Alabama 2019 - Days 5 & 6 : Grand persons and digging in the dirt

Tuesday 26 Novenber

This is not a sight we would see at home, a vulture walking round a dead animal in the road.  I think the carrion was another bird or a rabbit.  Mauve was fascinated, I was grabbing my phone to record it.

Today's main event is Grandparents day at Robbie's school (Cary Woods). The sign at the entrance was Grand persons day.  Pam had driven Mady, Jo and I to the school, it is only a few minutes away.  Robbie loved showing us around and took us down to the hall to eat.  The Thanksgiving meals were all set up ready to go.  We collected our meals and found a table.  One of Robbies friends sat at the other end of the table and his grandmother kindly offered to take a picture of us.

Here we all are:

On our return, Pam leaves to go to other members of her family for Thanksgiving.  We stay with the children.  First we clear the leaves from the front a little. Then they are playing on the front grass, Mady digging in the dirt.  One of the boys from down the road sees Robbie and comes to play, he is 9 years old. More of his friends arrive, they are older.  A very boisterous ball game gets underway, eventually one of the older boys is hurt and they all go home - which is a relief for us.

Now all is peaceful and quiet, I can pretend, just as the children are.  My pretence is not Pokemon related, but it might involve digging in the dirt. I'm just enjoying sitting on a verandah in a rocking chair with my faithful dog lying there.  I'm watching my lands, enjoying the late autumn sun, satisfied with a good day and a good season.  Well all the elements are there and I can dream too, can't I?  It was a lovely day, quite like Mid-September in the UK.

Dinner was home smoked red-snapper, it was delicious. 

Wednesday 27 November

Today is also like mid-September, it is raining hard, so hard water is running out of the gutters.  There will be no walking a dog while it is like that! The rain didn't last long, almost all traces of it were gone in an hour or so.
I looked after the children while Karen and Jo went shopping. We did a little more leaf clearing, it's harder work when the leaves are damp. A guy in a truck stopped and offered his help, I told him we were just playing and were not serious about clearing the leaves.  They are deposited by an Oak and a Sweetgum tree mainly.  Both trees are quite large, so there are lots of leaves.
Mady dug in the dirt again, I think it is her favourite outdoor activity. We had to go out, so I was following instructions to keep her out of the dirt.  She had a melt down when I told her to stop. So, we played games while cleaning her up and her usual pleasant temprament soon returned.
When Karen and Jo got back we loaded ourselves into Karen's car.  There really isn't much room and Jo is stuck (literally) between the two child seats. We are soon at Taco Mama.  Mady is then with Carly, one of the employees and is very happy.  There are all sorts of people in the restuarant, and it soon gets busy, so arriving early was a good choice.  The food is good as always.  Robbie enjoys his meal eating quite a lot.
After lunch we visit the new bookshop next door.  It is very nicely laid out and has a few nice souvenir type gifts too.  Back home I play with Mauve for a bit, and take her for a walk about 4:15.
Later, we go for dinner at Cracker Barrel.  Its a nice place, but a bit of a disappointment.  Our orders are  not delivered properly, Robert's is completely wrong, mine is incomplete, Karen's is overcooked, Jo's is OK.  They sort it out, but it shouldn't have happened.

Alabama 2019 - Days 3 & 4 : In the woods, at school

Sunday 24 November

After a better night's sleep where I only got up once and was quickly back to sleep.  We were woken by the children. For breakfast I tried the cinnamon porridge we had purchased, the instructions do not allow it time to cook adequately.  Porridge needs to be simmered for a couple of minutes, so I tried that and the porridge is much much better.

Today we visited TJ and Val and their children Weston and Poppy.  We last saw TJ and Val several years ago, so it was good to re-new this acquaitance.  They too have a lovely house with a similar arrangement to the one we saw yesterday - a lounge area open to the top of the first floor.  We had dinner together at their house after some shopping.  We also visited the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefied Park (Civil War) and the four of us (Robert, TJ, Jo and I) took a stroll along one of the trails.  We arrived just as the 'five minutes to closing' announcement was made for the visitor centre, the trails are open for another 90 minutes.  It was a short walk along steep hillside paths covered in leaves so that rocks were not visible, the temparature was dropping as the sun went down.  The trees restricted the view, there is little space between them.  It was not easy for us on a planned, prepared trail.  What it must have been like to chase an army or be chased by an army through those woods is difficult to imagine.

Monday 25 November

This mornings walk around the estate was more eventful than usual.  Mauve was stalked by an escaped dog.  She was very concerned about being followed, I didn't know where the dog had come from, I'm not used to all the local canines yet.  Eventually after 5 minutes and maybe 10 steps a woman and a boy started to try to catch the dog. The boy caught it with an amazing rugby tackle and our walk continued.

The main event for us today was a visit to Karen's School  The Radney Elementary School.  On the way we stopped at Zaxbys and got a takeaway lunch.

We were signed in at the school reception, the ID required was a driving licence, a small machine copied the picture and a label was printed - very efficient.  The label is now on Robbie's bedroom wall. We ate lunch in Karen's classroom, Zaxbys salads are very good.  After that we met a number of the staff, including the nurse and the head teacher - a Star Trek fan who has a poster on his wall proclaiming "Everything I need to know I learned from Star Trek". I can't fault that!

It is Pam's birthday tomorrow, as she will be away we will celebrate this evening.  Robert bought Mexican pancakes. They are corn tortilla disks with bean mash to stick things to it.  There is a selection of toppings, its then covered in grated cheese and grilled.  Very Nice.

I spent the last part of the day connected to work, solving a SQL problem with the billing engine checking process. - All good fun! (I don't think)

Education Sunday - Teachers who have influenced us

We were asked to think about teachers who had influenced us, so here are the three that came to mind.

Mr Neale. A physics teacher at my senior school, whose lessons allowed us to experiment and who engaged his class with the practical things of physics as well as the theoretical things. He was responsible for me subscribing to 'New Scientist' for a number of years.

Mr Harris, who was never my teacher at all, but taught me more than many of the others put together. After and during exams we had lots of free time, which had to be spent in school. Mr Harris allowed me (even encouraged me) to help out in his class. He ran a game, which taught the children history, if I remember correctly. The game required quite a bit of practical help, and I was one of the helpers. I learned about teaching, and encouraging children to be engaged with the game and learn through it. As a sixteen year old it was a new world to me, and one I explored and enjoyed being involved in. It set me up for running youth groups in my 20s and 30s.

Ed Wilson, my sixth from maths teacher, the last in a long line of brilliant maths teachers, that made maths my subject. His worked with the three of us on the extended course, it made him almost a friend, and in the sixth form that is just what you need to learn. I passed the exam. At the end of the two years he took us to the pub over the road for a 'leaving drink'.

Bundle on the bus

"Bundle!!" was the cry we'd hear from the other side of the playground. Then we'd run as fast as we could to see the fight. Usually it was all over, or the crowd was too large to see the action. Just occasionally you'd see fists flying and wrestling moves being tried out. Within minutes a teacher would disperse the crowd and if the teacher was lucky, would walk away with the culprits.

Imagine my surprise yesterday morning when the bus doors opened and two girls were engaged in what I can only described as a bundle. The reaction was different form the reaction I was used to. No other children were interested - or at least pretending not to be. One of the passengers was trying to usher them off the bus, and various shouts of "Off the bus" could be heard. Then he called out "Where are their mates" and "come on" to the two that got up "get them off the bus". Then the bus driver saw what was going on and added to the crys "Off the bus". She did make sure they and their friends left. Before they left they were hugging, crying and still punching each other.

I do not understand - I probably never understood the boys in the playground that well, but I admit to being totally confused by the girls on the bus.

The passengers I understood perfectly - their motivation is pure - to leave the bus at the right place with the smallest possible time
lag. The bus driver was true to her mission - 'driving the bus and looking after the passengers'. As we drove off leaving the waring girls, their friends and fellow pupils on the pavement she asked if anyone had been hurt. No-one still on the bus had.

We arrived in Chelmsford without further incident and no significant delay.

I can't help wondering what became of the children once they were on thier own in the High Street.

Monday, November 27 at St Peters school Governors Meeting

I was invited to observe the governors meeting. This meeting structure is the same as that of the PCC, with sub-committees doing the real work, and the main meeting overseeing the results, and agreeing the important decisions. Apart from the Rector, and a teacher the governing board is made up entirely of women. The vast majority of these attend church, not necessarily St. Peters, but a church somewhere.
The meeting was largely uneventful, but there was a lot to do, and in some cases the people doing it are also busy doing lots of other things.
If you're a school governor you won't need me to tell you just how much paper work there is to be done. The whole system relies on pieces of paper.

Instant Recall

This morning we sang "All things bright and beautiful" I was immediately taken back to my school days.
It is close to the start of term. The dark wood floor has been polished with non-slip polish during the holidays. The polish is so think that the grain of the wood is becoming obscured. The hall has a high ceiling with large circular lights fixed on long metal tubes, that don't provide quite enough illumination, because the diffusers are almost opaque with age. Between the windows is the "House points" board. Yellow for Castle house (the one I'm in - not mine), few or no points, third of 4, or sometime fourth. There are thick, heavy cast iron radiators, three or four down the side of the hall opposite the doors. At the front the staff are assembled on the stage, which is about as high as my shoulders, and a teacher is playing a piano on the right hand side, in front of the stage. We are sat cross legged on the floor, too many of us so that out legs are cramped against each other. Things are being said at the front, but the squabble for space three quarters of the way back is occupying my attention - its my space they're squabbling over. A teacher says something from behind, and the boys around me stop shuffling about. Moving is difficult, like trying to slide across a block of cling film, but boys can and do slide forwards, backwards, and sideways. Solid old school shoes are useful for defense in some directions, left, right, and to the front, but there's not enough space to get a good kick. "Now we will all stand and sing" "Plonk, plonk, bright and beautiful, plonk, plonk, great and small..." Its over, we sit, the squabbling for space starts again, if you don't shuffle you suffer from cramp, or pins & needles, or both. We are not good enough so we are to stay behind to practice the song. "Plonk, plonk, bright and beautiful, plonk, plonk, great and small..."

Normally my first thought would be "All things dull and ugly" (Eric Idle), but this morning the dull and ugly images come from my own childhood. So there it is life imposing so many bad images on what ought to be such a lovely song. According to Eric, its all Gods fault, but he seems to have missed a very important part of the equation - you and me.

Cheltenham and back / Teachers who don't want people to learn

Not quite the races, actually more of a long haul. That's now two weekends in a row I've missed church. Still, the journey was OK in both directions. It's a LOT of driving for one day, and the road is full of the usual IDIOTS, whenever you travel. That accounted for my Sunday. So Liz is back at university and there are just a few months before she's home for good. Good luck (luck? - it's supposed to be effort - revision and so on) for the exams, and work hard on the dissertation. That's two weekends in a row I've missed church, can't remember when or even if I've been that absent! Wonder what I missed, and how long it will take me to catch up. Monday was a day working @ home. Something I'm coming to like less and less - because it means that I have meetings at strange hours and the day is 'lost'. Anyway, I got the newsletters out for Karen - AT LAST. Teachers who don't want people to learn - when they themselves want to. Does that sound stupid? - Welcome to Billericay school - they've scored an own goal again! So Mike won't benefit from the Maths day, and can't possibly get his 'C'. Teachers - please try to be encouraging, even if YOU don't believe it's possible, DON'T write people off so easily.

Back to term time....

So we are almost back to 'term time' for everyone. One has already left for her year out, and we spent a lovely weekend in Cardiff (Splott - what a great name) dropping her off. The other is off on Saturday, so that's another long drive and expensive weekend. I've spent most of the last week bringing her PC up to spec, so that it won't be invaded by something horrible, as happened a term or two ago. On Monday everyone will be doing their regular things for this year (except me, see below), so we can settle in to a routine for a few weeks until Christmas disrupts it again - anyone bought any cards yet. Some good news on the GCSE front - for those who know - our GCSE student is back in the top group for PE, and got a C for history. Reader training starts on Sept 24, so three Saturdays in a row are used, and the tax man wants one before the end of Sept also. I'm looking forward to it, yes, really looking forward to it. Time for another "Microsoft Update" moment.....