A change of image

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A “relooking” for my header image today as I celebrate 25,000+ hits on my humble little blog. Very excited to have passed the mark, as it was an objective I had fixed myself and kapow, here it is – been there, done that !!

I have chosen to deviate from the image of the Hampshire coastline and to go for fish and chips. There is a reason for this. I have never been a huge fan of fish and chips in recent years. It was always our Saturday night treat after swimming club as kids and they were, of course, wrapped up in newspaper. But I was somehow never able to re-create the same images as an adult. Fish was nice but could have done without the batter – and the chips, well, I guess I have developed more of a taste for allumette-style French fries these days. HOWEVER on our recent trip to England, we discovered a lovely old-fashioned pub in the heart of Chichester and their fish and chips were divine !!!

So, thanks to all who come regularly from all over the world. The list is impressive. Welcome to any new people and please keep on coming !!

The new school year begins here

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The new school year has begun. 2014-2015 will bring its share of fun and surprises. Welcome to all my new students, young and old, to my blog. You will need to visit these pages very regularly, so save me in your favourites !!! Take some time to have a look around, find things that interest you and that will be useful to you. But above all, take a moment to read, understand and reflect on my quote of the day.

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Silver Jubilee

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Twenty-five years ago this week, I was preparing for my first ever “Back to School” as a teacher !! Twenty-five years sounds positively ancient so I guess that makes me positively ancient !!! In those twenty-five years, I guess I have probably done twenty official “Back to Schools” due to time out for babies and for my period working in industry. I still enjoy the buzz of the return to school, with the new classes to discover, the new routines to put in place and to build on over the months ahead. It always feel like sweeping with a new broom and, as the teacher, the onus is on us to establish how things are going to be right from the word ‘Go’.back-to-school1

As a “Prof Principal”, I will be the first contact with the school for the kids on their “Back to School” too. Discovering their timetables, their teachers are all elements that will impact hugely on how the year goes.

First lessons are always an important moment when contact is made between teacher and pupils. Reputations preceed you, as a teacher whether they be justified or not. Sometimes it is perhaps better not to know what the kids say about you when you aren’t listening !!

As the summer holidays draw to a close for the teachers, it is always important to remember that they are drawing to a close for the kids too. Two months of break from school are almost over – hard to believe but it is true. So, happy Silver Jubilee to myself and to my future pupils, and to all pupils everywhere, have a good year !!

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Summer time

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The time for the big switch off is fast approaching as July comes to a close. You may remember a recent post about decorating and turning out of my study. Well, it is now done and virtually finished. I am now writing from a magnificent 3 metre long desk with more space than I know what to do with (not for long !!), the tidiest bookshelves in the history of mankind and a cool, subtle colour palette of cream and macaroon-coffee (well, that is what it said on the tin !!).20140730_163702[1]20140730_163641[1] It smells clean and fresh and will be awaiting my return from our family break by the pool. Three weeks of work, on and off – but an immense sense of satisfaction now that it is completed.

Work will be resuming in my new study after the summer break. For the moment, it can remain all tidy and beautifully neat – for the time being.

Happy summer holidays to everyone. Enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the chill-time and the relaxation, enjoy the big switch off which is almost upon us !!

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The gift that keeps on giving

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I just had to post this image here this morning : 2014-07-25 09.13.17This Lavatera bush is in the back of our garden. It was a very woody, ugly cutting that I shoved into this bit of border, not really knowing what else to do with it. I realized fairly early on in the Spring that it looked laden with buds and had hopes for a full bloom, but this has gone beyond all expectations. One month ago, we held a mega-party for the kids’ birthdays (18 and 20 years old) and in the weeks running up to the party, we were hoping the bush would burst into bloom in time for the birthday weekend. It did just that, and here, one month on, it is still going strong, hence the title of this blogpost. It is absolutely splendid and ticks so many boxes on so many levels. To start with, it is truly beautiful, it has to be said. It has been this way for a month now and shows no sign of stopping, so it gives a huge swash of colour to a whole corner of the garden. Behind this bush is our compost heap, so that is hidden completely from view. The bush is planted in a flower bed that I would normally be thinking about weeding. To be honest, even if there are any weeds in there, we certainly can’t see them and so, I don’t worry about them !! The bush has spread out so far that it has reduced the mowing surface of the lawn, which has to be a good thing !! Less mowing to do !! And finally, this very bush was actually a cutting that I took from another one, so I am going to be taking cuttings from this beauty to share around friends over the next few months, so if you like the look of this, let me know and I’ll pop a cutting in for you too !!

Whenever I look out of the back window and see this sight, it brings a smile to my face as it is simply so lovely ! And of course, a lot of people know about my penchant for the colour PINK !!

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The new look Big English Blog

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A while ago I mentioned I was going to give my blog a facelift, well you can now see the result. No panic – it is nothing major, just a bit of tweeking and twiddling. After two years of the Union Jacks and the tea and scones, it was time to move on. HOWEVER, as you can see, I haven’t moved very far. The tea-time theme is still there as it is very much a part of me. A lot of my students say they learn to make a cup of tea through watching me make my morning cuppa in the classroom. The click of the kettle going on signals that the lesson is almost at an end and my choice of mug is never coincidental.

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For the feature image, I toyed with a number of images. To begin with, they were more of a London-based theme – Big Ben, taxis, phone boxes, letter boxes … but then I decided to change tack. When I go back home to England, that is not where I go or what I look for. I have decided therefore to feature MY England in my chosen pictures. When I go back to England, it is to the south coast essentially, where my parents are based and where my sons are for their studies. The New Forest, Southampton, Christchurch, Chichester, Bournemouth – these are the places I return to and so these are the places I shall be featuring on my blog. This is no disrespect to London at all, BUT I am sure anyone would agree that a country is not fully represented solely by its capital. There are some truly beautiful spots to be discovered in the south of the UK, as there are in all parts of the country, so I hope you will enjoy discovering this corner of my world.

Mudeford QuayTo begin with, a view of the place where my parents live : Barton-on-Sea is a small town on the coast with this superb coastline, as you can see in the feature picture. This area is as spectacular in the winter as it is in the summer. When the wind whips the sea up, it can get quite hairy. My sister and I got absolutely drenched walking along this very quay in February of this year. The storms of this winter did a lot of coastal damage. This coastline is gradually eroding, but for the moment, it is a joy to behold. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWatch this space for images of the New Forest with its ponies which live in the wild. The light shining through the trees on a Spring morning has an almost magical quality. Here is a taster.

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My professional life in boxes

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I have just finished tonight boxing up my professional life. This is what it looks like :

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Why this excess of tidyness ? Well, after thirteen years, I have decided to redecorate my study space. It was originally done out as a nursery for my youngest (now age 13) and as you can see from this photo below, the teddies and stars on the wall are perhaps in need of an update !! 20140714_224128

Packing everything up into boxes was not only intensely satisfying, it was also quite therapeutic as a way of saying goodbye to the old year before heradling in the new, with its new challenges and classes.

Packing up boxes means that at some point, the boxes are all going to be unpacked to take their place in my shiny, newly-decorated office. I am going to be ruthless. Just today alone I binned an impressive quantity of old lessons and exam papers. Bac exams dating back to 2004, when I know for a fact that all resources are on-line. BTS lessons from 2005 are now out of date and so, are now filed under WPB, as my Dad always says. (Filed under WPB = Waste Paper Bin !!).

In the coming days, I am going to hit the paint big-time !! First decision – what colour scheme should I choose ? This is going to keep me busy for a while, just deciding !! No more teddies, but do I go for cool and restful or funky and colourful ? Decisions, decisions, decisions !

Watch this space to see how things progress and to see how long before I get my life back into some kind of order !!

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A new section on my blog

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I am proud to announce a new arrival on my blog – I have created a page especially for Kids’ Literature. If you know me, you will know I have an unending passion for kids’ stories and I love including them in my teaching. Yes, even with a class of grumpy seventeen year old boys !! I am pleased to be able to develop this passion further in the coming months during various training programmes and in anticipation of that, I have today started the dedicated pages on this blog. If you have a moment, check them out. You will find them by clicking right HERE.

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