14 year olds again.....

So now that work has officially begun once again, I am having to get my head around the projects I wrote at the end of last term for the new course and it's 14 year old participants, I am acutely aware that they are very different from the students I normally teach on so many levels, so I am going to make a concerted effort to try and do what I can alongside them, so today was all about them..... I actually elected to take advantage of being able to work from home for the very last time this term (unless we get heaps of early snow of course) and had a wonderfully productive day! I also needed to have some peace and quiet as tomorrow sees us meet Keith our social worker for the first time, I cannot tell you how terrified I am! I hope he thinks that we might actually make decent parents - so please send us lots of positive vibes!

So what did I do? Well first of all I watched the Gilmore girls, oh, as well as making a great PowerPoint presentation for the new project of course, well, I am a woman after all, multi tasking is second nature isn't it! Then I hunted around our house, inside and out (in the rain), for some interesting organic forms to photograph, saved what I could on PhotoShop (!) and then I spent the afternoon making make-up bags - which is what this projects ends with - and thank God, at last I've got it down - why am I so rubbish at zips?! I also wentt to yoga, so now I am all balanced and centred!! so here we go then!



Ahhh the Gilmore Girls........
And reality has no place in my world either!!!!



Glastonbury

So it's back to work now which isn't so bad I suppose, but a shock to the system none the less! So as a bit of an antidote to this, Ivan (Mr Bicknell) and I headed off to Glasto to stay with his Dad, Renchi, and Step mum Ness last weekend. I love it there, the madness of the place, the views from their great house and the fact that more often than not, other family members rock up too. This Time Annie (Mr bicknell's lovely sister) and her partner in crime Rainer were there to share the weekend. Because Glastonbury is so bonkers you really do get lost in the place and forget all about the horrors of the real world! So it was a couple of days of walking, eating and overly competitive Scrabble!

A view from the Tor that simply warms your heart!

There is a Bicknell family tradition where kissing gates are concerned - Annie got the short straw!

Why do we need to adopt when Ivan behaves like a 5 year old most of the time?!

The spoils of Somerset Delis and local farm stalls for lunch and the table.

80p the lot - you have to be impressed don't you!

Late night Scrabble - Rainer it appears is an expert at making up new words!

Team "Gayvan" only one letter above 3 points all blinking night!

Annie and Rainer - the smugsters!

So, back to the real world then.........

Autumn marvels!

This is my favourite time of year, the blackberries ready to be plucked whilst on warm country walks, apple crumble, the first lighting of our open fire, the smell and colours of Autumn leaves, the build up to Halloween, Guy Fawkes and of course Christmas, the new term - yes, sad, I know - but most of all, lots of new fab T.V!!!!! Oh I am well aware of how tragic I am, but one of my favourite childhood memories was of eating crumpets/boiled eggs/corn on the cob in front of the fire, in front of the T.V. on an Autumn Sunday evening! And these days the advent of the new series of Doctor Who and X Factor simply fill me with joy!!! This year I missed the beginnings of these two shows but have subsequently caught up, but imagine my surprise when I saw an ex-student of ours, Stefan Romer get through to bootcamp! Well, if I am honest, I did know that he had applied, but not that he had gotten through to the next stage! I actually know a lot more, but am not at liberty to say just yet, but I am very excited......... Here's his first flirty audition!

http://youtu.be/hUEcugUuxsM

I also loved Janet Devlin - http://youtu.be/MX-Nj539cY0

And Johnny Robinson -    http://youtu.be/drcvM-yiKTU

Holiday reading

Although my summer was super busy I did get to add to the self-indulgence with some light reading! I know that at my age I should be going to deeper heavier ready material, but like my taste in T.V. it is generally human nature fiction that I am attracted to! The two that I did get to read are great and if you haven't dipped into them already then I can thoroughly recommend them.....

Maggie O'Farrell is a particular favourite of mine and her latest is wonderful - very, very sad, but wonderful. what I really enjoy about her writing is her ability to develop a dual narrative, so that you are continually anticipating their ultimate collision through well sewn seeds of suggestions and clues! This is her 5th novel and all 5 have been magnificent!

This is the fourth book which focuses on the Jackson Brodie character, recently brought superbly to life by the BBC in Case Histories. Atkinson in essence is witty and humorous, and she provides a constant stream of suspense which finds yourself racing to get to the end, or that could just be me! Like O'Farrell, Atkinson is also highly adept at threading many lives together and with a number of creatively devised individuals to unravel you find yourself genuinely consumed by their fictional lives!

Visiting...

One of my best and oldest friends moved to Germany about 5 years ago and ever since we have made something of a concerted effort to visit each other or go on holiday together every year, this isn't always the easiest thing to coordinate with us both having extremely busy lives, but we do seem to manage it! So this year I made the trip to her, this will be my last trip to Germany though as she will shortly be moving to another country, but at this moment in time I can't really tell you where as it is all a bit hush hush, what I can tell you is that Rebecca's life is never simple and often makes mine look extremely dull!!

Believe it or not, I am not a great flyer - it scares the hell out of me if I'm honest, especially if I am going solo as it were! Therefore the flight out to Basel was even more hideous for me than it was for the normal and rational individuals on my flight, I honestly thought at one point that I might die - talk about a bumpy ride! If you have ever been caught in a thunderstorm whilst flying then you will know what I mean! Bex looked just as pale as me when I did eventually venture out of the airport (almost 40 minutes later than scheduled because it was too "dangerous to land"), as she could see how shaken up everyone else was! But I made it and we had a really lovely time for 4 days, catching up and drinking lots of fizz and red wine!

As I hadn't been to hers for a few years it was also the first time that I had met her dogs - Gilbert and George - great arty names huh?

George

Gilbert

Bex, her partner Alex and the canines! This is actually on the balcony of their new secret location - aha, I didn't just go to Germany you see......

A view from the Black forest

Window shopping....

I think it is a dislodged name label, but I liked it enough to snap it!

Street party - undisclosed location....

Werner Gerber - from what I can gather, a couple of architects with a side line in Fina art! I love this though, but as the book of the exhibit was £80, I am just going to have to keep searching for something online!

As you know I sadly turned 40 this year, and although I did have a bit of a gathering Bex was unable to attend, to "make up for it" this amazing box of goodies was presented to me, everything was so beautifully wrapped that I had to take a pic..

But then the contents was so amazing that I had to snap that too - how spoiled am I? God this summer has made me look like a total brat!

Rebecca's current city, Freiburg, has a great weekday market - I am a sucker for kids stocking fillers!

Mad pumpkins - someone must have been very bored!!!

You have to love a papier mache pig don't you!

Abandoned - best thing to do with a smurf!!!


Would I say that about the Germans???