Tag: school

Day 13 #juneathon ….but why?

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 9 Comments

Come September, and the start of the new academic year, our school is changing the structure of the school day. We have new start and finish times, longer lessons and Wednesday afternoon students will be able to choose an 'elective'. As well as a couple of other things I decided to offer a running club.

The students are in the process of choosing 'electives' for next year. Today, one of my Y9s was asking me for details of the running club, I couldn't really help with any details because I don't actually know them myself. But whilst chatting the conversation turned to our experiences of running. This lad is very keen on running and whilst talking, the topic of Juneathon came up. When I explained to him what Juneathon is all about he looked slightly surprised and said, “What? You actually run every day of the month?” I tried to explain to him that I do and he seemed reasonably happy with my answer. However, a bit later in the lesson, the subject had obviously been playing on his mind, he said, “You run every day? Isn't that bad for you? Shouldn't you give your body a chance to recover?” I tried to explain to him that some runs are short, some runs are long, some fast and some slow, and that as long as you listen to your body it should all be ok.

Which brings me to the purpose of tonight's post….why am I actually taking part in Juneathon?

  • Exercise. Seems obvious I know, I do plenty of running without Juneathon, or Janathon for that matter, but I suppose by taking part in these activities it actual forces me to keep exercising throughout the year.
  • Challenge. I like a challenge: 2012 was proof of that, setting myself something different to do every month; before that in 2011 it was project365; even this year I am taking part in '1 second every day'. I like the challenge of completing something, Juneathon is great for that, because when you get 25 days into the month it all starts to become a bit of a struggle.
  • Music. I love listening to all kinds of music. Juneathon gives me the chance to download some tracks onto the phone, get out of the house, and enjoy an hour or so of listening to everything and anything with no distractions.
  • Thinking. It gives you a chance to just think….and I think we all need that.
  • Blogging. I've been blogging since December 2010 – so Juneathon is just an excuse to do more of that.

Today's mileage = 6.29

Total Juneathon mileage = 65.44

Mojo level = very high

 

I must confess…

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ Leave a comment

….it has been three weeks since my last blog.

Quite a lot has happened in that time….

A trip to The Engine Shed in Lincoln to see the rather fabulous Lucy Rose. Since buying the album 'Like I Used To' I've been a fan….and when I heard she was to play Lincoln I was on it like a rat up a drainpipe.

Lucy Rose has been described as an English Suzanne Vega and been likened to Laura Marling…so what could go wrong? Nothing. The set was full of her own brand of acoustic folk/pop yet mixed with jazz-funk rhythm that cannot fail to entertain. Good gig – she's going to do well me thinks.

Next up was a trip to the ole smoke to see Frank Hamilton (again) at The Borderline. Although not the best gig of his I've been to, due in part to the big heffer standing in front of us who seemed intent on trying to step on the feet of everyone, complete with her ridiculous boyfriend who thought just because he had a big camera this gave him the right to be a complete arsehole. And what is it with girls in London and their stupidly huge handbags that that refuse to put down, they just hang around their elbows sticking them in you. Now I'm a Londoner and proud of it, but things have definitely changed.

But Frank himself was on top form, not the best set list he's every played, but he is slowly attracting more and more acclaim, I think 2013 is going to be a good year for the man.

There was also a very early, or should I say late, Christmas with my sister that I somehow remembered to blog about here.

School has been absolutely crazy: workshops, immersion days and so much exam prep that if my boys and girls don't pass I'm not sure what to do. This week we said goodbye to the Y11s…I've really enjoyed the last couple of years with my group, they've all done really well and developed into lovely young men and women over the years. I wish them all the luck for the future.

But half-term has finally arrived….a relaxing week in store with a few bits and pieces to do at home….mum's birthday party…Billy Bragg gig….and on the horizon we even have #juneathon. Oh crap!

 

Back in the Blogosphere…

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 4 Comments

Let's be honest: Janathon was a disappointment. Only managed to run for 22 days, barely reached the 100 mile mark and found the second half of the month very tough. Cue an endless list of excuses: cold, snow, ice, busy at work, snow, cold, ice, dark nights, busy at work and it was very cold.

Following on from the monthly projects in 2012 and Janathon I feel like a bit of a rest is needed in February.

Work has been very busy and I've been working hard to catch-up with marking in an attempt to have a pretty quiet and relaxing half-term. The hard work has paid off and I've somehow managed to do everything apart from a class set of Y10 controlled assessments that need doing. A week to recharge the batteries this week because the next term is probably going to be very busy: exam preparation, after school sessions and other general rubbish.

So the start of half-term began with beer, some vodka martini in a James Bond style, some blue stuff…

….followed by some green stuff….

In other news….I have managed to bag some tickets for a few gigs in the coming months:

 

What a day! And to celebrate….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

This day will go down in the memories of students and teachers alike. It was a day that very rarely ever happens, a day that students (and teachers!) often dream of, a day when some sort of drama shuts the school unexpectedly. Today was that day.

The day started off reasonably normal, that is if the final few days of the term can ever be called 'normal', that was until 9.30am. The fire alarm sounds, I did think to myself that it was a strange time for a fire drill, cold and windy outside with the threat of rain. Anyway, we all head off to the fire assembly point to go through the rigmarole of the dreaded fire drill. As is normal with a fire drill, you can divide the students into two distinct categories: the kids who find the whole thing a bit of a drag; and the kids who find the whole thing quite exciting.

After being outside for rather longer than normal, together with the slightly worried looks on the faces of the senior leadership team, it was clear that this was no normal fire drill. After various huddles, the announcement was given that the whole school will file into the sports hall and sit down.

Fifteen minutes later, and the whole school were sitting in the sports hall, minus the dozen or so who had either caught hyperthermia, had a panic attack or turned into gibbering wrecks. Then the Head addressed the school: there had been an electrical fault, the fire service had attended, and the decision had been made to close the school. As you can imagine, this announcement was meet with the sensible, reserved reaction it deserved, mainly cheers, clapping and woops.

And so it came to pass that the school was closed and we all went home.

So to celebrate, a quick visit to Tesco to pick up a trio of beers….

#december #14a….back to a local brewery….Oakham Ales' JHB….

This is a very tasty beer, light and refreshing with a distinct citrus aroma and a dry bitter finish. Not the deep full-bodied flavour of some beers, but all the same very easy to drink. I've found in the past that these light citrusy beers normally have a dodgy aftertaste, but not this one.

And so #decembeer #14b….Ridley's (a first for #decembeer)…..and the fantastically named….Old Bob…

Old Bob I would describe as pretty much a run of the mill beer. It is described as, “thick with biscuity malt, spice and rich red fruits”, or in other words, 'beery'. This is one of those beers that is rather forgetful.

Tonight, the beer train is rolling on, and so #decembeer #14c, an entry from St Austell Brewery…..Tribute….

Although, calling it Tribute is a bit deceiving. This is not a particularly good beer, not really sure why I don't like it, and perhaps drinking a beer every day is not the way to go, they all seem to blend into each other. Tribute is described on the bottle as: “moreishly', that is a lie; “delicious”, that is a lie; and “drinkable”; this is also a lie.

I think, if my maths is correct, that makes it 16 beers so far this #decembeer.

 

An amazing thing happened today….

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

Due to 'Speech Evening' at school yesterday evening I hadn't actually managed to fit in November's Challenge to create a daily piece of origami, so I sat down tonight, did some stretching exercises, and created two (it would indeed seem that I am turning into an origami master).

First up a vase (#15). A 'medium' difficulty piece with 29 steps…..

Looks good! AND very practical, can be used to sort various items: fluff, toenail clippings, marbles, fag butts, and other small pieces of crap.

After this first piece, confidence was sky high. So next came a dove (#16), another 'medium' difficulty piece with 32 steps…..

Again no issues, clearly pointing to the fact I AM an origami master. And then the amazing thing happened….the dove magically flew into the air and perched on the vase!!! I can hear the cries of disbelief, so it was lucky I managed to get photographic evidence…..

 

Still going….origami #12

~ Phil Lengthorn ~ 2 Comments

Despite the truck load of marking that I brought home with me tonight, November's Challenge is still going strong. I managed to create another masterpiece: a modular star.

Not particularly difficult, it just requires some time, a bit of patience and 6 pieces of paper all folded in the same way. Make them, put them together and with a bit of swearing luck it will form a star. At last, a piece of origami that actually looks better due to the 'special' origami paper I purchased. It reminds me of a Christmas decoration….

If you have 6 handy squares of paper and the time to have a go, then click here for the instructions. If not then you're probably just a 'normal' person and wouldn't think twice about wasting your time on something so pointless!

But given my new found love of the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, I found it 'magical'…..

Also….

….enough said.