Tuesday 31 December 2013

A Happy New Year to you all! ;-)



Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

This beautiful painting is by artist Steven Bewsher.

;-) xxx

Monday 30 December 2013

Back to work!!




I'm back to work, today!

And it's no hardship to be going to my place of work as I love my environment,

where so much learning takes place.








For a smallish room, I have always tried to provide something for everyone

to enjoy and feel inspired. I know that I feel inspired, 

which in turn makes me a better teacher; I am certain of that!

Anyway, I love my workplace, I've had a good 'tidy up' and I am raring to go!







In my room there is a good mixture of old and new because that's

 what I believe in and that's how I work, picking what I think is the best

from today and yesterday.






You can read 'Swallows and Amazons' and any of the books in that wonderful series.

You can read Enid Blyton because she was and still is a valuable

 part of children's literature.

You can read Harry Potter; Holes; War Horse and an endless amount of Roald Dahl!

You can enjoy poetry and even a smattering of history!

I have Ladybird books alongside Anthony Horowitz  and 

I have Horrible Histories alongside Michael Morpurgo,

Malorie Blackman and Rupert Bear!







As you can see, on the chair above, I even have a school inspector breathing down my neck...

but no more about that apart from to say that I remember my very first encounter

with a school inspector in Surrey. A very nice man he was too!!

He oversaw my probationary year in teaching and the most important words he said to me

(and I remember them well) were, ' If you can truly justify what you are doing

in the classroom, then that's fine by me.'

So that's what I always try to do. I am also constantly questioning

what I do. I talk to myself rather a lot!!

Enough said!!

;-)







So ... welcome to my working world!!




  
And please enjoy a browse!




If you ever come for lessons, this is where you'll sit!!;-)





My other chairs are usually covered with books or games!












Have you noticed, 'Moonfleet'?

One of the best stories written, I was delighted to see the television

adaptation!  Books like this live on and on!

Superb writing!













I have 'War Horse', alongside 'The Little Wooden Horse'!

I love reading these with children.










Slates, satchels and an old university scarf (my dad's)...

all part of the fantastic history of education in our country.






And here I sit, waiting patiently for my first pupil!






You can find me here:







Thursday 12 December 2013

Ha ha ha....love from Serena and Neville ( my old pals!)

Well well well!!

I've received my first Christmas card and just look who has sent it to me!

My old friend Serena! You might recall that I received this in 2011:

http://salssnippets.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/my-first-christmas-newsletter-has.html

Well, Serena's delightful card arrived today, along with her 'not so delightful' bragging letter!!

(Funny how I never hear from her at any other time of the year!)

But her letter made me chuckle and I just had to share it (before I rip it up!)

It reminds me of what NOT to be!



*********


Dear All,

2013 started badly for us!

The dog chucked up all over the new Axminster and Churchill wouldn't play ball (and cough up the insurance). Neville was absolutely furious and so he found a very good man to come and restore the gold fleck to its former beauty. Cost a fortune but what with all the dinner parties we host,it was very very necessary.
The dog has since departed ( more about that, later)

We were so pleased with our Italian leather suite that we purchased another, for our conservatory.
Ah yes, the conservatory! A new, but very much needed, addition to our luxurious and lavish home.
I can now sit in comfort whilst watching Neville mow the lawn. In fact I have installed state of the art loudspeakers, outside, so that I can inform Neville when he misses any blades of grass. Remotely controlled from my iPhone,it's the best thing yet. The new iNag...well with the money I have,why not?! I have it remotely ( and wirelessly) linked to the mower's handle so that Neville also gets a short sharp shock to remind him that he has missed a patch. So even if he doesn't hear me, he will feel it! Sheer genius, don't you think! I am so glad that I have excelled in the techno dept this year. 

The 'not so good news' is that the 100 year oak tree, at the bottom of our garden, was blown over in the gales and it landed smack bang on our new summer house! You might think that was calamity for us? Well, thankfully not. No one  was injured....apart from the dog. Dead as as dodo; flat as a pancake. Sadly. Well, maybe not so sadly. We could never forgive him for what he did to the carpet. I always said that the summerhouse wasn't big enough for our needs, so it was a blessing in disguise and we have had another, (twice the size) erected. These things happen for the best...as I was only saying to the ladies at the golf club, last week.

Our holidays, this year, have been most exhilarating!
The South of France, for me, was the highlight. My tan was divine...
and has lasted... and lasted. We then spent a fortnight in the Lake District, which was very relaxing indeed. When you lead such a hectic social life as I do,you need some chilling time. I have to admit that I have never done a days work in my life but I do need to have a change of scenery now and again as the social scene is very exhausting. I did put my foot down and I refused to 'do Devon' again, this year. I find the accent there so awfully common!  Neville disagrees but I take little notice of his opinions. We did Cornwall instead...and took the yacht with us this time. The weather was glorious although I do find the Cornish quite strange at times; maybe that's because most of them are second homes people...but I can hardly talk as we too own a second home (and a third, acquired this year, after our shares did so well!)

As far as the family are concerned, Miles has been promoted to managing director of his firm and Piers is in line for a knighthood, we believe! How exciting is that? I haven't stopped talking about it!
I've chosen my hat, already!
Gloria and Gordon have moved to a house in the country and they now employ a maid, a chauffeur  and a groundsman to look after their estate. It's nice to think that they are following in our footsteps and moving up the ladder in life. 

The grandchildren all excel; even if they leave university with no job to go to, at least their parents will cater for their needs and fund their delayed gap years. Money is no problem in our family...we are blessed with plenty. Our stocks and shares continue to blossom and thrive! Did I mention that already?!

Can you believe that Neville has gone and changed his car... yet again?!
The new BMW has an even better spec and so after a test run we became proud owners of a posh top of the range Beemer with our brand new personalised plate...SNO B1
It has the softest leather interior and gold mug holders...none of that plastic tat, which I read about on someone's blog a few months ago...oh no...real gold to match my jewellery. Neville always says that I deserve the best. He is a poppet.


Finally, we wish you all (and, of course, ourselves) a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.

Serena and Neville Oscar Blakeley.



************


Obviously, I must reply to Serena and so I might be gone some time!!! LOL! ;-)





Saturday 7 December 2013

Topsham!;-)




Yesterday was a Topsham day as we took the train along the coast

to this lovely little town on the River Exe.




There are some super shops in Topsham

and one of these is Vintage Now Interiors,

which is run by a friend of mine, Jane.




It was overflowing with Christmas; every nook and cranny filled

with delights!






There is enough here to give you loads of ideas for perfect presents.




 So, if you live not too far away,take the train to Topsham; you won't be disappointed.







Sunday 1 December 2013

New home! ;-)





My lovely Nich has finally flown the nest!


Nich supports two football teams; one at the top of the football league and one

at the bottom!! So, you could say that his emotions are mixed right now.

 Here he is at The Emirates, last week! The lovely Lizzie

somehow managed to buy tickets for Nich's surprise birthday present, to watch

The Arsenal!


Anyway, he and Lizzie have found a place to live, in Exeter,

not too far from their place of work, at Exeter University.

It's their first home, together...t'is all very exciting for them!





I shall miss him. Indeed, I shall miss having them both around,

especially seeing them in the evenings as they

sit with their supper watching 'Neighbours'!!!

(When Nich was at Uni, 'Neighbours' was 'the' thing to watch, apparently!!


Anyway... good luck, Nich!! And good luck, Lizzie!

Have loads of fun and enjoy building your new home, together.  

Love you lots! xxx


;-)





Sunday 24 November 2013

Good for the soul! ;-)





Last Saturday, we found ourselves in Port Isaac! 

And it was a vastly different place to the

one which we'd visited in the summer.





It was  a real treat to wander, at our leisure!




...and take in the stunning scenery.








I think that a visit at this time of year is far preferable as you can

appreciate the beauty, the peace and the quiet, rather than the

noise, hustle and bustle during the summer months.














 Not to mention it being very good for the soul!

;-)


Friday 22 November 2013

Tavistock vintage fair



Life has been really busy,lately, thus my blog has had to take a back seat,sadly! Sometimes,one has to prioritise! I don't actually know how people find the time to blog, Facebook,Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc etc....they must be sat in front of a computer all day long!

Anyway, if you want to catch up with me,face to face, I will be at Tavistock Vintage Fair,
tomorrow,in the Town Hall. It's sure to be a good one! And Tavi is a lovely little town in which to browse!