Good Things Happen to Good People...

A fantastic day was had by all last Friday when my daughter, Kirsty, graduated from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Modern Languages. These days don't come along too often so you have to make the most of them. We travelled to Gateshead on Thursday evening to give us a relaxed start to the day. The ceremony wasn't until 4pm so we did all the necessary - collected the gown, had the photos taken, had a bit of lunch and wandered around the campus to find out where our baby had been spending her time for the last four years. The ceremony was a lovely affair in the dignified surroundings of the King's Hall at the university. A strange thing about Newcastle is that you don't get to wear a mortar board - well, I ask you, what is the whole point of all that burning of the midnight oil if not to have the opportunity to wear a silly hat? Anyway, part of the award ceremony is to be 'hooded', ie some geezer called the Hooding Marshal slings the hood over your head and leaves it dangling unceremoniously around your throat, much in the style of a hangman. Strange goings on...

We had a lovely reception afterwards, with bubbly, canapes and strawberries and cream. Very nice. For our own personal celebration, we went to a Turkish restaurant and then walked down to the Quayside for a drink before bedtime. We shall live on the enjoyment of that day for some time to come...

I meant to post something about this ages ago, but forgot. Anyway it is something I am really chuffed about. My big sister, Maria, and her daughter Jeanette have been involved for a few years with a kids' project in their locality. It is called the Stockbridge Village Junior Rangers and involves working with youngsters to look after a local area of woodland and learn all about nature. Anyway, they were nominated for an Observer Ethical Award and were joint winners of the Ecover Ethical Children's Award. Maria, Jeanette and other leaders attended the award ceremony at the swanky Kensington Roof Gardens amongst such luminaries as David Attenborough. Highlight for Maria was undoubtedly the opportunity to snog Mr D'Arcy himself, Colin Firth...perhaps I exaggerate ever so slightly! Have a look at the video link to find out about the fab work of the Rangers. I am so proud of Maria and Jeanette for the hard work they put in.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/video/2009/jun/03/observer-ethical-awards-kids1

Jeanette is second from left and Maria is the one next to her snuggling up to Mr D'Arcy!

WE WUZ ROBED!!! PGCE Finale.

Well the last week of the course went by in the blink of an eye. I shall miss the kiddie winkies, they made me laugh. And I even got pressies - lovely bath stuff, Ferrero Rocher and a case for my iPod! Not forgetting a lovely card - can't show a photo of it as it has a photo of all their gorgeous little faces on it. The staff were great, too. I shall particularly miss Miss J., the Teaching Assistant for my class. We made a good team and had some laughs. I was not looking forward to the final sign off, sure that my evidence would be found wanting. But it came and went without incident. As anticipated, I had no energy for celebrations and slept a lot in the ensuing few days. Even the final profiling went smoothly along with the discussions for 'Transition Point 1', stage one of the Career Entry Development Profile (CEPD) - blimey! I've only just got rid of the Profile for Professional Development (PPD). More standards, more form filling...


Last Thursday saw the long-awaited and much envisioned graduation ceremony. It has to be said, the weather was - how can I put this - crap! It peed down all day. I spent ages straightening my disobedient hair and as soon as I got out into the air, it was a mad fuzz! I am considering patenting a business idea - offering a hair straightener service at graduations at universities all around the country. Let's face it, even the 'blokes' straighten their hair these days - the same type who wax and pluck their eyebrows. In the pre-PC era I would have called them 'tarts!'


The ceremony itself was fabulous. It was held at the magnificent Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool and the pomp was well up to standard. It was mainly teachers graduating on that day - BAs and PGCE. It was a shame that so many of the Post Grads had declined to attend. Generally speaking they'd done it all before and didn't see the point of paying out for the fancy dress. I think they really missed out. My first graduation was at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool. Now I am very attached to that building but the cathedral is in another league. The sound of the trumpet fanfares and organ music echoing around the cathedral and the solemnity of the procession made for an electrifying ambience. Not to mention that, with the loss of my mum still fairly fresh and a previous aborted attempt at a PGCE, I personally had an awful lot of emotion tied up in the occasion. We joined the end of the procession leaving the cathedral and when we got onto the cathedral steps, the 'big wigs' had formed a 'guard of honour' on the steps and were applauding us as we came out of the door. Amazing!

We went for a lovely meal at the Jabula in the evening. Now all I need is a job but there are none at the moment. I've registered with a couple of supply agencies so I will have to wait and see what comes up. I need at least term-long placements so I can complete my induction year. I can only do 4 terms worth of supply without that. But for now, let's have a bit of a holiday!