Now, where were we?

 

When I say ‘we’, this is essentially  a personal call out to the two souls who are following my blog. I know you value your privacy and so will not be named, but rest assured that you are both in pole position for winning the inaugural ‘The Social Norm Follower of the Year’ award.

‘Guys’ – I’m not sure where you were, but if I recall, I was in Bilbao making my way to Donostia San Sebastian to meet up with David Moyes and my new-found Real Sociedad friends. When I say ‘meet up with’, it was more of a sort of an orchestrated ‘bump into’ with the help of a mutual friend of mine and David’s. You may spot him in the photos below.

Okay – Bilbao

Responding to constructive feedback from the two front runners in the SNFOTY competition and their close friends, here are some pics of my afternoon at the Guggenheim.

 

And then onto San Sebastian.

Real Sociedad 3 Cordoba 1  followed by a very convivial evening where we Preston North End fans and La Real fans enjoy meeting up with Mr Moyes: manager of Real Sociedad and former manager of Preston North End (and Everton, and Manchester Utd)

My La Real scarf also doubles as a picnic blanket.

It really was a great night for people who love football, fine food and wine and growing Anglo – Spanish friendship.

 

At the time of writing, it’s a tense time for many football fans and certainly for Nob Enders everywhere. ( Apologies – this is turning into a 1990’s Football Fanzine.) ‘Nob Enders’ are supporters of Preston North End; founder members of the Football League, the Invincibles of 1888-89 and the source of my understanding of how personal growth can come from suffering. Buddhist mindfulness practice has taught this truth for centuries. Hey guys – take a shortcut to enlightenment through suffering, follow Preston North End.

See you soon boys and girls……

 

 

 

Let’s test 4 years olds – err – perhaps not.

Okay you parents and grandparents out there. When your 4 year old starts school in September 2015, this crazy government wants your child to be ‘tested’ – one to one with a teacher. When this was tried in Wales (and defeated by Welsh teachers), the handbook accompanying the testing process was 148 pages long.

The result of the ‘test’ is electronically sent to central government and stored to measure the child’s progress, the school’s performance and individual teacher’s performance.

The first few weeks of a child’s start in school should be about learning to settle into this new world. They need reassurance; care. They need to be happy!!

At the NUT Conference today in Harrogate we voted to boycott these tests. I hope you agree this was a good decision.

Joy should lie at the heart of early years education. Children need to discover the joy of learning, not the trial of testing.