...sorry I haven't "pondered" for a while.  I have changed jobs.  I am now working at the local College advising on Key Skills.  The whole process went very smoothly but it didn't leave me much time to ponder!

Since I will be working more hours and throughout the year, the Storyteller website will, from now on, only be updated fortnightly.  Please, if you have anything you would like to see on there, just leave me a note on here.  We desperately want the site to become more interactive (we know that we have lots of visitors but they just don't seem to want to join in!)

You don't have to leave your name if you prefer to remain anonymous, but any reasonable requests will be met!

Looking forward to hearing from you all then.

Back to school this week.  Do you feel up to it (whether you're a student or a teacher)?  Or are you like me - spend the first two weeks of the holiday winding down, the next two weeks chilling out and the last two weeks winding up again? 

Do you go back into school full of new resolutions and plans or is it the "same old, same old attitude"?

I am changing my job so am excited and full of ideas.  What makes you excited about going back?  A new class?  Teaching new subjects?  Or, quite simply, changing schools?

Good luck to all.  This WILL be the year!!

Can avoid it no longer!  The Olympics, after all, have taken over our television screens completely have they not?

Do you remember the old days?  When just about anybody could enter any of the events?  I always thought that the hurdles would do nicely for me once I discovered that you could just knock them all down on your way through (well, have you seen the height of the blooming things?).  Of course they have now decided that doing this would disqualify you automatically which would defeat the object somewhat.

Anyone out there have ideas on what event they would like to enter if they could?  Now that they have introduced qualifying times and the such-like it obviously makes for quicker heats etc but where has all the fun gone?

ANYWAY, am so pleased that GB are doing so well when they were tipped to fail miserably.  We are, after all, only a small country so any medals we win mean that much more! 

Have just returned from a week in the Lake District.  Quick recap for you (in case you are making your way there!)

Took the motorway - ten hours later (and the AA assured me it would only take 6!) we arrived, hot, bothere and pretty tired.  We had booked a cottage in Windermere and it was centrally located and quite adequate (if a tad basic).

From then on it was all systems go - we hit the lake (in more ways than one!) - we sailed up it and back and then the next day up the other way and back (we had wanted to catch the steam train back but discovered, nearly too late, that the line back to Bowness didn't exist - doh!)  The views are, of course, superb and the trips were calm and peaceful.  We drove up over Hard Knott pass (the longest and highest pass in the UK apparently).  We did it a few years ago and I swore "never again".  Pressure was put on me however so the Laguna and I took a running leap and only stalled the once!  We felt quite proud.

We visited the Aquarium of the Lakes which was interesting if a little small - they have a sturgeon there (I wonder if they run a side-line in caviare?) and the wonderful South Lakes Wild Life Park where you walk through surrounded by lemurs, emus and kangaroos - literally - they are loose!!

We visited various towns and villages as well of course but Bowness really does take the biscuit - it's vibrant, colourful and happy - almost continental in atmosphere - especially in the evenings.

Need I say that we DID NOT take the motorway back - drove down through England (and a bit of Wales) - much more interesting and if it hadn't been for the inevitable hold up round Bristol when we finally HAD to set our tyres on the M5 we would have made better time.

Back to reality then.  If you haven't had your holiday yet - enjoy!  If you have - hope you enjoyed it!

Well, this is it...am off on hols tomorrow - bright and early too! 

We are going to the Lake District this year but have graced several areas of the country with our presence in years gone past.  Some thoughts...

• Anglesey - I felt I had been transported back to the fifties when we drove round the island a couple of years ago.  I loved it but I wonder how the younger generation feel?
• Norfolk - probably my favourite UK holiday destination - although flat (??) the Northern Marshes (Claye Next the Sea etc), the more holiday resort type places like Cromer and Sheringham, then, moving down - Great Yarmouth of course and, finally, the fens and their related wildlife.
• Devon/Cornwall - the moors of course (a visit to Jamaica Inn to see the Museum of Curiosities was always a must but it's all gone now), the wild and rugged Northern Coast and the more dainty Southern Coast - a wide variety once more.
• Wales - North and South - both very different - once again, slightly retro but some beautiful scenery and comfortable resorts.

Anyone else have any thoughts? (As if...!!!)

Availed myself of the use of a strimmer and a fly-mow (fly-mo?) in the week as garden of new house looks like a hay-field at the moment. 

Sons and I hooked up strimmer and off we went.  Well, we didn't actually, as it would only strim about three inches at a time before breaking off.  We now have a shorn patch on the edge of the back piece of lawn.  I approached fly-mow warily, wondering if it could cope with remaining hay.  Hooked it up, discovered I had put the handle on the wrong way so unhooked it and turned handle round, hooked it up again - pressed lever - nothing.  Found orange button which obviously meant something and pressed it, still nothing.  Pressed lever and button at same time.  Silence.  Found a very small orange button so pressed that with left big toe whilst pressing lever and larger orange button - no reaction whatsoever.  Now it had been tested out the day before so...WHY?  Did it look at hay and decide it wasn't for it?  Was it sulking because strimmer was hooked up before it?  HELP!!!

Tomorrow shall purchase newer and stronger string for strimmer and approach fly-mow stealthily from behind.  In the meantime, I suppose a hay-field is really quite attractive.  Perhaps I should purchase a baler to complete the look!

It's baby seagull on the floor time again!  Where I live we are surrounded by this speckly grey "babies" (I put that in inverted commas because I have never understood how they can be twice the size of their parents!)

A friend up the road had two - Gilbert and Gulliver.  They were a source of much interest for the local children (not always "positive" interest I have to say) and, quite simply, drove her mad.  Gulliver, unfortunately, whilst out on a stroll down the road got knocked over by a car - apparently doing well at the RSPCA as I type but Gilbert is wandering up and down the road, visiting the neighbours and generally being very sociable.  His parents, however, spend their time in frantic confusion as they never know where he will pop up next!

Such is life when you live near the sea!

One of the joys of my ‘job’ / life is the feedback I get from people. It is a privilege to get email and mail from students and teachers I have worked with. This end of summer term / school year has bought an unexpected bonus in the form of mailings from school who have included me in their list to receive annual school reports / highlights of the year etc. The fact that so many have been personalised and have included local press cuttings / letters from students has been a joy. Thank you all so much!

I thought I might just include this little extract from standards.dfes.gov.uk notes on schemes for Citizenship...

Children become involved in planning, organising and running... arts activities days. Activities could include... arts festivals with artists, storytellers or dancers.

Its great to see Storytellers getting such high billing!