Be Prepared

...as my old Guide leader used to say. Well, actually, she didn't - and she wasn't old either, but I think it was written on my belt at some point!



Am off to the exciting Trowbridge this evening to BCH camping, who have kindly agreed to do a "lock-in" for us (not the sort you're all thinking of - the only drink there will be coffee.......tut!) am looking forward to trying on lots of things and spending my birthday and Christmas money in a guilt free way :) The plan for this evening is to get a rucksack, sleeping bag and Gore-tex jacket - may be the most frightnened my bank account had ever been - despite the lovely tax man giving me £600 :)



Had a serious meeting after school today, mostly to do the financial climate and how we're going to progress ahead. Kinda scary, I'm not exactly worried for my job, but there may be some changes to be made so am not really sure what's in store.

hum-dee-hum

Dude, the size this mug!

Hurrah, the snow came down.

11 day girls and about half of the staff made it into school. So with the boarders and the 25 Juniors who also made it up the steep and slippy hill they enjoyed a day of 'Fun in the snow' until 9:30, a languages quiz (snow related), Science time (all snow related) and then an Art Lesson. Then the fabulous lunch - which as ever on a Thurday included CHIPS!

Then after lunch they officially closed school most of the day girls had already gone home and it is the first official snow day (possibly ever!) tomorrow. This should be cool. Having a few panicky issues about the fact that we are supposed to have a play on on Monday Luchtime that has never been tun through with the whole cast, set, props or technical wizadry - but if the snow has its way then we won't be in then either!

Some props for one of the plays next week arrived this morning - boxing gloves. And with them?for free? Quite honestly the largest mug I have ever seen! It's huge, and is now sat next to me on the desk filled with approximately 2 cups of tea.....oh yes, this snow day is going to be a wonder!

I also got to go up the tower for the first time today. Took some wonderful photos. The view form up there was just stunning - although you weirdly lose your bearings when you're up there looking down at everything! It was a very....!Famous Five-esque" climb up. 2/3 of the way consistes of a tiny stone spiral staircase (accompanied by Raph's running commentary on the dangers he felt were aroung - honestly for a geographer he hasn't got much sense of adventure!) and then a series of dubious looking ladders - the last the most dubious of all, especially when you're the first one up and have to unbolt and then shift the slightly degraded trap door. Well, I say trap door, there no hinges so it's not a door, just piece of chip board with 2 (although only one works!) bolts on it. Still it was fun and the view was definitely worth it :)

Snowy thoughts

I am wide awake and it's 7:45 - the reason?

SNOW!!! It's now the third day of snow. It fell during the night loast night after most of it had melted during the day - however it is now snowing again - the GAPPIES have been called to go down to the Junior school (even though they don't start 'til 11), and I gatta tell you, the road looks impassable.

However this school has never shut fo snow in at least 25 years (because of the boarders mostly!) but a lot of the other students and staff will probably not make it in today so who knows......

Graphics Card blues

I am a tad stressy at the moment as my poor laptop has a poorly graphics card.

At some point something sprung off inside (this, of course, would have nothing to do with me urrr ...bumping it several times!) shot across the inside wedged itself in the cooling fan for the graphics card, snapped off to blades and managed to burn out th emotor - impressive huh?

Now it transpires that either it is just the fan - so when this is fixed the card will fine and wil no longer send my screen doolalay after 15mins or, it damaged the actual card and it has sadly ended it's uselfulness :( This has been stressful because: this first went wrong 2 minutes (and I do mean 2 minutes!) before the curtain went up on 'A Midsummer Night' Dream' and the laptop was controlling all the projections, and, I have no way of editing DVD's (because the annoying school video camera has no USB/firewire out and even the new laptop they have given me (#4 now!) isn't set up to rip DVD's) or sorting the website for whiteboard theatre out. Which in turn means that an awful lot of things for school aren't getting done ahhhh!!!

So between me and the lovely guy at technophobia in Keynsham, we have been trying to find a new card. This has proven rather tricky. Mostly because, although MXM graphics card are a great idea for those people who want to upgrade their grahics capabilities without replacing their entire laptop, no company relaly picked up on them and they are like gold dust to find. SO the search has so far included 5 2nd hand ones being sent over from the states to be tested (non of them worked!), me sending the original back to the company who assembled the laptop (they say they may be able to fix/replace the fan) and, in the latest escapade, me finiding a far more up to date model on eBay in....wait for it... Canada! So after I get paid this will be winging it's way across the ocean to me.

I have checked the compatibility charts - my model of Notebook is there and it says it is compatable - so there is no reason this shouldn't work. It does not, however, come with the fan or heatsink, so I have to make sure I get the other one back so we can nick the bits off that!

In a way I rather hoope the actual original card is damaged - this new card is about 4 times as powerful........4 times.....imagine Sims2 - or even Sims3.....*cough* I mean, imagine how much easier DVD editing will be..........

Telegram from a crap blogger....

Life has been very busy STOP

So have not blogged for long time STOP guess this is a good thing really COMMA means I have been busy STOP

Things that have happened COLON (that would be the punctuation not a thing..)

Christmas DASH very cool

New Year DASH in Lake District with great people COMMA impromptu Ceilidh and everything STOP

Finding Larry DASH panto I wrote and directed starring some amazing students and teachers from school COMMA went very well COMMA raised lots of money for Peru expedition COMMA good team bonding STOP

Decorating Gatehouse DASH Hallway is done COMMA new GAPS here and enjoying it COMMA Living room next STOP

Promise to be better blogger from now on STOP Especially as I spent this morning reading a book on Peru and am now more excited than ever EXCLAMATION MARK

Now have no money due to long telegram STOP

12 hours - what can you do on a plane for that long??? No..wait...don't answer that!

I have just been perusing the details of the highly exciting Peru 2009 expedition extroidinaire (which for some reason I am not allowing myself to get excited about - I guess in case something happens and we can't go) and realised that because we are flying via Madrid - yes that's correct, we go in totally the wrong direction first - total flying time is 14hours & 20 minutes (2:20 of that is to Madrid).

Now considering we will all have packed light (one book each which we then switch which other) there better be some good entertainment on this plane!! 12 hours ...geez- plus we get in at 7pm Lima time which in our heads will be approx midnight - and we started out at 6am from London I think we're going to be all sorts of shattered....see you're confused just reading that!

The girls were highly excited when I handed out the Hoodies and T-shirts on Friday, it was cool to go round and find them and see their reactions - plus the reactions of those in their class we're trying to raise the profile of the expedition more so that people will support the events we do...speaking of which I really should make a start on that panto....

Bruising and Death

Had a great last day of term.


I was the dead body in the Murder Mystery at school. There were many suspects in the crime (some planned and some not so - apparently I'm having affairs with about 4 members of staff!!??!!)and in the end Ben was revealed as the culprit. Apparently I didn't make the guns for the show fast enough, and he was jealous of me talking about Graeme (art teacher)so much and decided that if he couldn't have me no-one could!- can anyone else forsee how much the girls could make of this?! I gave myself a bullet hole in the head, put on 1 of my ball gowns, did my 'dead' Make-Up and proceeded top lie on the main entrance stairs (that are reminiscent of hogwarts - but carpeted!) for 50 minutes. A damn fine achievment I feel as I did not laugh, twitch or open my eyes fo that entire time - even with paper being dropped on my head and various members of staff and students trying their best to make me!!! Ben was there as the inspector with 3 students playing policemen/detectives and interrogating anyone who walked past - apparently it drew quite a crowd - and it was certainly entertaining listening to some of the conversations going on. The weirdest thing was that people were talking right next to me as if I couldn't hear them (about trying to make me move etc) - even though they knew I could - strange way the mid works huh?

Then after school our staff played another school's staff at hockey and I was goalie - I won the bravery award! The match was fine, but the day before we had been practising and JK (plays for Bath and is generally amazing at hockey) was firing practise shots at me..no, firing IS NOT too strong a word....and one managed to get past the pad on my leg and smack me on my inner thigh. The bruise I have now would make a purple fetish-ist very happy and actually hurts when I walk!

2 weeks of glorious half term (well, I get 1 where I don't have to do anything!) now before chaos reigns. Next half term I have 1 Sunday when I don't have to be in - Christmas this year will be a time for sleep and being poorly. I also have to write the panto that we are doingto raise money for Peru. It involves a Llama, various fariy tale folk, a narrator and various other characters who I have to fit into a story line about making the Llama real again! All ideas on a postcard please!

I was venting....let it go..shwww

They're making some new Red Dwarf!!!! Just read the news on the website and am really quite excited. They'll be shown on 'Dave' (which now means I have to work out how to get that channel!) They'll be 2 entirely new episodes with the original cast and then a behind the scenes episode and a 'special' episode (very hush. hush, don't you know).

Rehearsals for 'O what a Lovely War' are going well. I have a team of 45 .... count them.....45 Performance Support type people - a huge chunk of whom are first years! - so am feeling a little trepidatious but at the same time quite excited about the work they're going to do! We're testing out the outside lights that will shine through the stained glass window at the back next week - can't wait to see how it's going to look.

Still getting used to living in Gatehouse, seems weird to not have to drive home, and at the same time quite smug *beam*

Grrrr

I am severly p****d off. I just had to instruct the solicitor to say that I will accept the 50/50 liability for the crash because,

"there were no Independent witnesses and it was on a single track road"

and also she doesn't feel it likely that my insurers will pay for this to go to court and I can't afford it.

I feel that if it did go to court someone would actually take a good look at the damage to the cars, got to the road and work out distances and the speed needed for him to mount the bank go through the air and land ON my bonnet and then they would clearly see that he was speeding. He already admits in his statement that he didn't even know there was a speed limit down that road and he had recently been involved in another crash.

I, on the other hand, have 8 years no claims, a clean license and drove up and down that road every day, meeting people coming the other way - even at that bit of road - with absolutely no problems whatsoever. It makes me sooo angry that just because it is a single track road and there are no witnesses that noone will support it being investigated further - if he'd have been going any faster (and ended up about 40cm further up my bonnet) his bumper would have been in my face......not sure they would have so bloody quick to dismiss it as 50/50 then!

I realise that the above may sound unreasonable but I did have a car flying through the air heading for my windscreen, and now the driver of that car is still on the road probably in another new car his parents bought (the Mum was lovely but really, have some sense)for him and, probably, just as likely to do the same thing again.

Plus I feel like I've been made to lie about the fact that I'm partly responsible for an accident - when I'M NOT!!!!!!!!

I guess I'm just going to have to let it go, as there's no way I'll accept it as the right thing.

Bex and Moffy's trip to France

Well, we made it - and with no trouble on Moffy's part whatsoever!! (my driving skills after 6 hours were sorely tested at one point, when coming off a roundabout and not being able to work out which side of the road I was supposed to be on - despite the arrow I have helpfully LX taped on my dashboard.)

Ferry crossing was fine - felt odd to be on a ship again - I read the safety instructions and found my muster point, just like old times :)

It started raining just as I picked Vicky up from the station and then got steadily heavier as we found the campsite and put the tent up. So we shoved as much stuff as we could fit on the plastic inside the tent and escaped to E'Leclerc - to buy more plastic :) So am now sat in a cafe/coffe house/bar/restaurant which Vicky tells me is the hang out of Couriers in the area, and trying to dry off.

Have had fun watching the French react to my car - I always love seeing how people respond to her when I'm not in her, it's cool that Morris Minors make people smile - for whatever reason!

Am v. tired and it has stopped rqining so hopefully heading back to the tent for some hot chocolate, a film and some oh so welcome sleep....zzzz

P.S There'd better be some sun tomorrow or someone's going to have some serious explaining to do!!!!!