Archive for December 4th, 2006
Another first for the year - watching the Portugal v France World Cup game at a bar in Glasgow, while the World Cup was on.
I co-run an induction course for our English language assistants every July: two days of a bit of everything to prepare them for a year of teaching abroad. We hold the course at the University of Glasgow, so there’s a chance to try out the student areas nearby.
This year, we had a French student on work placement with us, who was helping at the course. Naturally, we had to follow France’s fortunes (at semi-final stage at that point) in the World Cup so that she didn’t feel too homesick.
Dan claims this was not a real ‘match at a pub’ experience because the bar also had a restaurant inside. One part of the bar floor was raised up and screened off, a bit like a square band stand, and you could sit there and eat while all the blokes stood in front of the bar instead. There were even additional TV screens by the tables so you could be sure of a good view, should someone block your line of sight to the bar.
If anyone thinks this is a more civilised way to try the experience, we were at Bar Buddha, near Ashton Lane. Food well recommended too! And thankfully, France didn’t lose that game, so all went well for our French guest. (She did however come in late, the day after the France v Italy final…)
December 4th, 2006
Or preferably, two weeks of half days.
I did this a couple of years ago, when we moved into our flat. I liked it so much, I did it again this year, during August, while Dan’s mum Jen was up to stay. Work in the mornings, feel virtuous, then run away quick at lunchtime…
One of the nicest aspects of taking the time off was just doing normal Edinburgh things, like walking round Arthur’s Seat, the hill in the middle of Edinburgh that looks a bit like an elephant’s head. It’s something I did from time to time as a student, but don’t often get round to doing now, particularly as we don’t live close to that part of town any more.
The walking is quite easy, and you can also drive around. You get a whole range of views, from ones of the coast, to being between Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags (surrounded by hill, but with an unexpected loch at the top of the road up), then looking down on the village of Duddingston and its bird sanctuary, followed by aspects to the south of Edinburgh (Pentland Hills etc). Finally, back to face the Edinburgh buildings skyline, looking back over university areas where Dan and I used to study.
A grand afternoon out - for free. Maybe I’ll manage a climb up Arthur’s Seat again sometime too.
December 4th, 2006
What does your workspace say about you?
Mine has a postcard in Polish, claiming that gherkins are good for stress. I haven’t actually tried eating them at work. But probably it’s just the sight of a silly postcard, and a link to Poland, that cheers me up.
I work in an open plan environment, which has pinboards separating desks from each other. Occasional gifts from visitors can make their way to a desk or pinboard, looking for a home. I also have a flower painted by a friend’s child. A copy of another friend’s poem. Nostalgic advert-style wrapping from some German chocolates a colleague brought back from holiday.
From time to time, we’re encouraged to clear our pinboards, and start again. As a teenager, I used to find it very hard to change displays of cards, ornaments etc - what record would remain of that stage of life?
I’m less precious about it now, but perhaps keeping things the same around my desk is a way of standing still, while the work shifts and changes around me. A way of saying who I am, a snapshot to accompany the name tag on the edge of the pinboard. In these days of hotdesking, it’s nice still to have a space to call my own.
December 4th, 2006
For the squeamish, no, it’s not that bad. It really means playing with words. Any excuse for a pun.
We all know that we grow up thinking that everyone lives like our family does. At some point or other, we realise that not everyone does, which can be a bit of a surprise.
In my family, playing with words goes on to what others may see as a dangerous degree. There is repetition of phrases from comedy shows (The Goons being a particularly frequent source). Repetition of childhood words and phrases for things - not just mine or my brother’s, but going back to my parents’, or even their brothers’. Literal pronunciation of words that are actually said differently, or puns with similar sounding words where we can possibly fit them in.
After over seven years, Dan has come on well in this area. He can play word association games with the best of them. He also beats me at Scrabble (this is not so surprising, given that he knows how to play strategically and I just like to make nice words).
The further gain is that now we have taken on each others’ families’ phrases, those of our friends’ children (see Chicken in a school post)…So send yours on, and I’m sure we’ll find a place to incorporate them.
December 4th, 2006