Complaint letters

I always think I should write them, but I never get round to it. I do compose them in my head though: Dear Sir, Imagine my horror when...

The problem is now I can't ever write any, because they won't be as good as this one: http://tinyurl.com/azxndo

Canal repairs

Very geeky this, we went for a walk along hatton locks today and they had drained a short section of canal in between two locks for repairs. So this is what a canal looks like with no water in it (the small stream in the middle is leakage from the top lock gates).












Interesting to see the guts of a lock after many holidays spent sailing over them.

Frank Turner

Frank Turner is great. Just downloaded the new album (bit slow here - its been out for ages) "Love Ire & song".
Highly recommended, lovely feel and unusually high production values for a low distribution album. But as usual mostly just great lyrics...
"Surely one day, we can fight and we can win. And if only for a little while, we could insist on the impossible"
But less of the serious stuff and more of the random...
"well we've been a few hours drinking, so I'm going to say what everyones thinking, if we are stuck on this ship and its sinking, then we might as well have a parade"

Genius.

Breakout space

Nice seating. Early version of intelegent display/wallpaper.

CPD

Unsuprisingly there is a big feeling that innovative schools have excellent CPD programmes. I've picked up a few ideas for radicalizing ours, will thrash them out with julie on my return.

Would the real Des Jones please stand up...

Is Des Jones at work today? If not, he is masquarading as a Canadian headteacher.



Talking about a on line literacy programme in northern Canada.

Innovative schools

All looks good so far, had all the pie in the sky stuff this morning about transformation, just waiting for the hard sell and to find out where we sign. Good thing from executive head of Cornwallis, seven questions for transformation, most of them we have thought about.

Learning spaces cont

What does a learning hub look like?

How about this, the training space at microsoft in London. Nice variety of spaces with no classrooms!

Conferences...

Generally dull. I'm at microsoft in London at the moment listenin to this guy (some proffessor from Seattle)


He's talking about the microsoft inocative schools programme which we will be taking part in... Amusingly his ppt is running from a mac book , it's like apple terorism in the heart of the microsoft evil empire. Great stuff.

Shepherds warning

Marks amazing yoghurt

Lid comes off, a thin film of yogurt left intact stretching the full width of the pot. Sweet.

Inevitability...

Track

A new box of track from granny and grandad brings more creative possibilities. Here's one starting in the conservatory and ending up by the front door. Note the complex multiple bridge arrangements to go up the step...

Happy new year...

It's the first of January...






Following a late night and an early morning we blew away the cobwebs with a frosty walk along hatton locks with Sally Sam and Emily.












Owen and Sam occupied themselves trying to throw sticks into the canal and break the ice.