Amadeus

James and I have just watched Amadeus with Ally and Davie, I think it was made in about 1984 and we haven't seen it since then when we saw it in the cinema. Anyway, I recorded it recently because I thought that the boys would enjoy it since they are both interested in music, and it didn't disappoint. The music was beautiful and the acting by Tom Hulce and the rest of the cast was great. Monday was Ally's 17th birthday, he is getting driving lessons and a pair of Abercrombie & Fitch swim shorts! On Monday he was helping at Disabled Scouts so we went out last night with Grandma for a meal at The Byre in EK. Ally was proudly wearing his birthday present from Jamie and Davie - a pair of union jack converses! The meal was very nice. Ally had been to an Oxbridge Open Day with his school and was saying that he preferred the speakers from Cambridge to the Oxford ones. He is interested in a course called PPS which I think stands for Politics Psychology and Sociology. Who knows what he will end up doing! Or where! He has always been interested in Law but recently has also spoken of doing History and Politics. Whatever Ally chooses to do, we will support him. I love that he has all these interesting ideas. I have finished my Personal Study for the Diploma in Autism and posted it yesterday, I hope it passes. One more assignment to go. Am tired after tonight's parents' night then watching Amadeus.

Saturday at the hairdressers

I am sitting in the Rainbow Room in Buchanan Street waiting to get my hair cut and feeling remarkably relaxed considering how much I hate going to the hairdressers. It is an experience I have never enjoyed since childhood so I tend to put off getting my haircut until I look like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family. Anyway I'm in quite a good mood, the weather is very pleasant and I got an excellent parking space on the corner of George Square and St Vincent Street which I regard as a good omen for the haircut. The stylist is very nice and I have asked her to cut my hair as quickly as possible, she told me that she is methodical but fast so that will suit me. I am waiting for half an hour because I have had my hair "painted" at the sides where some grey is beginning to come through - not bad that I have managed to get to 48 before needing my hair to be coloured! In fact there is still very little grey but it is at my temples which annoys me because it shows when I push my hair behind my ears or tie it back. Anyway, enough about hair, it is a subject that I find simultaneously boring and stressful. James is hill-climbing at Newtonmore for the weekend, he has just texted to say that he has reached the top of his hill and is on the way back down. He loves hill-walking so much, it's his way of relaxing. Jamie and Ally should both be studying right now, in Dundee and Cambuslang respectively. Davie is on his way by train to meet Stuart and they are both going to their friend Ryan's 16th birthday party, which David tells me is at a "fancy Italian Restaurant". He has bought Ryan an Itunes voucher as a birthday present. He has his phone with him so he can let me know where to pick him up later. So that's what the family are all up to. I am going to try to finish my Personal Study this weekend - about as boring and stressful as having my hair cut! I want to post it on Monday so that I will have only one more essay to submit in order to complete my Diploma in Autism. My plan is to complete that during the summer term so that it is all done before we go to Australia. I had planned to finish my diploma a year ago but everything fell apart in the last few months of Mum's life and it has taken a while to get back to it. Last night I had a dream that Mum and Dad were both still alive and I was trying to sort out dental treatment for them! I was having trouble arranging it (like I really did with Mum's dental treatment) and I felt really angry and frustrated. On a brighter note I was at Cambuslang Book Club last night at Susan's, we were discussing "One Day" which I read last summer and enjoyed. Nice evening, good company and relaxing. Today the bricklayers arrived to start building the stonework of the extension, Jack went out to keep an eye on them! It's good that the weather is nicer now so that they can get on with it. Well I think it's nearly time for my haircut so I will sign off now. 

The Paper Chase

The last couple of days the weather has been good - still not warm but blue skies and big white clouds. I have been in particularly good spirits, perhaps due to the exercise I took at the weekend. Work very busy but going well. David is in the process of applying for work experience for a week in May, he is definitely interested in studying science and may be interested in pharmacy so it would be good if he could find out more about it by working in one, he has sent off a couple of applications. Ally had two hours of maths tutoring by Ruth tonight - I think they were both exhausted! Then Ally and I watched Silk which is about lawyers and quite good. I have ordered from Amazon a series about law that I enjoyed about 30 years ago called The Paper Chase, I think it's set in Harvard. I was telling Ally about it so I thought I would get it for him, I hope it's not too horribly dated! Watching the news with the boys, headlines are about Libya. I'm not sure what the bombing is going to achieve - won't it prolong the fighting? But then I am no expert on international affairs. Japan is now slowly picking up the pieces after the horrific earthquake and tsunami on 11th March, the images of devastation we have seen on the news are terrible. Jamie has just phoned and was chatting about the people who will be on his BMSc course and what he studying just now for his exams in April - the main areas are neurology, psychiatry and reproduction and there are also smaller modules on ophthalmology, aging, and child & adolescent mental health. It's great that he enjoys it so much because it's very hard work. He has also been re-elected to the post of safety officer in the University rowing club. And so to bed. 

Good Weekend for the whole family

A good weekend for all of us. On Friday night I went out with colleagues to The Granary in Shawlands, it was a really pleasant evening, very relaxed and a good laugh. At the end of the evening I gave Scott, Gavin and Chris a lift home, but they had trouble fitting into my wee Peugeot 207 convertible - it was hilarious and I had to put the roof down! Chris found a toy guitar on the back seat and started playing it! Meanwhile James and the boys were watching Comic Relief on BBC which they enjoyed. Ally was up early on Saturday morning to go to his mini trial at the Sheriff Court, he had been preparing his case, he was defending a client so he had to cross-examine a witness. In the afternoon I got a triumphant text from him: "Hey I won, we tore the other witnesses apart- it was a bloodbath :D" - seems he enjoyed it! James persuaded me to have a healthy walk round Strathclyde Park, the weather was nice and sunny but still chilly - not quite spring yet. We had a good talk on the way round about all sorts of things, then we went straight over the Byres Road where we had lunch in Antipasti and got some shopping in Waitrose. We also popped into a couple of kitchen showrooms to get some ideas. James and I both hate going to showrooms and it often creates friction between us but this time was ok and we arrived home in harmony. By late afternoon three of David's friends arrived for an overnight, they were very self entertaining and they watched movies and played computer games all evening. Alasdair went out to a party and came back by train later, he wore one of his suits! Alison and Hugh came round for dinner and we had a great evening, they showed us their New Zealand photos, it looks so beautiful, I would definitely love to go there some day. James and Alison were planning hill walking for the summer; they are going to walk through Laraig Ghru in the Cairngorms, with Hugh and I dropping them off at the start and meeting them at the end. On Sunday morning James brought me breakfast in bed and I had a chat with Jennifer on the phone about her impending house sale. Jamie was texting about his bank details and told me he is spending most of this weekend in the library, it would be great for him if he gets through his 3rd year exams first time. David's friends were collected by Olivia and then the four of us went over to Heather and Ewan's for lunch. This was of course delicious, a Belgian stew which had been slow cooked with beef and little bits of bacon, with fluffy mashed potatoes and sprouting broccoli - I do love good food! Dessert was also lovely - yummy cheesecake made by Heather and pavlovas with summer fruits made by Andrew, who is doing Hospitality as one of his 6th year subjects. Andrew had been to a welcome day at Edinburgh University yesterday with Heather and Ewan, he was showing us where he will be studying Law and where his halls of residence will be. How exciting for him to be at the very start of the career he wants to do, I think he's looking forward to it very much. Then Heather made the suggestion of going for a walk, which was a very good idea and we went to see the new houses that are being built where Woodilee Hospital used to be, it is a surprisingly large site and they are building lots of houses, I think Ewan said 900. Then we walked much further on to a motorway bridge over the new M80, in the end I think we walked for about an hour and a half, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked that it was spontaneous, whereas sometimes when James is planning a walk for us I get a feeling of dread because I fell that I am going to fail, as in go too slowly and annoy him. But this afternoon was great; a good walk and a good chat. I would so love to be fitter and I'm going to try to take lots of exercise on Barra, weather permitting! When we got back to Heather and Ewan's it was 5.30 and Andrew, Alasdair and David were watching the very end of the Old Firm game, which Rangers won in extra time 2-1. Much rejoicing by the boys! Home and had a bite to eat, David was absolutely exhausted and went straight to bed after tea. The rest of us are watching Wonders of the Universe and are then heading for a reasonably early night after a very pleasant and relaxing weekend.

Good news for Jamie

I was out for my tea tonight with friends and when I came in there was a message from Jamie to phone him. Turns out he has been accepted for his intercalated degree which is an BMSc in Applied Orthopaedic Technology. He is delighted by this, apparently it is very competitive to get in, and it will strengthen his applications later for orthopaedic placements - his ambition is to be an Orthopaedic Surgeon. I felt very pleased for him and he assured me that while I will have to wait an extra year for his graduation from medicine, I will get to go to a graduation ceremony next year if all goes well and he gets his BMSc! James is a bit worried that during the intercalated degree Jamie will take his eye off the ball and forget about all his medical studies but Jamie is confident that this will not happen and in fact it will make him a better medical student, and improve his job prospects. I hope it all works out well for him! He asked for a Tesco online shopping because he seems to have no money for food - despite his weekly allowance which we think is quite generous - so I have ordered one for tomorrow with some tasty treats in it. 

Under the weather

I got up about an hour ago after sleeping since late afternoon. I don't know exactly what was the matter with me but I woke with a headache and it got worse all day. We had a lovely Chinese meal last night round at Forrest and Marjory's, and sometimes I think that Chinese food makes me thirsty. I don't know any scientific reason for this, but maybe I didn't drink enough water afterwards. Also I had a wee eyelash digging into my eye this morning which I then plucked out (the eyelash!). It's quite unusual for me to feel unwell, I don't even get headaches very often, and I have never even had one day off sick from work in at least a decade. Anyway, by the time James and I drove over to Paisley to pick Alasdair up from his Disabled Scouts weekend I felt very nauseous and was dozing in the car, woken with a start by Ally and James shouting when Rangers scored a winning goal just before full time! So as soon as we got home I dived into bed, what a relief to drift off to sleep. Hopefully I have slept off whatever was the matter with me. Now I'm heading back to bed. 

A toast to absent Friends

Fiona died in September 2010. A stunningly beautiful girl, tall blonde and slim. Fit too, she was a runner and a keen hill-walker. She had a lovely sense of humour, and was so good-natured. I remember her laughing as we played Who am I in pouring rain in the Pentlands, using Danny's cigarette papers to write the names on, stuck to our wet foreheads! In the morning we were just as wet but Fiona was still smiling, sticking her head out of her tent to brush her teeth. When she became ill she was very brave, very optimistic, and I can't bear to delete the text she sent me wishing me a happy 2010. The last time we talked last summer she was still hoping to get back to work, and we had a good chat, reminiscing about the ceilidh we all went to at the Riverside Club.
Jim died in February 2011. Another person who loved the outdoors. A family man, proud of his daughters. Kind, helpful, with a great sense of humour, I remember him teasing me because I noticed that a handsome German walker in the Youth Hostel at Crianlarich wasn't wearing a wedding ring! I remember him giving me a help up a hill in the Broughton Hills by pushing the back of my rucksack! That was a day in February 3 years ago and it was a beautiful day, unseasonably warm. Jim said several times as he looked at the beautiful landscape "Blue remembered hills", and that phrase will always remind me of him. He was brave too, he said that he had some dark days when he first became ill, but then looked to the future and he got back on the hills for a while before his illness came back.
Two great people who died far too soon, I am lucky to have known them.

Memories of snow

The snow forecast for today turned out to be just a dusting - like icing sugar - but it brought back memories of the Big Snow that arrived 3 months ago on 6th December. The quantity of snow and the speed at which it arrived was amazing. When I arrived at school that morning it was cold and raining. The weather forecast had predicted snow, and it arrived mid-morning looking very picturesque at first but soon it was lying very thickly. Everyone was looking out of the windows expecting it to go off but it was relentless. By Period 4 I was teaching a 1st year class a PSE lesson about autism and rumours were flying around the school that it was about to close. Sure enough the pupils were sent home at lunch-time and those that were on foot, the majority, made it home ok, but most of our pupils in the base travel by taxi and the taxis couldn't get to the school because the roads were jammed with snow and traffic. During the afternoon most of our pupils managed to get home; their parents collected them, a few local taxis got through, some staff helped pupils who lived nearby to walk home. But the taxis from the outlying areas couldn't get to us and by tea-time Jackie and I still had 7 pupils with us. There were other staff stranded at school too, and someone went up to the chip shop and got us and the pupils fish suppers. Meanwhile Ally walked all the way home from his school, which took him more than 3 hours, he and his friends were helping drivers by pushing them up the hill on Kings Park Avenue. James tried to drive home but had to abandon the car in Rutherglen and walked home from there. And David was stranded at school in Newton Mearns, however Olivia and Neil very kindly kept him overnight so it was good to know that he was safe.
At nine o'clock at night a minibus turned up at the school with 3 drivers, they thought that the pupils were from the local area and were understandably uneasy when they found out that they would have to go further afield. After a short discussion among themselves they decided to go for it. We arranged for the parents to meet us at several "pick-up points" and I went as the bus escort. About 14 members of staff were stranded overnight but at least they didn't have to worry about the pupils any more. And our Duke of Edinburgh sleeping bags came in handy!
So off we set into a winter wonderland; every tree and fence was piled high with snow, the roads were almost impassable - thick with snow that was like ice, cars abandoned everywhere, traffic jams at every roundabout. The bus drivers took turns getting out of the bus to push it or to dig out the front wheels. We had to go on the wrong side of the road because of abandoned vehicles, with one of the drivers scouting ahead to make sure it was safe. We had to back up to take a run at slopes, and as we went down the hill we passed huge queues trying to get up it, the cars were just sliding around. It was a journey that I will never forget, scary but also very beautiful, the landscape was transformed out of all recognition by the snow. The pupils were great and the parents were all waiting where they should be, very pleased to see their children. By 9.45 the pupils were all safely delivered and I asked the bus drivers dropped me off about a mile from home so that they could set off back up the hill, they were fantastic. I started trudging home through deep snow, but was soon offered a lift by a friendly Landrover driver. By the time I arrived home at 10 James had walked back to Rutherglen to retrieve his car and he and Ally were busy digging out the driveway. All's well that end well and I was so relieved that all the pupils were home safe and that my family were all safe. I certainly slept well that night. The school was closed for the next few days because of the snow - in more than twenty years of teaching that has never happened at any of my schools, which shows how unusual the situation was.
So here we are in March. The experience hasn't put me off snow but I'm hoping that my favourite season of Spring is just around the corner.

Aye Write 2011

Last night we went to the Aye Write book festival at the Mitchell Library with Heather & Ewan. It was one of those perfect evenings, a combination of interest, fun and relaxation. We went to two events. 

The first was Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden talking about their radio show Hamish and Dougal which started as a sketch on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. They chatted about it and read some excerpts. I enjoyed their confident laid-back manner - they are a couple of old pros who know their trade very well and it was a pleasure to listen to them. Their sketches were funny in a witty wordplay sort of way which appeals to me. I loved one sketch where Graeme Garden said "Goodbye then, I'm going to go now" and the Barry Cryer did an aside to the audience, plotting against him, and then Graeme Garden repeated "Goodbye then, I'm going to go now!", thus showing that he was still there! That's the kind of radio joke that has me laughing aloud sometimes when I'm driving along in the car.

Then we went for a curry to Mr Singhs nearby in Elderslie Street. I don't think I've been there before, the food was great and got James' approval - he is very fussy about his curries! Our second event was Sarah Waters talking about her novels including Fingersmith, Tipping the Velvet, and The Little Stranger which is the only one of her books that I have read. Before we went into the lecture theatre we saw Will Gompertz, the BBC news Arts Editor, interviewing authors beside the steps. I lingered as much as possible as I went past in the hope that I may appear on some arts programme. Sarah Waters was a very good speaker, quietly confident, knowledgable, and expertly supported with questions from her editor from Virago. I was impressed by how she calmly considered each question before answering in detail. To add to my pleasure it was the launch of World Book Night so we all got free copies of Fingersmith! The night was still young so we went to The Pony and had drinks and talked and had a laugh. Excellent evening!

Today we went to Dundee with Grandma to visit Jamie, it’s always so lovely to see him and he made us a coffee in his flat. Jamie’s flat makes me glad I’m not a student. The living room is spacious but all cluttered with plates of half eaten food lying about, empty bottles, the carpet is all stained and everything is kind of sticky. Jamie’s own room is actually quite tidy. He’s happy there which is the important thing. The weather was dry but not very spring like yet, so we only had a short walk on Broughty Ferry beach after lunch at the Glass Pavilion. The wind was biting. Jamie's exams are during the 3rd week of April so he has a busy time ahead. Back to Glasgow for a light supper, James, Ally and Davie were watching one of their favourite programmes at the moment, “Human Planet”. Good weekend.

A Pleasant Saturday

It's Saturday afternoon and I've been having a relaxing day so far. What a contrast with a rather stressful day at work yesterday. I won't say too much except that it involved our unauthorised departmental toaster, 3 fire engines and the evacuation of 1800 pupils and staff. The toaster was being used for pupils' life skills but the fact is that toasters are banned in school and as depute head I had to meet with and apologize to the head teacher and the firemen, who were very understanding and pleasant to me about it. The rest of the day was particularly busy and I ended up doing paperwork well into the evening.
So back to Saturday. First of all James brought me my porridge in bed, always a lovely start to the weekend. Then he did the ironing while listening to some of his favourite music (The Yes Album and Yes Close to the Edge) while I took Ally and Davie to collect their glasses from Carol & Craig's. Their prescriptions have both changed a little, and they were pleased with their new frames. Ally mainly wears contact lenses but he needs glasses as a back up and to give his eyes a rest. Then James and I went to Morrisons to get our passport photos taken, but annoyingly the machine was broken and the photos were blank. So we went to Spar. James lost patience while I was brushing my hair in the booth and his hand appeared in through the curtain and pressed the "ready" button before I was finished so my brush was in the first photo! I don't know why I bothered putting on make up for the photo, you are not allowed to smile and you have to tuck your hair behind your ears. Our photos both looked like criminals' mug shots.
I popped round to Marjory and Forrest's with Jenny's birthday present - it doesn't seem like 13 years since she was born. She seemed delighted with her Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirt, I also gave her a copy of Diary of a Parent Trainer. We had a chat about London, where they will be going at Easter.
Lunch with Ally and Davie before Al went into town to meet friends and Davie started rearranging all the furniture in his room to make it better for playing Kinect games on his Xbox 360.
Later on today we are going to the Aye Write Book Festival with Heather and Ewan to see Graeme Garden and Barry Cryer, then Sarah Waters. We first went to it last year and I'm really looking forward to going again. Yes, a pleasant weekend indeed.

Diary of a Parent Trainer

Last night I went to my East Kilbride book club and had a lovely evening. I was quite tired and had intended to leave early but I ended up staying on. The book was The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. It held my interest and I enjoyed it, even though I found some of it a bit far-fetched. We had a good discussion about it and Maria made us a lovely supper of chili con carne. As usual there was some chat about my former workplace - plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose! I enjoyed my years there and I certainly learned a lot - but I love where I am now!
While I was at book club I was however missing a more important book event - Jennifer's book launch in Thame. This is Jennifer's first published book: Diary of a Parent Trainer.

And it is excellent. I was lucky enough to read it as a manuscript and as soon as I did I just knew that it would get published. Although I'm sad that I couldn't get down to Oxfordshire and back for the evening during the working week I'm so happy for her. Meanwhile I have bought some copies of the book, which arrived today. I found the dedication very moving "For my beautiful Mum with love and thanks xxx". I'm so glad that Mum knew before she died that Jennifer's book was going to be published; she was so pleased and proud. And as for having the book dedicated to her - she would say she was "thrilled to bits!" I miss her. And I am so pleased and proud of Jennifer.
Off to bed to read Diary of a Parent Trainer again.

My first post

I have been thinking of starting a blog, inspired by our friend Ewan, who has started writing one recently. This evening seemed as good a time as any, while I am sitting with middle son Alasdair as he attempts to memorise his extended Higher History essay, which he tells me is 2700 words long. He will have to write it under exam conditions tomorrow, and he will have 2 hours to do it.

Anyway, when embarking on my blog I have to consider what I will put in and what I will leave out. I have decided to make it mainly about family life. I would love to write about my job as a teacher and part time depute head in a base for pupils with autism because it is a large and very interesting part of my life. However the issue of pupil and colleague confidentiality forbids, so this will be mainly about my life and that of my family and that's why I have called it Life at the Andersons.
I won't aim to write my blog every day because I want to write about events that interest me rather than a record of every day, which is what I tend to do when I write a diary. I feel obliged to fill it in daily so it can end up "Got up. Went to work. Tired. Took boys to concert. Had bath." which is not exactly enthralling, and if there is some world or home event that is very important to me there isn't room to write it in detail, for example "Set off on holiday. Felt excited." which isn't really adequate.
So I'm hoping the blog format will suit me better, although knowing me I will probably still tend to write it as a record of events.
This evening James is out at one of his hill-walking club's social evenings. Typically he said he wished he wasn't going out but I'm sure he will be enjoying it now he's there, the hill-walking club are a really nice crowd. Youngest son David has been upstairs working on his Macbeth essay. He has just read my post so far and he and Alasdair agree that nobody is going to read this blog! Eldest son Jamie is in Dundee where he is in 3rd year studying medicine. I phoned him earlier and he said he has had a very tiring day - doing a laparascopic skills trial by practising it on a simulator, as well as lectures and diagnosis skills. That's James in now so we're going to have a cup of tea :-) I hope Ally gets on ok tomorrow with his essay.