A little bit of insanity...

Dear Blogees,

In approximately 17 days, my sister, a chemistry teacher and I will be plunging into the cold, murky depths of Lake Windermere. 

Are we crazy? I hear you cry. Yes on some levels but in fact there is method in our madness. Myself and Dr Boddy both visited Malawi last year on the schools bi-annual tour. Yes some of you may stop reading here, thinking this is just a middle class holiday, and yes it was a lot of fun. BUT.... we saw how much of a difference the schools donations make to the lives of so many people. 

The Malawi trust was set up by the inspirational Barry Brindley, some call him the king of Malawi personally I prefer Aslan; he set up the link between the girls High School and Malawi. Every two years a group of students would travel to Malawi to experience the culture of the country and donate money to the orphanages, hospitals and schools in need. Many years later this tour is still running and I was lucky enough to be picked, as cheesy as this is going to sound what I saw out there will stay with me forever. The most extreme example of this was Kasungu district hospital; it was here that I truly got a glimpse into the poverty of the country and its need for our help. With the money we had raised we were able to buy urgent medical supplies for the hospital and although this will only make a small difference to the conditions of the hospital, it is a difference nonetheless. 

Mr Brindley has set up a charity called 'The Zikomo Trust' this charity will use it's donations to fund the projects in Malawi, it will set up feeding stations for orphans and old people and build classrooms for the children of Mbonekere. 

Dr Boddy and I have seen first hand how much joy and hope these donations bring to the people of Malawi. That is why we have decided to put ourselves through the trial of swimming a mile in Lake Windermere. 

We need YOU lovely people to sponsor us, even if it is just a pound! Money goes an extremely long way in Malawi; six pounds will feed an orphan for a whole year! So please, please, please give generously.

Thank you 

http://www.justgiving.com/swimforMalawi

Was I born in the wrong era?

Dear Blogo-sphere,

On numerous occasions and by many different people I have been told that I may have been born in the wrong era. With high morals, an aversion to Lady Gaga and a relatively 'old fashioned' outlook on the world it's not difficult to believe. However, there are some things in popular culture that really make my blood boil....

Number one: The strange and inexplicable race for young girls to grow up. Whether it's ten year olds dancing like Rihanna at a disco or 14 year olds going out clubbing every weekend. The girls in our society seem to think that they must become tiny adults, and this is wrong. When I was little I liked nothing better than dressing up, but it has gone a step too far. When has it ever been right for ten year olds to grind to the Hokie Cokie!? 

Number two: Music videos (This is only aimed at a small sector of the music video corner. Don't hate me, I like most of the others)  Again here showing my "age" but seriously the last thing I want to see is singer writhing around wearing what can only be described as glorified underwear. I am all for women being independent and powerful etc. Surely this is just objectifying women? and all it really does is make me feel uncomfortable and reluctant to buy the music.

Number three: The fact that people just can't seem to be nice to each other. Whether it's friends bitching or arguing with or about one another or countries fighting. The human population seems to be completely unable to get along. To be honest I don't see why people play nicely, conflict is tiring and pointless and really at the end of the day is it worth it?

Okay, I feel I have forced my opinions on you enough. Rant over. 

 Thank you and Goodnight.

the new pen conundrum

Dear blogees, 

This week i have come to realise that in fact it is the little things in life that make us the happiest. What made me come to this conclusion? A new fountain pen.

Yes a fountain pen, on Saturday I finally replaced my old leaking fountain pen with a brand new shiny one. I know, it's not that exciting or interesting! However, to me this fountain pen was potentially the most exciting point of my week. At first I was horrified by this, had A levels completely sucked all the fun out of my life? Maybe. BUT, once the original horror had worn off i suddenly realised that I didn't care, if a new pen was exciting to me then what did I care about the rest of the world. 

I guess in my own round about and strange way is that it is these little things in life that make it worth it. So if you want to get excited about a new pen you should. If you want to listen to Disney music reeeeally loudly you can and if you want to drink fifteen cups of tea, JUST DO IT. 

Because (and here comes the cheese, brace yourselves)  at the end of the day life is full of lots of downs and you should do whatever you can to fill it with little ups. One day you'll get to the top of the mountain and be able to look back and enjoy the view.

And with that cheesy bombshell I bid you adieu.

The conch and it's place in our society

Evening!

Today in English our small society of 10 was introduced to the conch. Now if anyone who has read Lord of the Flies will understand the principal but to those who haven't i am happy to fill you in. The conch is an object which is passed around a group of people during a discussion, you are only allowed to speak when in possession of the conch. Obviously in Lord of the flies the conch was over used and led to uproar amongst the small island community, but anyway that is quite literally another story. 

Having dismissed Yusef's inventive suggestion of a reenactment of Lord of the flies ( not too popular with the teacher) we settled into a healthy discussion, and a truly miraculous thing occurred. Normally during a lesson the dulcid tones of our class can be heard echoing down the English corridor much to the frustration of our teacher, as during discussion we all have to fight over one another to be heard. Today was different.

After introducing the conch to our small discussion about who's fault it was that everyone dies at the end of Othello, we found that in fact you could hear someones point much better when no one else was talking!? I mean WHO KNEW!! Therefore, after this enlightening experience i feel that a conch should be introduced to other situations in life eg. a drama rehearsal, when getting you r point across can turn almost as ugly as a fight with a Hungarian Horntail! In conclusion, a conch in all group situation is the BEST way to resolve the issues of any discussion. 

Thank you aaand Good night.

inspiring scenes from sport relief

Good afternoon Blogees,
I have just finished the sport relief mile and am feeling extremely proud of myself and my team the crazy kids. Although it's only running a mile the money that the milers collect is so important. But anyway what i really wanted to talk about was Frank Skinner.

In my opinion he has done the most inspirational and challenging thing this year for sport relief, swimming twenty five meters for charity. Now although this isn't the physically challenging spectacle that was performed by the wonderful John Bishop, but I think Frank did something that little bit better. He overcame his biggest fear, just to raise money for those less fortunate all over the world, and I think for that he deserves the greatest respect from all of. So I hope you all join me in a mental congratulation and applause for this awe inspiring man who has done something incredible for charity. Well done Frank and anyone who participated in the money raising for sport relief.

Whatever happened to the respect

Dear Blogees,

Today I talk about the very serious subject of the year 7,8,9,10 and eleven's who have all gotten too big for those kids size boots of theirs. Now don't get me wrong kids are great and I don't say this out of pure hatred but it is something that NEEDS to be said. 

What happened to the respect/fear that the sight of a year 13 used to instill in the lower years, I mean for goodness sake we wear suits!! Surely, we should earn respect for having to walk around in smart shirts and un yielding suit skirts all day!? When i was in these lowers years i had an enormous amount of respect for the esteemed sixth form, I would go out of my way to hold a door open or clear the corridor for the on coming year twelves and thirteens. Now, we are lucky if we are not barged into in the corridors or have the door slammed in our face by an obnoxious eleven year old. 

Is this the birth of a new alpha-seven with no keys on bungees, or bulging backpacks. Instead, dressed in the latest tracksuit by juicy or Jack wills gilet complete with leggings and ugg boots these alpha-sevens, eights, nines and tens strut through the halls, more self importance than Draco Malfoy and more attitude than Pansy Parkinson in a bad mood.

However this loss of the hierarchical structure of the school occurred is beyond me but it must be remedied!!! So my message to all you sixth formers who are mistreated by this lack of respect is to take a stand and reestablish the natural order of the school yard.

Thank you and GOOD LUCK!!

Drama the "doss" subject

Whoever decided that drama was the so called "doss" subject, suggesting that it was easy requiring little work and brain power, had obviously never taken A2 level Drama. Having taken Drama since GCSE I can tell you that it perhaps the most stressful and taxing subject I take, surpassing the rigour of both chemistry and biology (both of which I have taken)

If these people were in fact to take Drama they would discover that they not only have to learn two texts basically off by heart for the exam, in which you have to write two essays describing how to act, direct, design for all the actors in the scene. But also devise your own original piece of theatre from scratch whilst sticking to the strict guidelines of your chosen style. 

Still think it's easy??

 Well, if you've met any Drama students I'm sure you are aware of the stereotypical uber-confident personality that comes with the subject and as lovely as my colleagues are, I'm sure that they will agree that all those egos in one room we often are met with scenes more fitting with a soap opera , Lord sugar's boardroom or a scene in hp featuring the likes of Gilderoy Lockhart or Lucius Malfoy.

Therefore, next time you see the drama students strutting to the theatre or complaining about being stressed don't question them, think back to this meagre little offering of a decent blog and maybe offer tea or just a hug?? 

Till next time

stay classy :)