59. Whistle down the wind – Mary Hayley Bell
60. Monster Mission – Eva Ibbotson
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Orchids- Beauty or the beast? Friend or foe?
I received an orchid for my birthday. I also went to Kew Gardens in February half term and saw their beautiful orchid display. As I made tea this morning- IT was looking at me! I know I sound like a loony, and perhaps I am jesting or exaggerating a bit. BUT, hear me out!
FOR:
They are coveted the world over. Their beauty is heralded and copious amounts of money pass hands in payment for them. Their was even murder for one in Midsomer murders.
They come in a variety of shades, brilliant hues, sprigged patterns, larger and smaller.
They are unspeakably beautiful. They are intricate, strong yet delicate.
Their blooms have an astounding longevity.
They stand proud and tall.
AGAINST:
They are bizarre the way they last so long! Seriously, mine has been in bloom since February- It has not changed! Is it real?
You only need to water them once a week. That's weird for flowers!
There is that really nasty frond thing that sticks out the back- everytime I see it, I keep thinking it is the leg of a tarantula or some horrifically deadly spider species from down under, or worse! Why do they have that? WHy why?
Have you looked closely at one? They look exactly like some sort of vampire bat face nestled in an innocent facade of petals.
When you've got a whole clump of them on one stem like mine, it is unnervingly like a growing army of snipers, surreptitiously waiting for their chance to pounce.
I think it is a plot! The Nestene consciousness are back- and they want to take over Earth. They did it with daffodils with Jon Pertwee's Dr- perhaps Orchids are their new fiendish plot. So realistic that we think they are real!
What plan of action do we need to foil them?????
Hmmmm, David Tennant coming to rescue me?!
FOR:
They are coveted the world over. Their beauty is heralded and copious amounts of money pass hands in payment for them. Their was even murder for one in Midsomer murders.
They come in a variety of shades, brilliant hues, sprigged patterns, larger and smaller.
They are unspeakably beautiful. They are intricate, strong yet delicate.
Their blooms have an astounding longevity.
They stand proud and tall.
AGAINST:
They are bizarre the way they last so long! Seriously, mine has been in bloom since February- It has not changed! Is it real?
You only need to water them once a week. That's weird for flowers!
There is that really nasty frond thing that sticks out the back- everytime I see it, I keep thinking it is the leg of a tarantula or some horrifically deadly spider species from down under, or worse! Why do they have that? WHy why?
Have you looked closely at one? They look exactly like some sort of vampire bat face nestled in an innocent facade of petals.
When you've got a whole clump of them on one stem like mine, it is unnervingly like a growing army of snipers, surreptitiously waiting for their chance to pounce.
I think it is a plot! The Nestene consciousness are back- and they want to take over Earth. They did it with daffodils with Jon Pertwee's Dr- perhaps Orchids are their new fiendish plot. So realistic that we think they are real!
What plan of action do we need to foil them?????
Hmmmm, David Tennant coming to rescue me?!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Eurovision novice!
Ahrgh, cold has knocked me for six this week! How kind of it to strike during SATs week when I really needed to get on with my marking and get music reports done and when there's lots of other manic stuff going on!
Well, yesterday, I watched Eurovision for the first time! I have never watched it before and never quite understood the mania/fascination etc. But after watching the 'Your country needs you!' programme once or twice, and needing something to accompany the dull monotony of marking Year 5 long writing task scripts (incidentally, my little darlings have really done me proud in their English writing, with very few exceptions! They've taken my advice, remembered the features of persuasive writing and written some cracking letters and settings-for their shorter writing task), I decided to watch it! On the whole, it was marvellously entertaining and I watched with alacrity. As I watched, I felt the need to record my observations for posterity and my own memory, since it was such a hilarious and unexpected pleasure which I would wish to remember! I shall hereby begin my diatribe (not strictly the correct word for it, since I am not ranting but it came into my mind and so I shall incorrectly use it)
Graham Norton was hilarious- I really enjoyed his sneakily, slightly audaciously bitchy but surprisingly mild sounding comments. I don't know what Terry W was like, so cannot make the comparison! I laughed lots!
Armenia - hilarious bearskins! Didn't notice the song, the costumes got me!
Russia- terrible, terrible, disturbing, creepy. Who let the cats out!
France- nice dress, not convinced by the song sadly, considering I love French songs usually.
Azerbyjan (spelling?) - FUNKY!
Bosnia- Executioners meets pirates of Penzance meets Zorro. And it looked like Sean Bean was moonlighting.
Moldova- reminiscent of a call to prayer at first. Amused by the Dandini costume, loved the 4 exuberant dancers in the background, especially tickled by the head waggling. Loved it by the end!
Greece- EURGH! Put it away!
Malta- v Andrew Lloyd Webber/Disney- lovely song, lovely voice!
Estonia- intriguing, they were very pretty!
Denmark- it really was Ronan Keating's clone! Nice though!
Germany- really catchy song. Didn't like the Dita Von Teese thing, bit sleezy. However, I have now solved the mystery of where my silver sequined trousers which went missing at our Soul Band gig at University went. Liam gave them to him! Loved the tap dancing! V. big band!
Finland- no, but liked the fire majorettes.
Lithuania- ok, not much to say!
Israel- ditto
Turkey- out of tune in places, not convinced by the Aladdin costumes.
Albani- urgh, what was with the creepy blue man- looked liked the Raston Warrior robot from Dr Who!
Norway - awwwwwwwwwwwwww, so sweet and goofy! Loved the violin, especially, the broken horse hair, it showed passion! He didn't have the best voice but I like this song! I'd buy it!
Ukraine- hamster cages, roman centurions, dominatrix- nuff said.
Romania- resembled one of those new age fantasty cards with woodland fairies. Didn't notice the song!
Sweden- just not convinced.
Croatia- no no.
Uk- Good but she could have shown more emotion in her face. Much better tuning!
Spain- Strictly come dancing! Out of tune but fun!
Portugal- so sweet- I'm with Graham!
Iceland- really beautiful, full of emotion.
I loved Iceland, Malta, Norway, Uk and Portugal. In that order. They would have got my top points!
In conclusion, I am definitely going to watch it next year- so entertaining! And I totally understand why people have Eurovision parties now. It's a very social thing- to share comments and laugh about it etc! I am converted!
54. The choir – Joanna Trollope.
55. The Boggart – Susan Cooper
56. Gemma – Noel Streatfield
57. Chitty chitty bang bang – Ian Fleming
58. The Nonesuch – Georgette Heyer.
Well, yesterday, I watched Eurovision for the first time! I have never watched it before and never quite understood the mania/fascination etc. But after watching the 'Your country needs you!' programme once or twice, and needing something to accompany the dull monotony of marking Year 5 long writing task scripts (incidentally, my little darlings have really done me proud in their English writing, with very few exceptions! They've taken my advice, remembered the features of persuasive writing and written some cracking letters and settings-for their shorter writing task), I decided to watch it! On the whole, it was marvellously entertaining and I watched with alacrity. As I watched, I felt the need to record my observations for posterity and my own memory, since it was such a hilarious and unexpected pleasure which I would wish to remember! I shall hereby begin my diatribe (not strictly the correct word for it, since I am not ranting but it came into my mind and so I shall incorrectly use it)
Graham Norton was hilarious- I really enjoyed his sneakily, slightly audaciously bitchy but surprisingly mild sounding comments. I don't know what Terry W was like, so cannot make the comparison! I laughed lots!
Armenia - hilarious bearskins! Didn't notice the song, the costumes got me!
Russia- terrible, terrible, disturbing, creepy. Who let the cats out!
France- nice dress, not convinced by the song sadly, considering I love French songs usually.
Azerbyjan (spelling?) - FUNKY!
Bosnia- Executioners meets pirates of Penzance meets Zorro. And it looked like Sean Bean was moonlighting.
Moldova- reminiscent of a call to prayer at first. Amused by the Dandini costume, loved the 4 exuberant dancers in the background, especially tickled by the head waggling. Loved it by the end!
Greece- EURGH! Put it away!
Malta- v Andrew Lloyd Webber/Disney- lovely song, lovely voice!
Estonia- intriguing, they were very pretty!
Denmark- it really was Ronan Keating's clone! Nice though!
Germany- really catchy song. Didn't like the Dita Von Teese thing, bit sleezy. However, I have now solved the mystery of where my silver sequined trousers which went missing at our Soul Band gig at University went. Liam gave them to him! Loved the tap dancing! V. big band!
Finland- no, but liked the fire majorettes.
Lithuania- ok, not much to say!
Israel- ditto
Turkey- out of tune in places, not convinced by the Aladdin costumes.
Albani- urgh, what was with the creepy blue man- looked liked the Raston Warrior robot from Dr Who!
Norway - awwwwwwwwwwwwww, so sweet and goofy! Loved the violin, especially, the broken horse hair, it showed passion! He didn't have the best voice but I like this song! I'd buy it!
Ukraine- hamster cages, roman centurions, dominatrix- nuff said.
Romania- resembled one of those new age fantasty cards with woodland fairies. Didn't notice the song!
Sweden- just not convinced.
Croatia- no no.
Uk- Good but she could have shown more emotion in her face. Much better tuning!
Spain- Strictly come dancing! Out of tune but fun!
Portugal- so sweet- I'm with Graham!
Iceland- really beautiful, full of emotion.
I loved Iceland, Malta, Norway, Uk and Portugal. In that order. They would have got my top points!
In conclusion, I am definitely going to watch it next year- so entertaining! And I totally understand why people have Eurovision parties now. It's a very social thing- to share comments and laugh about it etc! I am converted!
54. The choir – Joanna Trollope.
55. The Boggart – Susan Cooper
56. Gemma – Noel Streatfield
57. Chitty chitty bang bang – Ian Fleming
58. The Nonesuch – Georgette Heyer.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Waffles with a dash of poetry and a sprinkling of bruises!
I'm taking my class to watch the LSO in June. We're going to watch a great programme including my favourite, Stravinsky's Petruska. We've already had a great workshop this week with 2 LSO players. It is very exciting, but also a little scary, considering I am taking them on a train! No school trip from my school has ever been on a train! I chose to do train because I thought it would be cheaper and would give them experience of a train, and I thought it was probably quicker to get to the Barbican. In prep for the concert, we have to learn this piece with song/body percussion/rap (called 'Bamboozled') it's great! Today, I began to teach them the Body percussion in lieu of PE (we had a special afternoon assembly and as we'd only have 15 mins to do PE after changing before infant play, I decided to use the time in another way)- which was fab- they were really enthused by it, picked it up quick and were amused by it! However, the body percussion (funky though it is) involves lots of thigh slapping and I have since discovered- that my left thigh is covered in a myriad of tiny bruises and that thing where you've done something to your blood vessels. Tis most distressing- in a first panic-stricken bamboozled moment, I thought I had septicaemia! I can't believe I have done that- it looks horrific! Two thoughts occur to me 1) How I suffer for my art! 2) I sincerely hope the kids aren't also covered in similar marks! I think I'd better go onto the song and rap bit for a while whilst it repairs!
So far after the deliciously wonderful bank holiday, I have had a good week,what with a French course on Tuesday. Yesterday, I went through a reading comprehension with my class- really really in depth, to the point of carefully discussing every question and discussing what we'd write. (we do one a week usually or so). Sometimes, when they have poems to talk about, they miss the point or find it hard to answer questions about it. So, I first wanted to do a poem comprehension, really covering the variety of questions you can be asked about it (they are particularly bad at quoting the text in their answers. I harp on and on...). And in addition, my class are not very kind at responding to differences in others. I have been trying to work on it in PHSE, but at the moment, we are studying persuasive writing in Literacy, including persuasion in poetry so I decided to combine the various requirements, to write a poem and answer the questions in it. I decided to try and write in character or in role and empathise with children and wrote the following. I didn't tell them it was by me, as you can see, and was really gratified that they really responded well and said they really liked it! It was a really really successful lesson so I am pleased! I hope it has gone in.
So, what do you think?
Fall and Phoenix by G. Killannerra
They push me and shove me
They make me feel a fool.
How I wish I was a giant tower
Instead of rodent small.
Each day in the playground,
They snuffle for their prey.
They’re baying hounds a-seeking me,
Determined to get their way.
Yet I too now am determined
To stand up for my rights,
To show I don’t care, am strong within
I WILL win this mental fight!
We each are special, unique, with worth,
Each have our special skills.
Beware how you treat now, today,
For one day I might cure your ills.
That which makes me different to you
Is no excuse to tease.
Beauty is variety, God made it so,
Just like snowflakes upon the breeze.
Not much else happening! I lead a very boring existence.
Although, had a fab church home group yesterday on giving. Really, really one to think about, challenging but exciting!
The reports are plodding along. Have done some more science reports, just need to keep going and then hopefully I wont encounter such utter hell at the end as last year!
Les livres
47. The Demon Headmaster takes over – Gillian Cross.
48. Victoria and the rogue – Meg Cabot
49. The hideaway – Jamilla Gavin
50. Adventures of the strange ruby – Enid Blyton.
51. Darcy’s story – Janet Aylmer
52. Confessions of a Jane Austen addict- Laurie Viera Rigler
53. The winter of the birds –Helen Cresswell.
So far after the deliciously wonderful bank holiday, I have had a good week,what with a French course on Tuesday. Yesterday, I went through a reading comprehension with my class- really really in depth, to the point of carefully discussing every question and discussing what we'd write. (we do one a week usually or so). Sometimes, when they have poems to talk about, they miss the point or find it hard to answer questions about it. So, I first wanted to do a poem comprehension, really covering the variety of questions you can be asked about it (they are particularly bad at quoting the text in their answers. I harp on and on...). And in addition, my class are not very kind at responding to differences in others. I have been trying to work on it in PHSE, but at the moment, we are studying persuasive writing in Literacy, including persuasion in poetry so I decided to combine the various requirements, to write a poem and answer the questions in it. I decided to try and write in character or in role and empathise with children and wrote the following. I didn't tell them it was by me, as you can see, and was really gratified that they really responded well and said they really liked it! It was a really really successful lesson so I am pleased! I hope it has gone in.
So, what do you think?
Fall and Phoenix by G. Killannerra
They push me and shove me
They make me feel a fool.
How I wish I was a giant tower
Instead of rodent small.
Each day in the playground,
They snuffle for their prey.
They’re baying hounds a-seeking me,
Determined to get their way.
Yet I too now am determined
To stand up for my rights,
To show I don’t care, am strong within
I WILL win this mental fight!
We each are special, unique, with worth,
Each have our special skills.
Beware how you treat now, today,
For one day I might cure your ills.
That which makes me different to you
Is no excuse to tease.
Beauty is variety, God made it so,
Just like snowflakes upon the breeze.
Not much else happening! I lead a very boring existence.
Although, had a fab church home group yesterday on giving. Really, really one to think about, challenging but exciting!
The reports are plodding along. Have done some more science reports, just need to keep going and then hopefully I wont encounter such utter hell at the end as last year!
Les livres
47. The Demon Headmaster takes over – Gillian Cross.
48. Victoria and the rogue – Meg Cabot
49. The hideaway – Jamilla Gavin
50. Adventures of the strange ruby – Enid Blyton.
51. Darcy’s story – Janet Aylmer
52. Confessions of a Jane Austen addict- Laurie Viera Rigler
53. The winter of the birds –Helen Cresswell.
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