Long journey to Disneyland Paris

It was a long journey down to Dover and I only got a couple of hours sleep on the bus. We were all shattered by the time we got on the ferry but most of us got a couple more hours of sleep on the way to Paris. The last two days have been eventful (to put it discreetly), and we have had a great time but none of the teachers have fully caught up on our sleep. When we arrived at the hotel yesterday - which is even nicer than I remembered - we checked in and got the shuttle bus to Disneyland Paris at about 6 p.m.; approximately 24 hours after our journey had begun! We were then at the park for a mind-blowing six hours because we stayed for the Disney Dreams (I think it was called) son et lumiere, and fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom's castle. It was absolutely spectacular; lots of Disney characters were projected onto the castle and the special effects were great. Then we had to queue for ages until we could get a shuttle bus back to the hotel; by the time we had settled the pupils I stumbled into bed at 2 a.m. this morning! Then we all got up at 7 a.m. for another day at Disney. I felt surprising good and we had a great time, punctuated by minor pupil emergencies. Numbed by tiredness I found myself to be much more brave than usual and went on both the "Tower of Terror" (sudden stomach lurching drops) and "Aerosmith" (loud music and looping the loop several times). And now are back at the hotel where some pupils are swimming, others are playing snooker or having tea, and the staff are patrolling and chatting.

Bonne Année les Profs!

And so it is the last day of term - the teachers' New Year! It has certainly been an eventful school year. I am writing my blog as I head south in a double decker bus towards Dover on a school trip to Paris. Yes another school trip! This may sound completely mad given my current state of exhaustion but there is a logic behind it - I was asked to go on this Paris trip first because I am sort of on the team after going twice before. But then I was asked to support a particular pupil on the music trip to Belgium and Paris. I was keen to do this and merrily signed up, paying no attention to the fact that the two trips are less than a week apart and of course having absolutely no idea that Jackie would be leaving and that I would be applying for her job! Oh well I'm sure it will be fun once I have had some more sleep! The pupils are watching a DVD of Spiderman but have my pillow all ready for a nap right now. 

Interview and Robbie

The last couple of days have passed in a whirlwind. Jackie is leaving to be a Head Teacher at Hollybrook School in Glasgow; I will miss her so much, she has given me so many opportunities and we have been a great team! On Monday I made the decision to express interest in the vacant full time DHT post (until now I have been part time DHT, job-sharing with Jackie) and I was informed that my interview would be on Tuesday. The post is only temporary until the end of September but the interview is just as rigorous. A miserable evening of swotting followed and then I got up at 6 a.m. on Tuesday to rehearse my interview questions while pacing up and down in the back room. Alison had arranged a mock interview for me in the morning - her very last mock interview before retiring. Alison, Jackie and two other colleagues spent an hour interviewing me and giving me feedback on such a busy day right at the end of term - I will never forget their kindness. And then came the real interview at last - I actually felt myself relaxing once it started! It went well but of course you never feel sure ... at 4 p.m. George came to tell me that I got the job. I was pleased and strangely tired! The excitement of the day was not yet over - in the evening James and I went to see Robbie Williams at Hampden. I have never seen so many drunk middle aged women in my life! And not just a wee bit drunk - they must have started celebrating at lunch time! There was a great atmosphere and it was a fine, warm evening. Olly Murs was the excellent support act and Robbie put on a brilliant show from the moment that he zip wired down to the stage past a giant sculpture of his own face! He sang all the favourites and the audience loved it. A wonderful evening after an intense and exhausting but ultimately successful day. 

Bicycle Race and Birthdays

Today the National Road Race Championships were taking place in Glasgow for the first time, using a 14 km circuit starting and finishing at Glasgow Green. Most of the city centre was pleasantly traffic free because of this. The women were racing for 112 km and the men for 182 km. I was in good time for my haircut so I paused to watch one of the women's races; it was amazing to see the cyclists racing up Buchanan Street and turning fast to go along St Vincent Street, it was a great setting. The crowd all clapped and cheered as they went past.
After my haircut, James, David and I went to Neil and Lucy's birthday celebration and we had a convivial afternoon with drinks and cake, it was lovely to see everyone. I have finished the Jeanette Winterson book and it was tremendous, she is a very inspiring person. 

Home sweet home

Our last day of the trip yesterday consisted of the journey from Hull to home, with a couple of stops at service stations. All went smoothly with the staff and pupils all pretty tired. I am very proud of Davie who helped to make the trip a huge success for the pupil from the CSB. I had a good couple of hours sleep on the bus and I also read my current book. I have been reading "Why be happy when you could be normal" by Jeanette Winterson and it's really good. She had a very difficult relationship with her adoptive mother. One of her suggestions which struck me was about two different types of time. "Linear time, that is also cyclical because history repeats itself, even as it seems to progress, and real time, which is not subject to the clock or the calendar, and is where the soul used to live. This real time is reversible and redeemable."
I wish I could believe that, but to me past time is finished for good or for bad, unreachable and unredeemable.
It was lovely to see James again. I think we must quite like each other (as well as love) because we were chatting away nineteen to the dozen about all our adventures this past week. We had a curry (oh my poor tummy) and I felt very happy to be home. My furry boy Jack was very affectionate towards me and was rubbing his head against me as James, Davie and I sat in the garden having a cup of tea. 

Back to Belgium

I felt quite sad to leave our little hotel on Friday morning which was strange because I wasn't that keen on it when we arrived. I often dislike a new place, especially if it's a bit basic, and then I become quite fond of it! Back to Belgium we travelled on our buses, this time to the town of Ypres. I have been there before with James and the boys, and I feel that the town and all of the countryside around it are steeped in such sad history - I would hate to live there even though it's a pretty town. We went to the excellent Flanders Fields Museum which was a sobering reminder of the war. One thing that particularly stood out for me was a cross section of a tree trunk - the tree had not died until 1994 and you could see clearly marks of bullets in the rings that had formed in the 1st World War. 
And then we set off back to Zeebrugge and the ferry back to good old blighty. Soon a lively game of football was taking place up and down the corridor beside the cabins - but it was the staff rather than the pupils! The staff have all got on really well on this trip and have worked together as a team to support the pupils - which has been vital. At dinner on the ferry our group seemed to be viewed with completely needless suspicion by a grumpy head waiter but we ignored him and enjoyed our meal. Then we went up to the bar and played cards, played bingo and generally had a festive and convivial evening. Later on another game of (staff) football ensued in the hallway outside our cabins, which was put a stop to by a ship's officer (we must have been spotted on CCTV) which I thought was very funny. More card playing, chatting, laughing and coin throwing continued into the wee small hours. We had the coolest wake up call ever - Chris came up the corridor playing an American bugle call on his euphonium! 

Eurodisney Day

A rainy morning quickly turned into a glorious day and we all set off to Disneyland Paris. There was great excitement from the pupils as we approached the gates. It was very pleasant to wander around in the sunshine. While the staff were having a coffee sitting outside a café on Main Street I was surprised to see a group of staff and pupils from my old school walking past! What a coincidence. I ran over and said a big hello! Lunch was in the Hakuna Matata restaurant then after check pointing the pupils we went on a couple of rides. Gradually I got hotter and sweatier so was quite glad at the end of the day to get back on the air-conditioned bus to cool off. Guess where dinner took place? Yet another Flunch of course - a different Flunch but the same menu! I have to say that the dish of day (meatballs) was delicious and a pleasant meal was eaten in high spirits by all. My rendition of "Little old wine drinker me" in the pub singing competition outfoxed all of the pupils and even the music teachers! Then we all whistled the tune from The Great Escape and a sing song ensued - music trips are so cool! Even cooler was the amazing quiz night and prize giving that we had later back at the hotel.