Summoned by Bells, (With apologies to John Betjeman)

Summoned by Bells. (With apologies to John Betjeman).

"Well, the 2012 Olympics have come and gone, and speaking as a patriotic Brit, I’m pretty happy with the way we chaps performed, both in terms of the sporting achievements, and the overall organisation.

To come third on the medals table to the two giants of USA and China was quite a feat for a small nation like us. What’s more, when it comes to the Three Bs. We can teach the rest of the world a thing or two. (For the uninitiated, I of course mean Bikes, Boats and Boxing). Yes, no one can hold a candle to us in the velodrome, on the water or in the boxing ring, and we’re feeling smug that we even managed to tame the weather to behave itself for the duration.

The Opening Ceremony was deliciously quirky, and fun, as was something you guys across the pond didn’t know about, but which typifies our eccentricity as a nation. And I’m talking about bells.

“Any Bell. Anyone. Anywhere. 08:12 27th July At 08:12 this morning hundreds of thousands of people across the United Kingdom rang bells to celebrate the first day of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in a mass participation artwork by Turner Prize winning artist Martin Creed, commissioned by the London 2012 Festival.

This unique London 2012 Festival commission is one of the festival’s biggest nationwide community projects. It offered everyone in the UK the amazing opportunity to be part of a work by a Turner Prize-winning artist and of the historic celebrations for London 2012.”

Big Ben tolled forty times that morning, too, so anyone hoping for a time-check would have been out of luck. And the only Brit ever to win the Tour de France, one Bradley Wiggins, rang the huge bell in the Olympic stadium, to signal the start of the games.

Even yours truly dashed out into me back garden (‘yard’, to you folk. By the way, a yard is something different over here; namely a paved or tarmaced area, usually without plants, lawns and flowers. A garden, however, has these.) Yes, there I was, in my housecoat and slippers, clutching the bell my husband bought me as a joke and dinging it like crazy for all I was worth.

Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt got in trouble as a result of his enthusiasm. He was paying a visit to HMS Belfast when the time came to join the communal ringing, and gave his small handbell a vigorous ring, only to discover that though the ship he was on board was the Belfast, his particular bell wasn’t fast. The handle remained in his hand, whilst the bell flew through the air, narrowly missing several bystanders. Having checked that nobody had been injured, Mr Hunt laughed it off, comparing it with an incident from a UK comedy called Twenty Twelve."
Entry by Penny...

Penny is the lovely lady on the left.
Picture was taken in 2007 at my home.

Back to school

I enjoy preparing for a new school year. One of the best parts of each school year, everyone begins with a fresh slate.  A close second… new school supplies… paper, folders, pencils, markers, crayons, binders, new classrooms, and new students…

Yesterday afternoon, I met students who will be in my classroom. Later in the day, I attended a community workshop, Empowering our Children: A Community Conversation.  I am happy to resume the comfort of school routines. I am back to preparing lessons plans, taking attendance, and reviewing homework.

This morning, I volunteered to pick up International Students at the airport.  The entire community is gearing up for a new school year. 

Back to School Shopping

Remember the thrill of back to school shopping?  New clothes, shoes, backpacks all in preparation for that first day of school.  So thrilling to run into your friends as you were shopping and see what outfits they were selecting.  Now, back in the day, not too far back, we just went where our parents took us.  We rode in the car and wherever the car arrived, we were happy.  I remember a store called Air Way, kind of like a version of Target.  That was a back to school tradition.  Then, there was the mall, we'd spend a small amount of time there, in stores such as JCPenny and the Gap.

Now, fast forward to today.  I have to complete 3-4 rounds of shopping.  We visit at least 8 different stores.  And then, there's the fashion!   Don't get me wrong, I love it, but there is no simplicity in this activity.  The influence of the Disney Channel and all of the other channels that expose our children to fashion. Some parents have told me that they are glad their children have to wear uniforms.  Well,  I prefer individuality to uniformity any day of the week.  I have two little fashionistas at my house, a mix between rocker meets school girl and a edgy want to be goth mixed with edgy school girl.  

After all, the world is not uniform.  There are all different kinds of people, clothing, etc.  Everybody can't have everything.  I figure, better to learn now how to cope with difference, no matter how small.  I always wonder what happens when children go out into the world and realize that everybody is not  just alike, everybody doesn't get a trophy at the end of the game, sometimes, you have to compete, the world doesn't cater to us as individuals, we have to learn to find our own place in this world.  Oh well, enough of my seriousness, this is about fashion.

Oh, and did I mention that the Coach store has backpacks now!  Oh, I wish I was going to school!

Pictures posted later this week.