Weekend Catch up

What a packed week! We have been so busy in the evenings that I haven't had time to update my blog ... so I'll do it now!

Wednesday's notable incident was when SMT came into my lesson, and decided to show me how to teach a class. Think he meant it in a supportive way, and I've decided he probably occasionally misses being a classroom teacher, but it wasn't at all appropriate ... after he left the pupils were obviously not too impressed with the way he'd spoken to me, and said that I should have stood up to him more and told him off! Didn't feel too able to do that in front of the class. However, I went and spoke to him at lunch and he apologised for the way he had come across - he was only reminding them how to behave or something. Anyway, very bizarre, not too great, but was glad I spoke to him about it. Let's hope it doesn't happen again ...

H and I went out to an opening during the week. Interesting to see paintings. But the best bit was going to The Orange Room Cafe afterwards for dinner. It's a Lebanese restaurant that does delicious takeaways. Yum!

One amazing moment ("almost Biblical" as a colleague described it) midweek, came at the end of a busy day. I was tidying up the classroom, and noticed that it had become very dark. I presumed it was just that winter darkness, forgetting that it's beginning to still be light around 4pm these days, before realising that it was raining. I happened to look up at one point, and thought I saw a flash like a huge living room light being switched on and off. A thunderstorm? Then, a few minutes later, a rumble of thunder shook the room, growling its way across the skies, moving me to look up and to speak to myself: Wow. It was one of those truly amazing deep belly rumblings. The rain splashed big, heavy drops outside, and I was glad to be in, but a bit worried about leaving the room.

However, when I did leave the classroom in order to do some photocopying in the staffroom, I was again stunned, this time by the contrast. The sky above me to the right was a clear, lucid, cloudless blue, bright and hopeful. To my left, the now purple thickness of the storm clouds rolled away like a carpet. I stood and gazed at the sky for some time. Wow, again.

The key sight on Friday waited until I was almost home. I had stopped at lights by a roundabout, when I noticed a young man, in his early twenties, walking along the pavement towards my road. Nothing special, you might think. But he was wearing a black t-shirt, dark jeans, and was strumming his guitar and quietly singing to himself as he walked along. It wasn't exactly a balmy evening, so his lack of coat or even jumper might have been startling enough, but to be playing his guitar as well ... it was like a scene out of the Liverpool Nativity! I obviously wasn't the only one who was struck by this strange occurrence - as he crossed the road and continued walking, another pedestrian in a green hooded top, turned to look at him as he walked past. Bizarre.

We had a lovely evening out at the home of one of H's friends, along with a lot of other friends. Tasty home cooked food, but more importantly, great conversation. A good (and late!) night.

Saturday I had another of my many courses. This essay is due for the end of February, so that makes two I need to complete, but at least I only have another two or three of these modules to complete and I'll have finished that course. It led to an interesting discussion and reflection on the impact and significance of crosses and crucifixes. I like the empty cross, with its symbol of hope and resurrection - Jesus no longer hangs, being crucified, instead he has conquered death - and have always struggled a bit with the crucifix, which in some ways seems to have Jesus always continually suffering and dying for us, rather than resurrecting. However, the cradle Catholics in the group all felt that the empty cross was a Protestant way of denying Christ, of removing him from the picture in some one, and they saw it as a symbol of emptiness and desolation in some way. It's good that we have shared our ideas and feelings - I think we were both shocked and challenged by each other's perceptions and learnt from each other to appreciate both symbols.

Church this morning was good, although a bit surreal. For a start, we began a bit late (I'm not entirely sure why, but at least I know it wasn't because of me, because I managed to get up and arrive a bit early!). Then the priest almost forgot to incense the Gospel - he started reading, then stopped in order to do that. I was doing the readings and prayers, and the readings were fine, but I remember starting the Creed, then the next thing I noticed the altar server was nudging me - I was supposed to be up and saying the prayers, but I was very far away I don't know where, and there had been a long pause, when the priest had had to motion to the altar server to nudge me to go and say the prayers! Finally, when the Mass was ending, the priest wished us all a good evening - "Oh, sorry, day!". So it was a funny sort of informal type Mass, and Fr D was fine when I apologised, so everything was okay, but I don't know what I was thinking of!

Finally, the big news of the weekend was that H's bound galleys have arrived along with a mock up of the cover, so it's all very exciting!

Right. I've ticked of four of the nine things on my to-do list, and it's now after 10pm, so it's time to pack up for tomorrow and go to bed. Next week is a busy week ... doctor, dentist, Doris Lessing, the African Cup of Nations, writing a lesson plan about Fair Trade chocolate ... So perhaps it will be another Sunday catch up!