Love, love, love Cornwall, but this is not a travel blog. No, this is a reminder to myself that a six hour motorway journey is worth every minute when it comes to a half term recharge. Hanging on to the coat tails of Storm Austen we aquaplaned down the M5 and mused that – if…
Back in time
Turns out that people lie when they say that you can never forget how to ride a bike. Some people can; I am that person. Although I was hoping that the chiropractor could work some magic on my sciatica without any lifestyle change, I have been forced to hang up my running shoes in an…
Over Sharing
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that my last blog would unleash such a torrent of feedback. Admittedly comments from two readers (slow and steady I keep telling myself) side-swerved the main topic of my blog which was ‘earwhigging’; instead my readership pounced on a throw- away comment about a tendency towards territorialism…
Earwigging
Here I go with one last blog before the school term starts. I trust that a return to a structured environment may prevent me from becoming a serial eavesdropper/getting arrested, for I confess that I have been pre-occupied by zoning in on other people’s conversations during the holiday break. I am becoming an obsessive earwigger…
Stop the press
Back in a time when a badly written press release could file itself obligingly from a fax machine into the waste bin placed strategically below, my younger self worked as a Press Officer. Printed editorial copy was then valued at three times the weight of an advert and there was no click bait or reader…
Total eclipse
Although I rarely let the truth get in the way of a good story, today I write about a life transition, so I will first include a health warning. This health warning is directed firmly at myself for one of the best ways to kill something beautiful is to compare it to something else; there…
Every day’s a school day
Despite lamenting the weary/sweaty/bonkers drag to the end of school term in my last blog (apologies), I am now out the other side and can find the grace to remember that teaching is the best career in the world (remind me of this in September). As another academic year closes we are sitting in the…
Maxxed out
I promise not to talk about the heat (probably will – too hot to care), but I will shout out to all teachers limping to the end of a very long term. I cannot be alone in feeling maxed out sorry, that should read ‘maxxed’ out; turns out that while I have been distracted by…
Burning rubber
Although I am old enough to remember that scorching summer of 1976 (and that ladybird infestation) I have no memory of a school closure. However, this teacher was really grateful when our school made the decision to limp into the shade for a couple of days this week and take a hydration break. Read on…
Age with limits
I am gutted to hear that I missed ‘Age Without Limits Day (AWLD) 2026’. I have written it into my diary for 2027 otherwise I am bound to forget. In reality I am surrounded by such positive 60+ role models that I rarely think about age. My friends are climbing mountains, wild water swimming and…