Education ... Education.... Education

It's a great privilege having teenagers in the house, especially when it's not just your own and you can go beyond the parental moans about tidying your room (you should see Dad's study!!), doing some work for your GCSE's and squandering the family inheritance before we've even popped our clogs. You hear some interesting, inspiring and sometimes alarming things, at least when the've stopped reciting the middle names of all the characters in "Friends".

I think the most alarming thing these days is what our society and schools are doing to our youngsters. It's bad enough that schools are mainly a sausage machine pumping out GCSE passes and A Level grades to keep them near the top of the league tables. And it's mainly an emphasis on pretty mechanical and boring subjects.. now in my day even O level latin had its interesting side. I also remember teachers who were both inspiring about their subjects and quite good fun as well (though I know I've obliterated from my memory the horrible ones). I don't hear kids saying that about many teachers these days.. and when I meet them I think I know why.

Then there is the emphasis on conformity, apparently at one local school you can get a yellow card and put in solitary confinement for not having your tie straight and leaving your top neck button undone. Well back in the 60's we did have to wear school caps or berets... but I can't remember anyone getting in trouble for wearing them backwards.

Finally and worst of all is what I hear about surveillance in schools. Of course there is CCTV everywhere and electronic registration sytems. At one local school all the kids are fingerprinted and need to use their fingerprints to get into the classroom. Of course the really serious burglar only has to kidnap a student, chop off the middle finger and use this as a magic key to gain access. At another local, quite elite school, they are installing metal detectors and apparently the police are often waiting outside randomly frisking youths for weapons or whatever.

What is all this paranoia and social control doing to our young people? Why is no-one willing to trust young people as a species?

Official Answers Greg's Seasonal Quiz for Groan Ups!

And the prize for the best entry (18 out of 20 correct) goes to the Von Pratt family ukele band

Number	Answer
1	Christmas Carol
2	Christmas Crackers
3	Christmas Post
4	Christmas Present
5	Christmas Pudding
6	Christmas Humphreys
7	Christmas Island
8	Christmas Decorations
9	Christmas Party
10	Christmas Cactus
11	Christmas Stocking
12	Christmas Lights
13	Christmas bell
14	Christmas menu
15	Christmas Robin
16	Christmas Turkey
17	Christmas Oratorio
18	Christmas Number Ones
19	Christmas Cards
20	Christmas Spirit

Happy Quizmas

 

 

Greg's Seasonal Quiz for Groan Ups!

This year's seasonal quiz is rather easier than that for 2007.. answers will be posted here early in the New Year

 

Number	Clue	Answer
1	Vorderman by Dickens	Christmas __________
2	Something to do with nuts (I mean crazy) and biscuits	Christmas __________
3	Last ------   heard in November	Christmas __________
4	Ghostly Gift	Christmas __________
5	A London lane where a fire started	Christmas __________
6	A lawyer / judge and a famous Buddhist	Christmas __________
7	The bomb went off here	Christmas __________
8	A VC and an OBE	Christmas __________
9	Vote for us	Christmas __________
10	Flowering pot plant	Christmas __________
11	Where on defeat?	Christmas __________
12	Ain't heavy	Christmas __________
13	Sound as a Tinker	Christmas __________
14	Fellas wanted but there's only two of us	Christmas __________
15	Stealing the bird	Christmas __________
16	Dramatic flop in Europe and Asia	Christmas __________
17	Bach, the Musical	Christmas __________
18	Bob the Builder, Mr Blobby and Cliff all had these	Christmas __________
19	Pontoon bridge snaps wistfully	Christmas __________
20	No need for whisky or brandy for this	Christmas __________

 

 

 

Winter Sunset over Kent Estuary at Arnside

Olde Smith's Almanac 2008 -2009

 

This year's Christmas Greeting and Smith family newsletter will be brief as it was written in early January, following last year's seasonal rush and a New Year resolution to do everything in good time. Read on and see how we correctly predicted the significant events listed below. If you want a traditional round robin you will find one (who lives on Greg's allotment) by clicking on this link http://picasaweb.google.com/gregmaistersmith/CoolPlacesOnTheWeb#5274502428228556754

 

And if you want to see some more of the places and situations where Greg's camera has been, browse through the galleries on http://picasaweb.google.com/gregmaistersmith

 

Prediction 1:  Greg to continue working for The Salvation Army in Preston generally enjoying it and feeling our work makes a difference to the lives of many people in need in our city. He will find it hard to live without doing any research and will concentrate on the theme of Homelessness in Preston

 

Prediction 2:  Jane to continue working in the Probation Service back in Lancashire and delivering group work programmes with sex offenders and domestic violence perpetrators. Although it's serious stuff and involves some crazy hours at times she will find it worthwhile most of the time.

 

Prediction 3: Marcus will become a barrister (actually he's working as a part time barista for Costa coffee!), pass his driving test first time, but remain unable to afford insurance and get any driving experience. In 2009 he will pass some A levels go on a gap year with Soul Survivor and prepare to study Religion, Philosophy and Ethics at Kings College London or some other university.

 

Prediction 4: Martha will lead an amazingly full and expensive social life at school, church, Christian youth groups, online and in Starbucks while occasionally doing some work for GCSEs and being creative in textiles, art drama and photography.

 

Prediction 5: Animals will have mixed fortunes as ancient feline Jessica finally casts of her mortal coil, second cat Oscar becomes a bit more human friendly while canine monster Pawz constantly demands attention, exercise, food, meals and more food. By the end of the year THAT DOG will have cost the family and Tesco Insurance over £400 as a contribution to the Vets' Enrichment Fund, but will have recovered from a painful front leg and a slight limp.

 

Prediction 5: Foul weather throughout the year will make slugs and snails flourish and will favour the less interesting allotment crops like marrows and kidney beans, while tomatoes and asparagus struggle.

 

Prediction 6: Anglican politics will make life in our local church somewhat uncomfortable for convinced non conformists.   But with a sense that God is still at work, good fellowship with others and nothing much better on offer, the Smiths will hang on in St. Stephens for the foreseeable future.

 

Prediction 7: By the end of  2008 Gordon Brown will have been returned to power with a hugely increased majority after saving the world from economic disaster, a woman will be elected President of the USA, peace justice and prosperity will sweep through Africa and the Middle East, West Ham will be top of the Premier League and Santa Claus will bring us everything we ever wanted but could not afford. (Well you can't expect all our predictions to come true every year, can you?)

 

Have a wonderful Christmas and a positively unpredictable New Year

Autumn in the Lakes

I took a few days off this October and using a rail rover ticket managed to get out and about in the lake district and Penines.. Highly recommend the Fredom of the North West Rail Rovers (you can do a whole week for £66 between Blackpool, Liverpool, Chester, Manchester, Leeds, Carlisle and Dumfries) and there is a 4 in * day one as well).

see http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/promotions/rangers_and_rovers.html

Autumn in the Lakes can be spectacular and I didn't get bad weather, much better anyway than the church weekend at Rydal in September.. I had a nice walk round Grasmere with photos at

http://picasaweb.google.com/gregmaistersmith/Grasmere

Then on the Saturday I took my bike on the train up to Ravenglass and road up to Wasdale Head. This is more or less the first time I've been to Wast Water and I can see why many people think it is the most spectacular of all the lakes. The weather was good with sun burning through the cloud swirling round the high peaks.

I'm really very pleased with the set of photos which you can see at

http://picasaweb.google.com/gregmaistersmith/WastWater

On the Friday I went the other way to Halifax and Bingley.. More Urban but some great mellow yellow stone architecture. Before long the album of pix from that day will be up too.

All creatures great and (mainly) small

Isn't God's creation wondeful!

My first decent pic of a spider is at http://picasaweb.google.com/gregmaistersmith/InsectsAndOtherSmallCreatures#5245799508873878498

and my best dragonfly of the year at

http://picasaweb.google.com/gregmaistersmith/InsectsAndOtherSmallCreatures#5206917759487759986

but why not run the slideshow of the whole album and just marvel...

For the most fantasic gallery of dragonflies (N. American) see http://picasaweb.google.com/michellelynnsts/Dragonflies

and there are damselflies too in
http://picasaweb.google.com/michellelynnsts/Dragonflies

In fact all the best nature photogrpahy I've found on Picasa in
Michelle's galeries
http://picasaweb.google.com/michellelynnsts

and more lovely dragonflies from across the pond at

http://picasaweb.google.com/vsenechal/DragonfliesDamselflies