Hello

Blog 11th May 2009
And finally it’s up and running despite an unstable WiFi connection courtesy of a stroppy git in the Asian subcontinent who clearly hates his job. Perhaps all products should state clearly on the outside of the box where the support comes from. I would pay extra to have someone I can understand and who understands me when it all goes horribly wrong.
I meant to have this started at the weekend but a couple of drinks with Fish’s old school friends turned into an all day trawl round the bars of Chester. Worse, I was spotted walking next to a man who isn’t my husband by a load of Year 10’s I teach who insisted on waving to me from the bus heading back to the villages of Wales. This will have all been carefully noted and I will have serious questions to answer about my relationships when I am interrogated by them in their chemistry lesson tomorrow. I am so glad I don’t live in the catchment area.
Still it was a good laugh and I discovered about the good old days of lax sixth formers who slunk off to the pub every lunchtime and the teachers didn’t care. In fact their custom was so welcome at the Cracke they used to hold a free Christmas party for them (three pints and some sandwiches). This never happens now and is all evidence of our declining standards in education.
On Sunday we listened to a sublime concert at the Phil in Liverpool. Midori played Bach, Faure and a sensational Shostakovich piece. A Schubert sonata (A minor) was in there for those who like lift music. It was the first time my eldest son had been to a classical concert – thankfully he thought the Schubert was lightweight too.
School was fairly uneventful today. One of my Year 8 students donated the musical instrument he made to me. It is made out of different lengths of plastic pipe (correctly tuned) and duct tape. It sounds almost like a xylophone and is quite addictive. I have had to hide it to stop anyone else from stealing it. We had a bizarre time testing their ear trumpets they made last lesson (one doubled as a hat). They are a lovely class. I waved goodbye to my equally sweet Year 11 class last Friday – we all got on really well. They left some goodbye messages on the board, then, when my bonkers Year 7 class came in they wrote me some goodbye messages as well. Strange as this was the start of the lesson and I will teach them until July. What do they know that I don’t?