home, sweet home

Well, it all happened in a bit of a rush. A couple of weeks ago I came home from work to be asked by my landlord if I could find new accomodation. Oh, and if possible be out by next weekend. No problem I said. The story goes that he was given some money by his mum and wants to do some work on the house. All a bit strange coz as I packed to leave a new Liverpuddlean girl was settling in to the flat. I wonder how long she'll stay? When will the renovations begin? Are there going to be any renovations? Seems a bit fishy to me. If you remember back to May there was a one week overlap between my arriving in the flat and the other girl that was there, Kelly, leaving. Maybe I just have an overactive imagination. Who knows?

Anyway, for whatever reason I had very little time to find myself a new home. I was slightly annoyed as I had just had a week off work which would have been perfect for scoping out potential places. Never mind. No time to waste so that very evening I went and viewed a room just down the road. Also made a few phone calls to set up other viewings for the weekend.

True to form I really couldn't be bothered looking around a lot. I settled on the first place I saw. I am now living with a lovely Australian family. That's right - I said family. Cam is an archaelogist at the university. Sophie is mum and about 6 months pregnant. Then there's wee Cleo, nearly 3. She has a very extensive vocabulary and would be in an 'Advanced' class at school with the foreign teenagers I have had over the summer.

I have a huge room on the ground floor. It's furnished which definitely makes life easier when you're moving. Also downstairs are the lounge and kitchen. The family occupy the 3 rooms upstairs where the toilet and bathroom are located. We have the best shower in England - although it is over the bath. The back garden is huge. Cleo does a very good tour pointing out the many statues, the bird bath, the glass house, the huge apple tree and of course, the sand pit!

So, that's the big news for the last fortnight. Summer school is finished now so I am back to supply work. Only had one day this week which has been nice while settling in to the new place. Hope to get a few more days in the upcoming week to finance my next wee trip. More about that soon.

Faking it!

I think I passsed the test. In recent weeks I have likened my summer job to that TV show where people pretend they can do a job they aren't trained for.



I was reading a book a week or two back. It was about a lawyer in London who worked ridiculously hard and had made it to partner of a major firm, aged 27. Things all went wrong and she ran away. With a splitting headache and dying of thirst she stumbled into a random house in the English countryside. The owners assumed she was there for a job interview as a maid. She didn't put them right as the thought of a nice bed for the night was all she cared about. She was appointed maid after reeling off a list of impressive credentials - all of which were fake. With absolutely no cooking skills or knowledge of how to work a washing machine she spent a considerable amount of money fixing her mistakes. Who washes clothes on a upholstery cycle? Or can afford to have catered food delivered from London to a town 100 miles away.



Anyway that got me thinking. Was I really faking it as an EFL teacher. In some regards I am equally as well trained if not better trained to teach English as I am to teach kids to cook. You decide.



My conclusion is that having had a one month contract extended a further 6 weeks I must have done a reasonably convincing job!

Summer is over ... or is it?

This was pronounced mid week by one of my Saudi Arabian students after 3 days of continuous rain. Fortunately no sooner than school finished on Friday the sun started to poke through the clouds. The weather is perfect for the bank holiday weekend.

I have survived! My initial 4 week contract at Select English was extended to 8 weeks. Eight weeks of long days, work at weekends, basically a lot of hard work. Now I can enjoy a week off. Yay! It turns out I have quite taken to teaching English as a foreign language and have secured a further two weeks teaching at Select. This time a closed Italian group with less social activity commitments so it should be OK. When I began the job I did not expect that my colleagues would come from around the UK and further afield. However, I soon discovered it was pretty similar to being at summer camp. The bonus being I didn't have to live with the kids. It was sad to say goodbye to my new friends on Friday. The two I get on best with are the babies of the group and will be in London at uni so there should be opportunities to see them! As a group of teachers we have got on pretty well so there is some chance of a reunion next summer at Select.

So this week brings an opportunity to catch up with myself and maybe venture out of Cambridge to visit friends.

Will stop now coz this computer is particularly slow. I can type about half a line before the characters appear on the screen. More news soon.

Another week in Cambridge...

Had another school trip to London yesterday. We managed to time our walking tour nicely to arrive at Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards - or so we thought. Unfortunately our guide Ashley, the social organiser, and local English boy, didn't know what we were looking at. So, while we stood gazing down the Mall awaiting the arrival of horses etc, the actual changing of the guards was taking place inside the palace gates hidden by the crowds of tourists on a Saturday. It will take Ashley a while to live this down. In the meantime we hope that the Russian leader doesn't twig that it took place right under our noses!

On my way home on Friday afternoon I saw an interesting busker. It would have been great to get a photo but unfortunately my camera is on the blink. So, a description will have to do. Picture a rubbish bin, large, round and black. Poking out the hole where you assume you'd put litter is an arm holding a guitar. As you get closer you hear singing - sorry I can't remember the tune. An ingenius way of making a few extra quid don't you think? I wonder if anyone mistakenly does put rubbish in there.

On Thursday we had "Football World Cup". In between the rain we managed to fit in a few football games at Girton College on the outskirts of Cambridge. While we were waiting outside school to put the kids on the coaches a friendly solicitor accosted the coach drivers. He claimed that according to the highway act they were illegally parked. Lots of yelling and shouting, much to my amusement. The guy even got on the phone to the police. Apparently it is OK for coaches to make pick-ups on double yellow lines as long as they are at least 15 metres clear of a junction - which they were. And they were stopped at a bus stop! It's hardly a surprise that the police did not show up to sort the matter out.

What's up?

Well, work continues to keep me pretty busy. In the last fortnight I have made two trips to London to catch up with Kiwi friends. Had a night out in a random pub near the Westbourne Park tube with Gina and a bunch of other mostly 'Naki people. We stayed at the huge backpackers "Generator" near Russell Square. An interesting initiation for 3 of the people who had not had the pleasure of real backpacker accomodation before. Especially the bathrooms on Sunday morning!

Last weekend it was a whirlwind trip to London on Saturday for lunch with Rachel F., Karen and Mark G. Had great food at a gourmet burger place at Leicester Square when we all managed to find one another. What would we do without cell phones? Then met up with the school group to hitch a ride back to Cambridge. We had drinks here on Saturday night to farewell our Course Director Ruth. She has been replaced by Natasha for the last 3 weeks of the summer.

Still continuuing to learn lots at work. Improving my pronunciation of names from Spain, Italy, Portugal China, Russia, Khazakhstan, Poland (they are really hard!). Try saying Przemek which is short for Przemeyslaw. Tomorrow I have the pleasure of a large class (13 students) of beginners. I have had the luxury of 6 weeks of Upper Intermediate classes which are a breeze. It is easy to give students instructions and lessons can end with discussions on a range of interesting topics. Will see how I fare with the lower level.

I have been punting twice with school groups in the last couple of weeks. Always a lot of fun. The first week one of my French students had a bit of an accident. It resulted in him falling or maybe it was jumping in to try and retrieve the pole. Very entertaining and we have made endless jokes about him being a good swimmer! Last week I tested my skills out. I definitely need a little more practice. I have faith in my balancing abilities so hopped straight up on the back of the boat. It was a little slippery as it was the first trip out for the punt which had just had a varnish job. None of this balancing in the back end like some beginners try. I understand which way to hold the pole to steer the punt but it is no mean feat to get the punt moving in a straight line. I could make excuses about the fact the punt was sitting high out of the water due to the recent varnish job but the truth is I wasn't that good. Got into a bit of trouble at a bridge where we were hit simultaneously by boats from in front and behind. We were kind of wedged in between the two boats under the bridge. At this point I handed over the reigns to Ashley the local boy to get us out of trouble. We then had to help another boat fetch their pole. This required some careful maneouvering which was out of my skill range.

Highlights

It's been another busy week at work. Somehow I was scheduled for 4 evening activities this week. I have survived! A few of the highlights are below.

It started on Monday night with a trip to the bowling alley. One of my students challenged me to a bowling competition. The bet was that if he won - no grammar for the class for the rest of the week. So, it was 5 students vs me. My main aims were 1: not to fall over and 2: to beat Antonio and win the bet. Only one of the 5 students was any good. As the game drew to a close I had the opportunity to go one better and beat the lot of them. There was a big team of cheerleaders supporting the students and a couple of teachers on my side. As I was bowling in 6th position I knew what I needed to do to win. I only had to make 3 to take the game. My approach all along had been not to try too hard, just be consistent. On the night this was successful as I think the least number of pins I hit in one turn was 6. Sure enough on my second to last go I sealed victory and bragging rights for the week. Much to the disappointment of the students from my class who now had to do more grammar exercises over the next few days!

Yesterday was the final day for a large group of students. I said goodbye to quite a few Spanish kids who have been in one or other of my classes for the last month. As my friend Emily and I had proclaimed yesterday to be "International day to give your teacher presents" they swung into action. We were showered with chocolate. Best of all my Spanish friends bought a special present and a great card. We have had debates in class about what a kiwi is. It took me a day or two to realise that the Kiwi chant related to the fruit - not in fact the bird or us Kiwi people. So yesterday I was presented with 4 kiwis (fruit) one of which had been given a beak, wings and legs.

Off to London this afternoon to catch up with Gina and friends. More news soon.

Fun & games in London

Had an interesting trip to London yesterday for work. It was eventful before we even got on the bus. Why? Because there was a logistical problem that meant there was not enough space on the bus for all our students. What to do? There was another coach with plenty of spare seats taking students to the airport. So 15 students, myself and two other staff took the Heathrow coach.

We were probably 10 miles or so out of Cambridge when there was a loud bang! I looked up to see the wing mirror of the bus hanging off the front! Not crucial to the driving the bus we carried on down the highway. Then off it fell. We were in hysterics. Last weekend on the Oxford trip there was bus problems and it looked like we were in for trouble again! The driver calmly pulled over to the side of the road. Then we began a slow journey, reversing back along the side of the highway to collect the missing accessory. The driver dodged the traffic, picked up the mirror and stowed it in the luggage compartment. We later found out that they are worth £2500. Probably illegal but we carried on without our left wing mirror and didn't strike any trouble changing lanes.

Got to Heathrow safely and made our way to the tube. We had been given £80 for tube tickets. I already suspected this was not going to cover the cost. Notices said it was about £13 for each ticket to central London. Lucky Emily (another teacher) had a credit card to foot the bill. The students with us were great. They didn't bat an eyelid when we arrived at Heathrow and explained we still had a half hour tube ride before we would meet up with the other part of our tour group at Buckingham Palace. No probs on the tube. YAY!

Oh, except that the Chinese tour leader had lost a couple of students and then lost himself. We figured perhaps he was looking for two of his students that were with us. Funny that he hadn't missed them for 3 hours! I got his number from the students and we let him know Yang and Yang were with us. Then we had to unlose him. This involved Ashley (the social co-ordinator) speaking to an Australian guy (quite likely sad after watching the rugby) who then directed the Chinese leader to what we like to call The Palace! I later found out that said Chinese leader did not know how to answer his phone. What a pain!

We managed to meet up with the other part of the group at B. Palace. While I was escorting students to the toilet the Chinese leader did another disappearing act. This time in search of another student who barely speaks a word of English. Eventually everyone was located and allowed free time for lunch, shopping etc at Covent Garden, as the rain began to fall!

It was amazing that everyone made their way to the 3.30 meeting point and then back to the buses waiting nearby. It was not the students this time that caused the extra stress but group leaders who speak very little English and don't see the importance of telling school staff what they are doing. I think they should be banned from the trip! They are a liability not an asset.

Back to Work

The day we flew out to Madrid I had an interview at a language school here in Cambridge. It was nice leaving England knowing that I had a months work lined up for July. The school runs throughout the summer. I kind of figured if I got stuck into the job there might be a chance to get work in August too.

Just finished my second week of work. The other staff working on the Juniors course are fun. We have kids aged 14 to 16. Theoretically the maximum class size is 12. This is great when it is report writing time. In my morning class I ended up with 10 students - 7 from Spain, 1 Mexican who lives in Italy, 2 more Italians and a Russian. We have had a good time in the last week debating which is the best country in the world, NZ of course!

In my second class I only had 8 students - 2 Italians, 4 Spanish, 1 Turkish and 1 Danish. Classes with them involved project work and preparing for a drama afternoon. They chose to write a drama based on an old Spanish story - The Celestina which translates to the Procuress. Or after a revision or two an evil cupid who tries to make as much money as possible with little regard to the outcome of the relationships she helps to set up. The script was written by the students with very little help from me. With 9 scenes I was impressed with their ability to memorise all the lines with only a couple of days rehearsal. We were awarded a prize for the best drama and the best actress! This was fitting as the actress was the key author of the story.

Some students have gone home this weekend and new ones will arrive tomorrow. With any luck my new classes will be the same kind of level as the previous ones. In the intermediate to upper intermediate range. This means they can usually understand the instructions you give them in class pretty well. Not sure how I would cope with the Elementary level students. I have had an observation in the last week which went well. It was kind of nice that before the observation I was offered work for August too! It took the pressure off a bit.

A big part of the job is the social programme. Each afternoon there are two activities and the same in the evening. On Saturday's there are day trips, usually to London or Oxford. Sunday afternoons there are also activities. As with teaching in NZ, I have enjoyed my involvement in these activities outside the classroom. Even in London last weekend when the Tour de France started! There were thousands of people. It was inevitable that people would get lost and they did. Eventually we rounded everyone up before lunch. It is not easy when the roads are shut off. What we would do without cellphones, I don't know.

Things are busy here at the internet cafe so time to go.

Spain highlights

Will try and keep this short.

1. America's Cup Village, Valencia. It was awesome joining all the other Kiwi's in Valencia to cheer on Emirates Team NZ. Caught the first weekend of action. Proudly wore large souvenir NZ flags, even after the loss in the first race. Was photographed for a Finnish newspaper. Obviously a disappointing result in the end.

2. Temple de Bod, Madrid. I would recommend visiting the temple at dusk. Emily's local knowledge was a bonus on this occasion.

3, Museo de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid. Includes work by Picasso, Dali, Velazquez, Goya, Gaudi etc. I think we spent nearly two hours here. Long enough to soak in some of the artwork but obviously you would need to spend days to really do it justice.

4. Madrid Vision. The open topped bus tour. As in London this was a good way to see a lot of Madrid in a short time. Unfortunately the commentary wasn't great. Warning: overhanging branches may knock your head off. Like around England, pruning is not of high importance. I think they rely on the double decker buses to take care of the job. Seems bizarre because not a day goes by where there is not mention of restrictions due to health and safety concerns!

5. Spanish Tortilla - this should be higher up the list I think. It is basically an omelette with potato, not flat bread as you might expect. Very nice when made well. Often served in a baguette which makes a good breakfast!

Had a good time in Spain. A nice place to travel because although I don't know the language many words are recognisable. Will have to make time to go back and see more of the country.

Arriving in Spain

After a total of 7 days working since my arrival it was time for a well earned break! Why wait 10 weeks for a holiday?

Headed off to Madrid with Mum and Dad. We were expecting Emily to meet us at the airport on her return from Morroco. Before we even left Luton there was a phone call with a plea for money. Why, I hear you asking? Well, younger sister has well and truly perfected the art of missing Easy Jet flights. Oh, and managing not to have access to any money in a crisis.

Our flight was delayed leaving Luton. Remembering Em's advice about ALWAYS carrying peanut M&M's I armed myself with snacks and drinks. We found seats together on the plane. Then discovered that we had to wait on the tarmac for perhaps an hour. Something about customs officials paying a visit and then requiring clearance to land on arrival at Madrid. So, out came my sandwich. I enjoyed a little picnic before the flight even departed.

We found our way through the terminals at Madrid. Collected our bags and just walked off to the metro. No customs checks, no stamps in our passport. I guess all people arriving from England are trustworthy so why waste time on unnecessary paper work! With no problems we negotiated our way on the metro to Sol. Found a taxi which did a lap or two round the block, asked 2 policemen for directions and dropped us off at our hotel. Emily kindly booked a place on the street in Madrid famous for its prostitutes.

Week at Witchford

Well, back in June I signed up for a whole week at Witchford Village College. That meant 5 very early starts. But at £110 a day you can't turn it down. Theoretically I was covering for a PE teacher going on a course. However, the school got news of an OFSTED visit (like ERO in NZ). With the exception that the school gets between 2 and 5 days notice. So there was a change of plans. Lorna didn't go on the course and I spent most of the work perfecting my invigilation skills! Not at all exciting but I was quite ill at the time and the work wasn't taxing. Didn't even involve alot of talking which was good.

Happenings that week included:

• a man practices golf at a park near the bus station. In the city (Cambridge) with signs prohibiting you from doing so many things it seems strange that practicing golf in a public park is permitted. I guess at 6.30 am not too many people are in danger of being hurt!
• the student saying "thanks, darling" as a collected his exam paper in.
• another students requesting a glass of water in the middle of an exam.
• watching a maths exam with about 150 students, more than half did not have the required equipment. Who would have thought that a calculator, pen, compass, protractor and useful might be required in a maths exam?
• two sisters murdered in Stretham (a village between Cambridge and Witchford). There was some chance these girls attended Witchford. Police patrolled the school gates to ward away any unwanted media attention.

Impington Village College

From one extreme to the other in more ways than one. On Wednesday it was a short bus ride to Impington Village College on the outskirts of Cambridge. Protocol teaching agency are very good at giving you directions about which bus to catch and when to catch them. However, I have been in Cambridge long enough to realise that to get to this school I could avoid using 2 buses and travelling 15 minutes into town only to travel 20 minutes back past home to get to the school. So, in just over 10 minutes I walked to the bus and found my way to the school in plenty of time.

This school was more organised. I was given a map of the school and a list of times for each lesson, important as like Tawa there is no bell between classes. Oh, and even class lists for each lesson. Back to a 6 period timetable, each lesson lasting a mere 50 minutes. So it was a period of English - Year 7's (around 11-12) proofing a diary entry on a day in the life of a slave. Not too difficult, mostly students needed help with spelling and knowing what time dawn was.

Then off to humanities - geography with a lovely bunch of Year 9's (not) doing work on floods in the UK in 2000. Straight from the text book. Not too thrilling and although some did work, many did not.

It was to be invigilation again in period three - my favourite. But at the last minute I was let off the hook and took another Humanities instead. Year 8's (I think) doing posters on Pilgrimage. Again some good work produced but some rubbish too.

Back to English for period 4. This lesson was taken by a student teacher. Started off a bit of a mess with a neighbouring teacher, myself and then the student teacher all being present. From the start the kids didn't have much clue who was in charge and took full advantage. There was no time for a quick strategy talk so I sat back and let the student teacher get started. Year 10's were slow to settle but eventually she got the instructions across. After watching one guy wander about. get kicked out, come back in of his own accord, get kicked out again etc. I decided it was time to do something. Just went over and sat with him and worked out where he was up to and helped him get started. He managed to concentrate and do work for a bit but then got bored and wandered about cleaning tables, the TV, the computer screen. The student teacher spent the entire lesson working with one individual. Every now and then interrupted by a question from another student. There were less than 10 kids there and I think I would be kind of annoyed if I were a student in that situation.

After lunch it was more English. I think it was Year 9's who had been watching XMen. There task was to do a review. Seemed pretty straight forward however there is always a catch. A good number of students had seen little or none of the film. This made it pretty difficult to help them get started.

Finally it was another Year 7 group. Back to writing diary entries on a day in the life of a slave. Despite being the last lesson of the day, some students completed this task very well. Not so much can be said for their spelling though.

Oh, I forgot to mention. Somewhere in the middle of the day a kid decided it would be funny to have a fit. You know, fall off his chair, shake about on the floor. The planning for the event was less than subtle so when it occurred I just ignored it. He very quickly regathered his composure and took his seat. We carried on just as if nothing had happened.

So far my opinion of supply teaching is that it is a challenging and interesting job. No day is the same. It is a great chance to visit different schools and look at the way in which they are managed. Also, as a teacher who has desserted her class a fair number of times, it is good to see what it is like to be a fill in. I am quite confident that none of the students I have come across in the last couple of days are as much of a handful as a couple of individuals I could name from previous NZ classes. So far I have been lucky, I am also making mental notes of the types of activity that students can and will complete in the absence of their normal teacher. All very good professional development.

After a busy day I decided to flag the bus and just walk home. Took just over 40 minutes. Good excuse not to go for a run when I got home. At least I thought so.

Witchford Village College

This was where I headed on Tuesday for my first day of work in England. A school in a wee village an hours bus ride north of Cambridge. It was an early start to catch the 6.40 a.m. bus but I survived.

An interesting school with only 3 lessons a day. Each lasting 100 minutes. This presented a good challenge as the first two classes I covered had no work set for them. Not too bad though as they were Food Tech classes. Part way through the first class with a bunch of Year 10's (15 year olds) we figured out the Resource centre was booked for them. Headed to library type place with plenty of computers. Most of them used the second half of the lesson to make progress on their current project - developing a sweet or savoury food product.

The second class were Year 8's (12 and 13 year olds) doing a compulsory rotation class. Current work was on pastry. Most students had a book with theory work in. So first I found a couple of pastry related activities. They didn't take much time though. Second I gave them ingredients for a mystery recipe. Can you guess what it was? That's right Annabel Langbein's famous Chocolate Brownie. In groups they decided what they thought they could make using the ingredients and then planned a method. After that most of them chose to do a word find in the back of their books.

After lunch I had the thrill of invigilation. It was bizarre. I think I counted 14 students in this GCSE graphics exam - 7 boys and 7 girls. We had 3 people supervising. Just a wee bit over the top don't you think. Never mind, boring as it was, at least I got paid.

So, despite there being no planned work and the extraordinarily long lessons I survived! It is worth noting that the school has recently implemented a "Calm Learning Environment" policy. I lovely beige slip can be filled out and sent off to E1 with a good student. Within minutes someone arrives to remove any disruptive students. No need to make use of this with the Year 10's but I had no hesitation in marching a couple of the Year 8's. Worked a treat. Figured that 100 minute lessons were definitely justification for putting the system to good use.

The flat

Downstairs:
1 lounge - 2 sofas, coffee table, TV with Sky (selected channels - lots of sport), shelves and stuff
1 dining room - dining table, 3 chairs, clothes airer, desk, shelf
1 kitchen - fridge, freezer, oven, gas elements, microwave, cupboards, benches, sink
1 laundry in a cupboard - washing machine and drier
1 back garden - table, 2 chairs, small clothesline, grass, trees & plants, fish pond (I think with fish)

Upstairs:
3 bedrooms - 1 medium, 2 small, mine is a small one
1 bathroom - toilet, basin, bath with overhead shower (low pressure)

People:
no smokers
1 guy - Kevin the landlord: works at bookies, loves sports, has travelled a bit (Spain, NZ, Australia, South Africa, USA...)
2 girls - Kelly & me. Kelly moves out next weekend before going travelling. Watch this space for details of her replacement.

Pets:
no cats
no dogs
just fish and the odd pigeon - main they coo alot!

Vehicles:
Kelly brings home a different one every night. It's not what you're thinking. She works at a car rental place.
1 green bike - Kevin either rides or walks to work
TBA - perhaps I'll get a bike, Cambridge is not designed for cars

Other:
Less than 200m walk to closest bus stop, buses every 10 minutes Mon - Sat, only a 10 minute ride to the top end of the city
Supermarket - Budgens is about a 3 minute walk away, also a collection of other shops at same location
Kebab trailer - 3 or 4 minute walk, next to the second to closest bus stop. Don't know if I want to try the kebabs.
One-stop convenience store - 5 or 6 minute walk, 2 short stops away on the bus if you are really lazy! I have only been there once, it was raining and no I didn't take the bus.

Will try and post some pics. Didn't upload first time. Trying to figure out why.

Modern Architecture: Part Two

The sun was out again today so another beautiful afternoon for a stroll. The second six buildings on the tour had less character. Can modern architecture have character? Another question for Megan.

As we are now more experienced guides we did not go off track today. All buildings were found exactly where we expected them. I guess too that I am getting more comfortable at wandering through gates to see the real heart of Cambridge that is hidden behind the walls.

The most aesthetically interesting building on the tour has to be Parkside Pools. The local Cambridgites even voted it the best building of the 20th century. Check out the roof - it looks like a slice has been taken through a wave.

The most money wasted on architectural design is awarded to the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. I can barely draw, just ask the kids at Tawa College. But, seriously it's brick, it's tall and it's square. Apparently it respects and interprets its awkward neighbours. Yeah right! It even won the Sunday Times/Royal Fine Arts Society Building of the Year in 1993.

So, between Dad and I there are hundreds of pictures of the 12 buildings on "A walk around Cambridge - Modern Architecture". Some may even be better than what's on the brochure. If you're interested a slide show can be arranged.

You'll also be pleased to know that we have walked over 3.2 miles (5.1 km). So we have had some exercise. With sunscreen and sunhats we have avoided sunburn. Not a bad way to kill a few hours and didn't cost me a thing. Thanks Mum for the guide with the map.

Cambridge - Tour of Modern Architecture: Part One

Made the most of a beautiful sunny day in Cambridge today. Dad and I embarked on Part 1 of a walk around Cambridge to view some modern architecture.

We were our own tour guides and mostly managed to follow the map without getting terribly lost. Kind of difficult in places as some of the buildings are hiding behind large walls. Many streets are not named in obvious places, you know like on the corner. Often you get half way down some little street or lane before you come across a sign that either confirms or denies that you are in fact where you intended to be.

Anyway, back to the tour of modern architecture. Perhaps sister Megan can confirm what would be considered modern architecture. It doesn't make sense to me that a building established in the 1700's with a facade added in the 1800's is particularly modern. Oh well, perhaps I am behind or maybe ahead, I don't know, of the times.

With quite some difficulty we found the Mond Building. I really wanted to see the crocodile engraving by the front door. It came to be because Russian physicist Pyotr Kapitza nicknamed Lord Rutherford 'snappy'. Who knew the guy that was first to split the atom had a bit of a temper? Perhaps a crocodile should be incorporated in a banner or mascot for my favourite house at Tawa College.

The other interesting building in the 6 we viewed today was the "Judge Institute of Management Studies". We were down some little back street and came upon what we thought was a random (i.e. not on the tour, but interesting) building. It was bold, colourful and bright, geometric patterns, a ginormous mosaic of funky tiles. Took a few pics then headed off down the road. Dad realised we had missed a turn somewhere so back we went in search of building no. 5. Why go the long way around the streets when it is so easy to find a shortcut through. It turned out that what we were photographing was the back of the building we were actually looking for. We both agreed the back was more interesting than front. Will try and post a couple of pics and let you be the judge.

Tomorrow if the fine weather continues we might embark on the second half of the tour.

Stand clear of the closing doors ...

This post has been lost while Dad has been away with the laptop.

I was in London again today. Mainly on bank business. The friendly staff at the HSBC were most helpful and now I have a debit card, two accounts but no PIN. They sent the details of that to NZ I think. So, further delays before my accounts are fully operational. Oh well, lucky Mum and Dad are here. He he he

Anyway. I was changing tubes at Oxford Circus. Nearly made it on to the District line train. Nearly as in, doors were just about to close. I had to make a split decision, dive for it and hope not to get crushed. Or, just wait, the screen informed me, one whole minute til the next train. Thinking about what mum would do, or at least what she would want me to do - that is - the sensible thing, I waited. I’m on holiday anyway and not actually in a rush to go anywhere.

Safely aboard the next train, which was only one minute behind, I took my seat. As usual the announcement was made “Stand clear of the …” Arghhh – a girl is stuck in the closing door. With a struggle she squeezes in, but alas, her back pack is half in and half out of the train. Further pulling and she manages to free the bag from the strong jaws of closing tube door. A sigh of relief.

I do have to laugh though. If it weren’t for my inbred sensibleness (thanks Mum) it could have been me.

Ponder this: why do so many people insist on ignoring instructions?

Noah's Ark

I have had a bit of time to read between job and flat hunting. Came across this which I thought was rather funny.

In the year 2007 the Lord came unto Noah, and said, "Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save two of every living thing along with a few good humans." He gave Noah the CAD drawings, saying, "You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights."

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark.

"Noah!" he roared, "I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?"

"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah, "but things have changed. I needed Building Regulations Approval. I've been arguing with the Fire Brigade about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbours claim that I should have obtained planning permission for building the Ark in my garden because it is development of the site, even though in my view it is a temporary structure. We had to go to appeal to the Secretary of State for a decision. Then the Department of Transport demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions to clear the passage for the Ark's move to sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it. Getting the wood was another problem. All the decent trees have Tree Preservation Orders on them and we live in a Site of Specific Scientific Interest set up in order to protect the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go! When I started gathering the animals, the RSPCA sued me. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accomodation was too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space. Then the County Council, the Environment Agency and the Rivers Authority ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood. I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Equal Opportunities Commission on how many BMEs I'm supposed to hire for my building team. The trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only CSCS accredited workers with Ark-building experience. To make matters worse, Customs and Excise seized all my assests, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species. So, forgive me, Lord but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark."

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky.

Noah looked up in wonder and asked, "You mean you're not going to destroy the world?"

"No", said the Lord "The government beat me to it."

What's in a name?

Well quite alot actually when you are trying to find a place.

Rymans - before I came mum and dad were on a mission to find a stationary shop. They must have walked past Ryman's a number of times before they realised that it was a likely place to buy printer paper.

Budgens - sometimes referred to as buG-Dens by members of my family. I don't know who taught them to read. At my school (Tawhero Primary) words with a dg in the middle were said like budgie.

Lakeland - no, funnily enough this has no connection with Rotorua. We're in England now. This is a shop that sells homeware - kitchen equipment, stuff for the laundry, bathroom and bedroom, cleaning products etc. So when I was sent a text "we're in a shop near Sainsbury's", how was I to know where to go? That's right, I didn't! What was the point learning to read if you can't give me a name to look for on a shop sign.

B&Q - sometimes referred to by a family member as BBQ. Who knows why. Apparently it is something to do with the large, orange sign, similar to BBQ Factory in NZ. By chance you may find the odd BBQ for sale at B&Q. I would describe it as being like Mitre 10 Mega (also large, orange sign) and Bunnings back home.

As a walk and sometimes cycle around I look at what I am passing. This is in the hope that if I need to find a supermarket, stationary shop, or want to take up building I will know what names to look for.

Cambridge: Cycling Capital

Dad is off north somewhere sightseeing with a friend from NZ. Mum woke me up at 8am this morning. Why? I am still enjoying being on holiday. Anyway - the forecast was for fine weather today and the sun was shining. It has rained most days since I arrived in Cambridge.

So, with more rain forecast over the weekend we thought we would start our weekend early. We found our cycling gears, nothing at all like what I have at home for serious cycle touring. Then we headed off down to the train station to hire ourselves some bikes.

We found the hire place no probs and decided on a couple of mountain bikes. Out the back Mikey - the tall ginga - finally appeared and sorted us out. I stood and watched as a basket was attached to the front of the bike, lights front and rear and then was instructed on how the locking mechanism works. This is very important in Cambridge because we are in the cycling capital of the world. I have never seen so many bikes. All different shapes, sizes, colours and styles. Anyway, helmets aren't compulsory over here and only a few people wear them. So, just to make sure everyone knows we are tourists we picked up a helmet each. I think they are kind of useful in case you fall off too. Something about protecting your brain perhaps.

Enjoyed a nice ride through the English countryside out to Grantchester, 3 miles or so from Cambridge. Most of the way on a walking/cycling track. As you know there aren't any real hills around here so it was no sweat. The wind didn't even pick up enough to make it challenging. At least we enjoyed the sunshine.

In little more than 5 minutes we checked out the sights in Grantchester, or more to the point scoped out the best place for a pint and a feed. Settled on Rupert Brookes, a lovely little pub with a Belgian beer garden. Had a fabulous lunch - Chicken & Bacon Baguette with fries and salad. I think I will have to go back there coz there are other things on the menu I'd like to try.

We took a detour through Trumpington (south side of Cambridge) on our way home. Cycling casually along the main road and what happens my chain falls off. I coast along for a bit and try and get mum's attention. I think she is going deaf. Anyway stopped and sorted that out. Lucky I've had plenty of practice on the school trips. At least it gave me a chance to test out the bike and my legs at a quicker speed as I raced to catch Mum who had obliviously carried on down the road.

Got home safely and only a little pink from too much sun exposure. Oh well, it will probably be another month til it shines again!

Punting on the Cam

She still can't be trusted. Mum that is.

On Monday, Bank Holiday, Em's last day with us before heading back to Madrid. We headed off for a walk up Castle Hill, the highest place in Cambridge. It is just around the corner from Westminster College where we are staying. A few minutes walk and we are looking out over the rooftops of Cambridge. That didn't take long. What else should one do while in Cambridge. Go punting of course. So, with no notice or preparation we head down to the river. Another short walk. You can't cross the bridge without being offered a punt on the Cam. Hire a punt and go it alone. This provides plenty of entertainment for crowds watching as the inexperienced punters smash into the river bank, or go round in circles. Not too bad at this time of year but as summer approaches the river will get busier and mayhem it will be. Alternatively you can hire a guide and sit back, relax, enjoy the view as you punt past the colleges and hear about the towns history - some fact, some fiction. The fiction tends to make for a better story! We settled on option two and for a reasonable price had a private tour. It is cheaper in a larger group of randoms. But again, as this little trip was unplanned I find myself without my camera.

Oh well, I have had an offer from a woman here at Westminster College to teach me to punt. I am sure it wouldn't be that hard to balance on the back of a punt, large pole in hand and take a picture or two. Don't teachers specialise in multi-tasking!

Sightseeing with Mum

She just can't be trusted.

I had been in London for a couple of hours. It is not hard to follow the signs to find a train or switch lines on the tube to reach your destination. Especially not with a bag with the underground map on it. Thanks KP! However, I did struggle when I popped out of the station at Highbury/Islington. Hardly surprising that finding my bearings was a challenge with only 3 or 4 hours sleep since I left NZ. Anyway, after a long walk dragging my heavy suitcase in the wrong direction I hailed a taxi. A short trip later I was at the Highbury Centre where we were staying for a couple of nights.

I had time for a shower before Mum, Dad and Em arrived from Cambridge. Then as soon as they did I was keen for lunch. So we set off down to Highbury and found a nice little cafe. Mum decides that time is of the essence so during lunch she plots a sightseeing adventure. With directions from the cafe staff we set off for Baker St on the tube. We purchase tickets for the Original Tour and hop on the open aired bus. This takes us in loops around London to see some of the famous sights - St Paul's cathedral, the Globe theatre, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge etc. This is all very well but remember, when we left we were heading out for lunch. I have no warm clothes and no camera! The Original Tour was a quick way to get a glimpse of what London has to offer. There are a number of options - Original Tour , Sightseeing Tour & Museum Tour. Tickets are valid for 24 hours and you are free to hop on and off buses as you choose. It also comes with two options of cruises on the Thames.

The following day we took a cruise down to Grenwich. Or as Emily pronounces it Gren-witch, with the W, much to the amusement of the young ticket man. We had a live tour guide who was very informative. We enjoyed the fresh breeze on the top deck of the boat and when we arrived at Grenwich headed for the nearest cafe. A hot drink was required to warm us up. Then it was near to the time the ball drops - that is the thing on which the whole Grenwich mean time is measured. The local lady at the cafe couldn't help us with directions but the lovely French waiter was most helpful. So we scampered off up the hill for a closer look. Just before 1pm I stood with camera in hand and recorded the red ball slowly rise up and at precisely 1pm, dramatically drop. 1pm because it is summer time here (i.e. daylight savings).

There ends my first 24 hours in London.

p.s. Em's time in Spain means she is a great navigator on the tubes. Quick to find alternative routes when lines or stations are not operating for maintenance.