#ELTchat summary: How can CPD be cost effective and not take up too much time?

This was the ELTchat from Wednesday noon, which I managed to join half-way-through. Reading the transcript also proved  useful for me as a way of catching up with the earlier part of the discussion. I proposed this question, partly because my school had just paid to bring over Adrian Underhill
(@ BobK99:Brilliant man: good video:http://t.co/J59YHIBp) to do some workshops, followed by 1-2-1 sessions where each of us was prompted to develop an individual plan for our CPD. I was disappointed by the attitude of some of my colleagues who felt hard-done-by at having to give up their Friday afternoon, or Saturday morning, or even didn't take part in either session.

What is CPD?  

It stands for Continuous Professional Development, a way for teachers to make progress and grow in their field. As Marisa_C said 'CPD is not just about LEArNING - it's also about reflection and the inspiration to learn some more - often socially stimulated'
'Hypocrisy in the Profession of Education' by Tom Whitby  http://t.co/eQaqA8xq gives an interesting insight into the why's of CPD.
@worldteacher:PD doesn't have to be attending something or being online does it? Reflecting on lessons, reading something or sharing an idea are equally valuable.

Is CPD most beneficial for trained or untrained teachers?

What about for teachers starting out in their careers?

I think it's harder for new teachers to see how much more choice and opportunity they'd have if only....

Would a new teacher find the amount of information  and opinion out there overwhelming?

Some do! Very true; perhaps a mentor would help, especially for new teachers.  They could offer some hand-holding :-)

@rliberni true it can all seem very overwhelming yet we 'old hands' don't feel that!

@JoHart kicked the proceedings off in style by suggesting that PLN and twitter chats such as #ELTchat, among others, should be accepted as CPD, as this would the reduce pressure to do non-relevant sessions. As this is not generally the case at the moment, it would require a change of thinking from management/ administrators. Directors need to realise the benefits of the training available on the internet and understand that there is a whole new world out there.  Jo mentioned IfL's REfLECT programme which lets you maintain a PLN/CoP and allows you to auto-submit CPD evidence annually.
@ElkySmith stated that, in her opinion, it was the most important member benefit from the Institute for Learning and it is free to members.
Julian_LEnfant said something echoed by everyone taking part this evening: I find the cross-fertilization of talking to all of you from so many different backgrounds challenging and thought-provoking = CPD

Local pd can be effective - especially for people not yet in social networks - but is it enough?

esolcourses suggested that local PD can sometimes be very effective. She has seen both free and paid sessions done well.

Online development could be a very cost-effective route to take, and could be tailored to each teacher's particular interests. However the following comments are interesting on the subject:
I limit the amount of time I spend on social media these days, tbh.  I get more work done :-) 
Can also be a procrastination tool ;-) 
A lot depends on your motivations for using it too, in my opinion
I agree. It can take up a lot of time and we need to see what value it is bringing too 
Yes,  that's understandable and my use is patchy.
CPD & focusing - Making sense out of chaos: professional development with social media, by @ann_f http://t.co/P5ftjKOf

Alone or collaborative?

SophiaKhan4: the way you change as a teacher will always be the way *you* change, always individual at heart  Marisa_C:Apply principles of Quality Circles http://t.co/oZ8jx4Hp WE are!!! How can we develop alone? Research and reflection can be done alone but only to a point.Collaboration is key. Hmm, I am not sure it is, I accept that having somebody to share with / talk to is perhaps better, but PD can be done alone.  Agreed, I still do better alone - I reflect in my head better than in writing  CPD can be done alone - sure - but social learning  is more effective learning - look what we're doing here!  Hmm! I do the social learning bit (I'm here after all!) but still actually learn better alone :)  We need to show that collaboration is always going to be more productive!  I have to say I do most of mine alone...but for want of like-minded souls perhaps:-) Since ELT is also dominated by managers who are business people - a product-oriented attitude blocks sharing with others.

How do you define Cost Effective?

@Marisa_C wanted to know whether that meant free or not.
@esolcourses suggested that it meant time or money well spent.
@SophiaKhan4 was shocked at the cost of conferences and thought that cheap attendance was the way forward.
@BobK99 suggested that to be cost effective necessitated either a low charge to the participant or the costs being covered by the school. This was disputed by @esolcourses who believes that free doesn't always equate to quality.

@AlexandraKouk thought that it was cost effective if the time and money spent provided good value.

@mohamed_si thought that it had to be productive relative to the cost.

@BrunoELT: Anything I do that I pay from my own pocket and reflects on my practice is cost effective for me. 

@esolcourses:attending conferences comes out of my own pocket and is expensive, but in my opinion, it's money well spent.

Freelance teachers are certainly in a less advantageous position than if you worked for a large organisation. 

Financially it's much harder without institutional support. But I have the freedom to choose, it's true.

I think in some ways you are freer to pick and choose - in some ways only.

Well, as the head of a small institution, I am in much the same position as you - so I have to be very careful.

Are free sessions were beneficial or not?

But if it's free do staff take it seriously? 

If they don't, how much do they really care about CPD? 

I think to take it seriously they have to "buy in" or gain in some other way eg: It has to be accepted by the organisation and counted as work time.

Some preferred the idea of paying for quality training, rather than sitting through something with no relevance which was free of charge, but took  targeted free CPD seriously too.

@theteacherjames: As a freelance teacher I don't have anyone to pay for me. We have to take some initiative for ourselves.

@ BrunoELT: Exactly, James! Even employed, if we don't take some initiative for ourselves nothing may change.

@trylingual: CPD could be better if self directed (and funded?) I.e. you want more if you pay for it.

There is tendency to value PD less if  it is free - the "get what you pay for" feeling.

What are the options for free CPD?

There are many free webinars by the major publishers. These are useful resources and can supplement in-house Professional Development, although they often have an agenda such as - book sales!  

However many online conferences are available which are not linked to publishing houses, e.g. the excellent Virtual Round Table or VRT, and the Reform Symposium.
Marisa asked whether, with the amount of free material accessible, fee-paying conferences are an old paradigm.

@Julian_LEnfant suggested subscriptions to ELT newspapers such as ELgazette(online version available), and British council newsletter could be beneficial as they contain interesting articles.

@ Russell1955 and Nik Peachey also do a free monthly newsletter and you only need to register with them:-)

Julian reminded us that International House often runs free online conferences which are open to non IH-ers and Shaun announced that the next one would run in November 2012.And everything from that conference is here from the ppt slides to the recordings http://t.co/VPYNSj9K - thanks Alexandra! 

Marisa offered us the recorded sessions from IATEFL Glasgow http://t.co/jdS8odfl  which are available to watch at leisure, and also mentioned the wealth of material made accessible by i-Tunes.

@BobK99 agreed that the internet was a useful source of  free development material and that self-directed PD appeared to have better outcomes.

@HarrisonMike: If you're in London, British Council runs a seminar season, free to attend - videoed & available online afterwards http://t.co/h4Va8Q87

Lots of free webinars on the net.
@burcuakyol did a great free moodle course http://t.co/2tdINeG8 which is still accessible (though no feedback) for beginning bloggers. 
@JennyJohnson10: 'Bring and Share' your good ideas for cpd activities  to  the teachers' meeting to tell colleagues about.

@worldteacher: It helps my CPD to blog about seminars/webinars I've attended  and gives me a record for future reference 

@Marisa_C: Blogging also makes it easier to share my CPD with colleagues 

@theteacherjames:When I observe teachers, I often include articles on something that came up in the lesson.This encourages reflection and is different for each teacher.

@SueAnnan: Write an #eltchat summary :-)

So what else is available?

@BobK99 proposed using ePortfolio to keep your eyes on development at all times.
Marisa asked at what point do / might / should Teachers feel the need for more structured CPD? (if ever) - meaning an actual course

@william_dejean: I have found writers' workshops to be the best way http://t.co/tR0h3jHL

Conferences are not free to attend but some of them are highly valuable for career development for teachers. There are scholarships and bursaries available for attending conferences.

Here is a list of the scholarships on offer by #IATEFL http://t.co/vzPrTsfk for 2013

@AlexandraKouk wanted to know whether reflecting and sharing aspects of your teaching through a blog would constitute PD, and the answer was a definite 'yes'.

@esolcourses said that the networking attached to conferences and the chats over coffee provide excellent opportunities for learning,  and let's not forget the informal CPD that goes on between & after sessions, too. Just as useful, if not more so!

I've heard of people who pick a focus each year - blog, or conference, reflective journal, presentation, etc.

What about the 'Time' question?

@BrunoELT said that teachers have to recognise that there will always be a time investment involved in any CPD, which @esolcourses agreed with:I think a lot depends on what you are looking for and what you want to invest to get this.
Doesn't worthwhile PD always demand time? Need for depth of thought.

Teachers with busy timetables and family lives might find CPD time consuming.

Time consuming doesn't really feature if you are committed to doing it.

How can overloaded/overworked/committed teachers find time for PD?
I have seen some use Twitter well for this, but many teachers are still uncomfortable with its use. 

Often the  issue is insufficient time, so people feel CPD takes time they need for prep/resource find & teach - organisations need to build in time!

@esolcourses: I agree that worthwhile PD demands time -   but I'm suggesting the need to focus:-)

@trilingual: I recently read that 9 mins a day should be devoted to career development. Could the same be said for CPD ?
This sparked off plenty of ideas about what could feasibly be achieved in such a short time frame:

• Read a few tweets. 
• Read a blog post & comment
• wire a tweet 
• reflect on a lesson/idea/article.
• share an idea 
• watch a short video interview from a conference 
• You could read an #eltchat summary- And still have time to spare! :)
• Blogging for CPD should also be mentioned - commenting first perhaps and blogging later 
• Find 3 webinars to bookmark for later viewing 
• Listen to one PechaKucha per day & comment :)
• Speak to a student. 
• Do a needs analysis. 
• Observe a peer.  
• Chunk CPD into manageable segments, i.e. watch a webinar in stages, 9/10 mins at a time  
• Think of something you're interested in and search  for it on Youtube. Watch a short clip that looks interesting. 
• Write a reflective journal entry
• The 9-minute CPD daily plan!!! Nice ideas!!
• Should we make it our #ELTchat June challenge?- Watch this space (and hashtag)....#9mins

Some people thought that the idea was good, but that 9 minutes was a little on the short side:-)

9 *minutes*?! Bit random? But yes, maybe 15 mins a day, or 1hour a week, some blocking of time to focus on that.

It will take much more than 9 minutes to go through @Cybraryman's Professional Development page: http://t.co/TMtI8PnY

9 mins is a bit short but what about 30 mins?

I Like the 30 minutes idea -  you could do quite a bit in that time! 

@ShaunWilden: I can feel a new blog coming on.....)

How about Your Daily 30-minute CPD Workout?

Brilliant! We could write some 30 minute modules :-)

Does obligatory PD work?

@harrisonmike: it seems that 'forced' PD is not very effective. 

Agree forced PD is ineffective but what to do about the dinosaurs( shorthand for teachers who don't want any PD) who don't want to develop in any way!
Keep trying!  It is important to value their experience;PD needs to be relevant not just forced.

@theteacherjames had his tongue firmly in his cheek, I hope, at this juncture:Offer support and a  range of CPD options, and if these are rejected, offer the door ; well, it is part of the job. If they don't want to do it, then they don't want the job. @SophiaKhan:In a previous school we alternated *paid* 1hour weekly staff meeting & PD which worked very well. @AlexandraKouk voiced her opinion that managing CPD effectively involves steering your own path assertively, rather than being directed. This was echoed by @SophiaKhan4 who suggested that CPD has to be geared to the individual nowadays.

Can we evaluate our own performance or get direction from mentors or a DOS - this would be a start.

In a school setting, it is the DOS's responsibility to create a climate conducive to sharing, CPD etc

Is it also DoS's responsibility to help Ts sort through all the CPD opportunities out there? 

DoS responsibility is having regular chats with teachers to steer them in the right direction. This is where a good mentor or manager can help teachers be more self-directed.

I guess one problem some teachers face is  the lack of support  from DoS for CPD. This one struck a chord with a few of us. 

And what about Managers who don't appreciate the efforts of the teachers vis-a-vis CPD?

What about managers who don't appreciate teachers' PD efforts? come to LAM/TD SIGs event Brighton - very relevant!http://t.co/PPgaaH8Y

Often if managers don't value it, neither do teachers. In Shaun's opinion, managers have a responsibility to provide PD opportunities 

Improving teaching in your school = better reputation = more students. This surely has to be 'cost effective' for managers, which suggests that  it is in the school's interest to pay for some CPD as they will ultimately reap the benefits.

But how clear will the link between reputation and quality be?

Some advice to help a teacher make the right CPD choice

Maybe we need to evaluate where we are and what we actually want to improve and then be selective.

 Needs analysis for teachers?

@JoHart: I think you need to be selective -  there is so much good/interesting stuff out there that you can easily get distracted or sidetracked

Perhaps teachers should start with areas more relevant to their teaching context or areas they find difficult to cope with?

I think you have to decide on what is really important to you and prioritise. 

You also need to improve your time management!

It would appear that reading is very important even though we all find it overwhelming to some extent and try to pare it down to recall via bookmarking - scoop.it etc. 

You can do as much or as little as you want and have time for.

We are all agreed that CPD is an important feature in a teacher's working life. We have shown that it doesn't need to cost the earth, and can be done in short periods of free time. Don't think about it- find something you would like to do and-  just do it!!!

Project #366 Week 23

The theme of this week has been professional development and  gale-force winds...:-)
We changed our weekly programme around so that we could free up the end of the week for a visit by Adrian Underhill, which meant that we had the double blow of teaching on two bank holidays AND working longer on the Monday!

Sunday 3rd June 2012

St Saviour's Parish Hall

St Saviour's Churchyard

Have to unearth the bed!

Today I watched the bunting go up around the place. I don't have time to go to any of the planned street parties, as I will have to work. My husband has returned from the UK, bringing back my daughter's belongings- which means I have plenty of washing to keep me busy and her room is  now buried under a mountain of stuff.  It will be interesting to see if the house has room for it all, or whether she will have outgrown some of it, so that we can give it away! I am planning to redecorate, but will wait for her input. I  really think the Barbie Pink has to go :-)

Monday 4th
I love school half-terms. I can drive to work so much faster than normal, and this was also combined with a bank holiday so there were few cars on the road at all. No new students this week, so I was well prepared when I went in to teach. My boss decided to work with the Art studio down in the village. They are supplying art to enliven the white walls of our classrooms and the students get a discount if they buy any of it as a souvenir to take home.I rather liked these Peter Knight paintings in my classroom this week.

Tuesday 5th

We laid on a little tea party for our students today, to celebrate the Queen's 60th jubilee. We made cucumber sandwiches, Victoria Sandwich cake and Pimms. I got up early to make a batch of my famous scones. Some of them were devoured by my colleagues in the break, but we had enough left to add butter, jam and cream for the students. All my neighbours seemed to have decided to put the flags out too.

Wednesday 6th

Managed half of an ELTchat at lunchtime today and later arrived home to find that the school gardener had popped by my home and added some plants to parts of my garden which were bare :-)
In the evening, I took part in another chat and ended up writing the summary

Thursday 7th

Tree bending in the wind

Gale force winds in the channel, so all the boats were cancelled. The bunting along Victoria Avenue was flapping in the wind, making it noisy to drive home. I took part in a colleague's first webinar, with some other members of the PLN.

Horseradish

Angelica blown over:-(

I wasn't happy to find that the wind had blown over over my angelica, which is a nice herb. It didn't affect the horseradish though- that is a very tough plant which I don't use very much of- and it grows like a weed:-)

Friday 8th

Nicky's  French husband Guy provided the lunch today and then our CPD session got under way. We were looking at Demand High teaching with Adrian Underhill, which I shall write about later.
In the evening we went out for dinner and then met up with the other musicians in the pub. The school had chosen the same pub for the Friday Evening Dinner, so we entertained my students for a while:-).

The Smugglers Inn, Ouaisne Bay

Saturday 9th

Guess what I got for my birthday

 My husband asked me to go into town with him and, unsuspecting, I did. We ended up at the Apple store,where he explained that he thought I needed an i-pad and wanted to buy me one for my birthday, although it is not for another couple of weeks. His reasoning was that I had a conference to go to next week, followed by a holiday in France, and it would be much easier to carry around than my laptop.  He was right to buy it with time to spare as I am now the owner of a brand-new piece of kit which I am fighting to get to grips with:-). Had a coffee with friends on the way to the airport and then picked up my daughter, who is home from university. The quiet life that we have enjoyed for the last 3 years is about to come to an end:-)

Jersey Airport arrivals hall

ELTchat summary: What web tools / sites are there that can benefit EAP students and teachers?

This was the evening #ELTChat on Wednesday 6th June 2012.
The discussion, about web tools and sites to help EAP teaching and learning, was proposed by @ShaunWilden who wanted help to find sites which could be used by himself and his colleagues.
It looked as if it was going to be a long list of useful sites- and so it proved:-)

First we needed a definition ;What is EAP? @sandymillin wanted to know how broad the definition was and what it covered. This is a good definition of English for Academic Purposes: http://www.uefap.com/articles/eap.htm
We began by looking at sites for exams such as the Cambridge suite or IELTS/TOEFL. These are often needed as entrance exams for university. The point was made that there needs to be careful selection of sites, as there is a great deal of  poor material on the internet. It is actually easy for students to find material themselves, but knowing what is useful is time-consuming.
The links offered were:
http://t.co/cu54n3Zd which is our very own @rliberni's blog, with great IELTS practice material.
@esolcourses: @rliberni's #IELTS scoop.it collection of links and resources: http://t.co/GfiNsSu8  Jason Renshaw's site for IELTS and TOEFL http://www.onlinenglish.net/IELTS.html
www.flo-joe.co.uk for Cambridge exam practice; from PET to CPE
http://t.co/jvZ2nQOk  @esolcourses offered her own exam practice material too.
http://t.co/8byX949w another good site for IELTS
@SueAnnan: Macmillan has a good academic section  http://t.co/pn8MqhUX as do the other academic publishers.

@timjulian60: PET Quiz (3) http://t.co/snwj80oi

@andivwhite: http://t.co/k8w94kfU has a lot,  some relating to IELTS, but also critical thinking, reading, listening : http://t.co/FmS1boeW

Shaun explained that he was particularly looking for post IELTS material ."Well I am thinking of things that students need to do like writing, researching, dealing with the academic word list... " @eannegrenoble reminded him that this was where the teaching and guidance had to become subject specific.
At this point, the links began flying thick and fast .

We had links to corpora:
A very useful Academic Word List http://t.co/WIEb4joc
@muranava :this video:  http://t.co/Fe328xdS talks about BAWE (British Academic Written English corpus)  for written work:  http://t.co/e9yDZQDr but you need to get approval to use it.
byu academic corpus:  http://t.co/oCxo5FJ4, used by Marisa with her translators and Delta candidates.
@lexicojules: Some good (free) academic corpora include BAWE & BASE - both good for checking NS student usage http://t.co/zighSuJW
A good spoken academic corpus - good source to demo discussion skills/language http://t.co/Gr6pbIWp

And links to tools for teachers and students:
Mind maps from mind tools  http://t.co/TcJEE1Qt
@CliveSir : Teaching EAP vocabulary: http://t.co/mXgAWAr1 and here  (PDF) http://t.co/4jYGTi6V
@Marisa_C: Searching the web - tutorial by Russell Stannard http://t.co/EfX52EcI
@Marisa_C:  The Plagiarism Checker http://t.co/aSLhGWKo
@andivwhite:  #IATEFL ESPsig has a lot of possibly useful links halfway down this page http://t.co/Iajdkcmg Academic skills resource from NSWU.
@lexicojules: I use AWL highlighters to pick useful vocabulary out of reading texts - techy Students love it too to put their essays through: AWL highlighters: http://t.co/nUw2TP27 Compleat Lexical Tutor
@Marisa: training in note taking and info transfer -include some graphic organisers & diagram making tools like mindomo http://t.co/OcpxfKcO
@lexicojules : http://t.co/Y1OkuXdJ  - an absolute goldmine for teachers and Students.
@SueAnnan : YouTube has some good EAP material too.
Make your own corpora, although this could be time consuming: http://t.co/DYjkbh9L
@muranava:  @Charlesrei1 shows one way to make your own corpora: http://t.co/bNPM7HeQ

Links to study skills:
Google Study Tips http://t.co/5wZclbHP
@andiwhite suggested http://t.co/IDQ44PGl a university site with useful links to study skills.
A nice study skills wiki from brunel uni  http://t.co/m2lgVv85
@Marisa_C: Top 50 bloggers for study skills from edutastic http://t.co/BUfVmVgu

@naomishema:  Great post on working on note taking skill (SS just copy slides) http://t.co/6EGUALmU 

@Marisa_C : The Dartmouth Academic Skills centre http://t.co/v3yOf3or includes Khan lectures & study skills training 

 @lexicojules 1 more good spoken academic corpus - good source to demo discussion skills/language http://t.co/YXdo3Esl
It was agreed that many universities had good study skills pages.

and bookmarking tools:
@esolcourses recommended backing up bookmarks at regular intervals, in case tools you use disappear or cease to become free. @Marisa_C says that's why she uses both Diigo and Delicious.
@esolcourses:  scoop.it is good for collecting/curating links
@Marisa: I have started Diigo groups for my different courses - can create grps
@SueAnnan:  google bookmarks. Can pick  up on my i-google homepage


 Links for teachers' resources:

@CliveSir: EULEAP: EUropean Lecturers of English for Academic Purposes http://t.co/ZH9QvE1x

 #EAPchat summaries http://t.co/eNoojEXg

TESL Canada session Customising web tools for EAP classrooms: http://t.co/pFkSvhi4

@Marisa_C: Here is a great post with a variety of useful tools for EAP http://t.co/jfCbS8w8

@seburnt hosted a #eapchat before and some rel tools listed here http://t.co/igM3uFPu

@lexicojules :  iTunes U is a good source of authentic lectures for listening - in class or as hwk tasks.

JoHart:   http://t.co/pLpWxX3uOWL

@andivwhite: Has anyone seen Prepare for Success?  Seems choc o bloc full of good stuff at first glance: http://t.co/Q8PHS7fa

@annehodg blog mentioning new EAP group: http://t.co/PXkoxPxc

And the ning network from @annehodg for EAP: http://t.co/HskKLcJv 

 Report writing, Blogging and Presentation tools:

@Marisa_C mentioned that she was having to support some syllabus writing asssignments for EAP more frequently, and asked for useful links.

@SueAnnan:   http://t.co/8QNqvkwb    report writing guides
@analiakandel  For presentation skills "5 Unusual Ways to Become a Better Speaker" http://t.co/M0EoIO8Y 
@andivwhite: Presentation skills books- Dynamic Presentation by Mark Powell and Bob Dignen's 50 Ways to Improve Your Presentation Skills
@muranava:  @seburnt has posted http://t.co/HyVD8zHI focus on reading with reference to using blogs.

Marisa suggested that today EAP should include how to develop a PLN and learning to use twitter and social networking tools. This struck a chord with many of us and we discussed the CELTA syllabus and whether trainers were guiding the candidates in this direction, something which  is already at the heart of Marisa's programme. She mentioned that Facebook was where the trainees felt comfortable at the beginning, and it was agreed that some academics tend to dismiss Facebook as serious, whether through snobbery or not. Shaun thought that it was increasing in professional use.
 
We were delighted to be able to make use of the experience of @lexicojules, who is an EAP specialist
http://t.co/uZTmQKhl. She wanted to know why none of the others from the EAP group were in evidence, although Shaun had invited them. We were invited to take part in  #EAPchat, which is held on  1st and 3rd Monday of the month, 6-7pm UK time, as Jules didn't think that there was enough online presence at the moment. She wanted to know whether any of us belonged to BALEAP, as she would be presenting a CPD session at an event soon.

On a final note : there is a lot of material out there. It isn't all user-friendly for non-tech-comfortable students and/or teachers. Check out the links before sharing them, particularly if you haven't made sure first that they are still live links:-)

Project #366 Week 22

It's been a busy week at work, and the weather has been OK for the most part. The only time I've had for me has been in the garden this week.


Sunday 27th May 2012

Did a bit more power-washing and weeding in the garden, and then went down to the fish van for something for dinner. Took this picture of my raised herb bed, which is looking green and lush. You can see Maisie on the tiles, and Ebony's tail in the bottom corner. Every time I work outside I have my two 'assistants' with me to hinder me:-)

Monday 28th May
Have some lovely new 1-2-1 students today. The first one will really suit the Dogme style of working and the second is preparing for his IELTS exam. The afternoon business class wants to do lots of role-plays. I was pleased this morning to see that the roofers have finally turned up to work on the roof opposite. I was beginning to think that they were just storing the scaffolding there!


Tuesday 29th May

On arriving home from work, I was delighted to see our friend B in the garden. He is a carpenter and I presumed that my husband had called him about the mess I had made with the deck. As I caught him before he had done more than look at it, I was able to persuade him to square it off and make the shape more usable. Our kitchen is higher than the garden for some reason, so the deck is necessary, but it would be nice for it to be wide enough to have breakfast out there when we are more than two.


Wednesday 30th May 

Tarte aux fraises

tarte aux abricots

Today two of my colleagues were celebrating their birthdays. Another of my colleagues is married to a French Chef Patissier, so the two lads asked her to order two French tarts to share with the staff:-). As you can imagine, much hilarity ensued. Plenty of double entendres!! The tarts were produced for coffee- time and were delicious- as is everything produced by Guy.

Thursday 31st May

Today the garden smells fantastic because the honeysuckle is in full bloom. I found a bit of it was trapped behind one of the trees, in a dappled patch of sunlight, and couldn't resist the picture.

Friday 1st June 
I had to rush home today so that my husband could take the car on the ferry to the UK. My daughter needed her belongings brought back to the island, although she is planning to stay in London for a little longer. B had finished the new design of my deck and made a lovely job of it, so I decided to paint it white and make it a continuation of the kitchen area. Unfortunately, my helpers managed to escape from the house through an open window upstairs, and came to assist. The result is that Maisie now has white paws, and Ebony has the hump because I shouted at her :-(. In the end they got the message and went to sleep under the trees.

Saturday 2nd June

What a tidy kitchen

A cosy spot for a rest

Did my usual chores today and popped to the gym for a short workout, before meeting my friend for our usual coffee. I put another coat of paint on the new  deck and then sat in the sunshine for a well- deserved rest. It was great to see that the peony in the garden has flowered and is a very different colour from the others.

The peony from the garden

Project #366 Week 21

What a strange week weather-wise. We started on Sunday with very wet weather, which was a pity for the Jersey Food Fair down on the waterfront.By the end of the week we were basking in Mediterranean temperatures.

Sunday 20th May 2012

The weather didn't really affect me, as I spent most of the day indoors preparing my very first Prezi. One of the Diploma advisors , working with some of my colleagues, was due to visit and each of us had to do a 15-20 minute presentation on a teaching point. Mine was on ESP. I walked down to the church at the end of the road with my students who are getting married. Unfortunately, there was a service on, and the doors were closed. On returning home I packed up the equipment for the open fire. It is now officially 

summer in my book!

Monday 21st May 
Looking a bit more like good weather is on its way. Spent the morning teaching, and worrying about the prezi for the afternoon. I went out into the car park to collect my laptop and saw this Euphorbia. It always makes me think of a triffid!
Fortunately the presentations all went very well. It was interesting that each teacher had chosen a method of presenting which suited their character. I was impressed by the ease of delivering mine and will certainly use the software again:-) On the way home, I spotted some walls which are really pretty at this time of the year. I love all the plants which grow out of the pink granite.

Tuesday 22nd

Very effective snail pub

Today was a much better day. In the morning I collected the bucket which I had filled with beer, and put out to attract snails. I am fed up of them eating my plants as they  start to flower. I was amazed at how many snails I had caught - That beer must have been really potent! It was great to get rid of some, as more herbs are up in the garden, and I use them for cooking, not for feeding snails.

Curly parsley

French lavender

Thyme

Celery

Flowering chives

Wednesday 23rd

 Nice weather today. I went to my evening meeting, and walked back instead of taking the car. As I passed the Masonic Temple a little further down the street, it struck me that I had never really looked at it properly before. It is quite an imposing building, standing as it does in the middle of a residential area. Opposite it is the garage my daughter likes. They have a strange turning circle which is manually operated and allows you to drive in to their very narrow forecourt from the street.

Thursday 24th 

We've been living on salads and seafood this week. Crabs and lobsters abound, and
 it has been great to eat outside on the patio outside the kitchen door, perfect for dinner for two. As it got a bit grubby over the winter, I decided to use my new power washer to clean the patio. To my horror, I discovered that there was a rotten piece of wood which gave way under the onslaught of the water. If fact, there is a silver lining, as I wanted to have the little deck remodelled, and couldn't justify the expense!

OOps!!

Friday 25th 

  

As I was listening to the radio on the way home from work, I heard a lady talking about her garden which was going to be opened to the public at the weekend. She mentioned peonies, which are my favourite flowers at this time of year. I stopped off at the nearest farm shop to see if the Jersey peonies were on sale- and to my delight they were. I bought a mix bunch, which were already starting to open by the time I got home. Today the forecast topped 28 degrees!!.

Saturday 26th

A bit too warm and humid to do much today. We decided to wait until it cooled down in the afternoon, and started to paint the decking at the bottom of the garden. I am right-handed and my husband is left-handed, so we each do a side, and meet in the middle. It's very fast, and companionable too. In the evening, there was a high risk of a thunderstorm to clear the air. We sat inside and watched TV for a while- finally turning over for the fiasco that is the voting of the Eurovision Song Contest. As the voting is always political, it is fun to guess which countries will be voting for their neighbours and political allies:-)