Week 12, and what a difference in weather from last week. This week we've had blue skies, easterly winds and warm -ish temperatures. My trainees have done lots of their preparation outside in the college garden and I have been able to get out into mine and start to make a difference to the wilderness!
Sunday 18th March
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Today is Mother's Day and I was sent a voucher to use on Amazon by my daughter in London. Yesterday I bought some ticking to recover the chairs in the kitchen, and Miles who normally comes to dinner on Sunday, isn't coming, after he came off his motorbike and ended up too bruised to drive. My husband decided to work on his boat and it was nice to see the boat bits disappearing from the back of the house and making their way back to where they belong. Suddenly it feels as if Spring is here.
Monday 19th March
Week 3 of the Cert TESOL and the first morning is given over to looking at advances in technology which can be used in teaching. I use lots of tech during, and even before, the course, and this group of trainees are really switched on! This is them doing a collaborative task on Google docs.
Tuesday 20th March
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Today at lunchtime I wandered up the hill from the College and took a picture of the Shell garden. As you can see, there is very little surface left to decorate. Tourists always stop to have a look and you can now have a look round on payment of a small sum to charity. This was one man's passion for shells- and an idea that became an obsession.
Wednesday 21st March
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I came across these beautiful animals on their way to be milked. The lane is very beautiful and colourful at this time of the year. You can just see the farmer in the background. He gives all his farm-workers pocketfuls of bulbs and tells them to plant them on their way around the farm and surrounding area. When the daffodils come up the island is golden in the sunlight.
Thursday 22nd March
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Today I managed to get a colleague to take over my class. This freed me up to do some paperwork - and to check out the #ELTchat symposium at IATEFL during the afternoon. It looks as though they had a full house. I also managed to catch the Pecha Kuchas in the evening, which were super as always. It is great to be able to join in from a distance, although I was really disappointed that IATEFL was happening in March, and would have loved to have been there in person.
Friday 23rd March
What a beautiful sunny day. I spotted these flowers from my classroom window, and I don't know what they are. They smell lovely though. There are lots of them on the bank. The college sits in a valley, and the gardens stretch up on either side, so the view from the windows is always interesting.
Saturday 24th March.
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Today I'm supposed to be busy marking. The moderator arrives next week and I like to have everything prepared. Unfortunately Ebony, my cat, decided to help me so I wandered out into the garden instead.
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Staring to really warm up now |
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Both sides of the garden wall |
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Buds on the vine |
It's warm and sunny and the flowers on each side of the garden wall are in full bloom. The neighbours magnolias make a lovely backdrop for my camellias. I also noticed that there are buds on the vine. In a few short weeks, the back wall of the garden will be completely covered in green. At the moment you can see the pink granite and shale which it is made from, and which makes the garden look, and feel, warm even in the middle of winter.
Too few photos of Maisie!
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are pretty.
What happened to Uncle Miles?
The front wheel of his bike slipped and it fell over. He was wearing his padded jacket and stuff, but only jeans on the bottom half. He was very badly bruised.
DeleteLovely pics as usual, Sue. Thanks so much for sharing your hectic week! Look forward to seeing more pics of the flowers in your garden, which looks lovely already! The shell garden is incredible! What an interesting hobby to have!
DeleteIt was great to see you at some of the same IATEFL Online live streaming sessions - what fun they all were! Not sure what to do with all the free time now, lol... no, only kidding! I'd like to view some of the sessions I missed as soon as I can.
Glad I'm not looking after my army of furkids on my own now. 23 days is quite a long time, but I survived!!
It's been an interesting month. This week will actually be more hectic with all the paperwork for moderation! I've lost my voice today, which my husband is probably pleased about:-) Just hope it comes back in time for Monday.I'm catching up with the recorded sessions too. Enjoy your little family :-)
DeleteSue you're an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteOur Mother's day is in June! One of the first years here I warned my UK friend that it was "Mother's day on Sunday", and she told her friends, and there was a number of Mothers in the UK who got extra flowers that year on the 6th June :-)
I got into trouble when I was an au pair in Reims. I didn't realise Mother's day was different in the Uk and my mum was NOT impressed when she didn't get anything:-)
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