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December 26 Christmas, and the art of buying great presents...So, Christmas is over for another year... and I'm pleased to report that this year hasn't been a bad one in the world of Rich.
Though I'm a bit of a shallow so-and-so who holds very little truck with the religious connotations of Christmas, December 25th is a day I have always enjoyed immensely - mainly because I absolutely love the ritual of giving and receiving presents.
And as for why I love it so much - well, it's mainly for one reason and one reason alone. Namely the fact that, if I say so myself, we are all pretty ace in my family at thinking of imaginative things to buy for each other!
Yes, very rare are those occasions in our household where someone gets palmed off with a crappy pair of socks or some dodgy aftershave!
It would take me too long to list all of the legendary presents that have been given down the years - but 'Gift experience' have often proven to be a big hit.
One year for instance, I got my mum and dad a voucher for 'sheepdog experience' - which led to them spending a day up on a farm in Yorkshire and having a go at herding sheep!
Meanwhile, they reciprocated the following year by booking my brother Al and me into a posh London salon for a 'men's pampering experience' - which included a traditional shave using hot towells and knives!
Naturally, to get the best possible 'before/after' contrast, the two of us both made a pact to stop shaving about a month before our appointment. Alas though, this proved a tad unfortunate - as midway through this abstinence from razors we were both required to go on television... and we were duly captured on the small screen looking like a right pair inbred of hillbillies!
But what of this year?
Well once again, I'm pleased to say that all the stops were pulled out. My Aunt had been heard saying on numerous occasions that she'd love to fly in a hot air balloon - and so between us all, we bought a voucher for her to enable her to do just that!
And I gave a big nod to Al's longstanding fascination with the great Rolf Harris by booking him a didgeridoo lesson!
Gold medal however this year though undoubtedly goes to my mum and dad - whose present to me turned out to be six month's membership of 'The Cheese Society'!
Now any who knows me with probably be familiar with my passion for cheese. And having not heard of the Cheese Society before, I immediately found myself excitedly pondering whether my membership would involve attending meetings in oak-panelled boardrooms with other afficienadoes, and discussing high-level issues such as whether Gorgonzola will ever really be a serious challenger to Stilton as the planet's premier the blue and stinky cheese!
Of course, it transpired that this WOULDN'T be the case!
However, the reality proved to be possibly even more exciting!
Yes, when you're a member of the Cheese Society, it basically means that you get sent a selection of gourmet cheeses through the post every month.
I mean, how good is that?!
You can find out more about The Cheese Society by clicking here.
Naturally, I was so pleased with my gift that I sent a text message to pretty much everyone I know, just to tell them! Needless to say, the news has caused a great deal of mirth.
More bizarrely, it's also led to me discovering a really cool singer-songwriter fella, who's a friend of my mate Fi.
"Rich - given your love of cheese, you should check out one of my mate's music," came Fi's reply to my text. "He's got a song called 'Cheese'!"
Curiousity aroused, I immediately went online and found Fi's friend's Myspace page. And knock me down with a feather - for it turned out that Chroliver really did have a song in his repertore called 'Cheese'!
And it's actually really good!
You can hear 'Cheese' for yourself on Chroliver's Myspace page by clicking here.
I really hope the guy goes on to world domination. I mean, there just aren't enough songs in the world about cheese..! December 23 Discovering one of one's parents shares their name with a TV legend!I'm one of those people in life who's quite easily amused - and the other day, I noticed something that tickled my funny bone no end.
And interestingly, this thing I noticed was something that's actually been staring me in the face for 28 years!
Let me explain...
Since I was a kid, I've always been a big fan of the legendary 1980s TV series 'The A-Team' - and in particular, the show's moody-arsed lynchpin BA Barocas.
Now BA, of course, was played by Mr T.
And the other day, it occurred to me, for the first time ever, that my dad is actually called Mr T as well!
This moment of enlightenment occurred dramatically when I happened to pick up some post off the doormat at my mum and dad's house. And among the pile was one addressed to my dad - 'Mr T Fisher'.
Now obviously, I've known what my dad's name is for as long as I can remember. However, it was only seeing it written down the other day when I actually made the link with the A-Team.
I now have amusing images in my head of my dad donning a load of gold chains, getting locked in a garage, but managing to bust his way out by constructing a battering ram out of an old lawnmower and some pipecleaners. Whilst saying things like "Quit your jibber-jabber, fool!"
See, I told you I was easily amused..! December 08 Teaching - it's all about hanging out with rock stars' wives..!So, it's very nearly the end of my first term as a trainee teacher - and on the whole it's been a positive experience for lots of different reasons.
There's one reason though that I haven't really talked about much in my previous witterings - namely, the fact that my new career has enabled me to meet lots of cool new people.
First of all, there were all the other students who are are doing the same training course that I'm doing - around 30 of us in total.
Now given that the course involves us all doing our training 'on the job' in different schools, we don't actually see a great deal of each other.
Nevertheless, they're a great bunch - and the fortnightly 'university days' when we have lectures and whatnot are something I always looks forward to... mainly because we invariably end up spending half the time giggling like a bunch of kids!
I guess it's a case of us all grabbing at a rare opportunity to let our hair down a bit - given that we're all in our respective schools for the rest of the time, and duty-bound to try and be all stern and stuff!
It's also great to have a bit of a support network. Obviously, those of us who are doing the course are on the exact same learning curve - so we're all going through the same things. And when things aren't going so well, it's good to have people to talk to who are likely to know exactly how you're feeling...
Happily though, there haven't been too many occasions for me since I started the course when it's felt like things haven't been going well - and I think that's mainly down to the school where I'm doing my training.
Everyone has made me feel very welcome - and as with the other people on my course, the staff are generally a top bunch of people.
The way my course works is that I get placed with one class - with the main teacher of that class having the responsibility of coaching me over the course of the year.
And I'm happy to say that Jez - the Mr Miyagi to my Danielsan, if you want to get all metaphorical - has been excellent so far.
Not only has Jez been incredibly generous with his guidance and advice, he's also a top guy who happens - like me - to be really into his music.
Needless to say then, our classroom often rings to the sound of all sorts of bands. We had Pink Floyd's seminal 'The Wall' album on the other week after the kids had gone home - complete with its infamous sample of an angry teacher shouting "You! Yes you! Stand still laddie!"
Oh the irony..!
We've also had a serious discussion the other day as to whether we could actually get away with having our class do 'Fairytale of New York' for this year's Christmas performance!
In the end, we decided that we wouldn't be able to - though the fact that we even had the conversation amuses me no end!
In terms of other staff members at my school meanwhile, a special mention must also go to Simone, a Teaching Assistant who is 'shared' by my class and the school's other Year Three class.
Not only is Simone an ace person, her surname also happens to be Lineker - and so the fact that I've worked alongside her means I can impress my football mates by legitimately claiming to having forged a 'lethal partnership with Lineker'...
Boom boom..!
And then there's Karen - a student currently in the final year of a four-year teaching degree... who recently spent a month or so in my class in order to do her final teaching practice.
Now not only has Karen been a right laugh to work with, she also made my jaw nearly hit the floor about a week after she started at the school - when she casually revealed that she's married to the singer from Six By Seven!
For those of you who might not know them, Six By Seven are a band based in Nottingham, who have been going for the last decade or so.
And ever since I heard their first album, they have been up there with the likes of Radiohead and R.E.M. as one of my very favourite bands.
This being so, it suddenly started to feel a bit strange on those occasions when we'd be sat in the staffroom or wherever, and Karen would mention Chris, her husband... often in the context of something fairly 'everyday'.
For instance, there was one day when we were discussing how we needed to get people to bring in plastic packaging for the children to use for some Design and Technology work.
"We a load of stuff at home that we could've used," Karen said, "but Chris chucked it all in the recycling bin a couple of days ago."
Such revelations, I must say, have slightly shattered my illusions about Six By Seven! I mean, rock singers aren't supposed to do everyday things like take out the trash, are they?!
I certainly couldn't imagine Thom Yorke or Michael Stipe doing it!
Joking aside though, if you like epic, atmospheric music with a ferocious guitars, then I'd strongly urge you to check out Six By Seven. You can visit their website by clicking here.
Sadly, Karen finished her stint at the school this week - however, she got me an ace present to mark her departure.
A couple of days before she left, you see, I'd had quite an intense day, where I was teaching in the morning... then had a meeting with one of my university tutors... and was then teaching again in the afternoon.
As it turned out, my meeting went on for so long that I didn't even have time to eat my lunch! So I was not a happy bunny - particularly when half of the class proceeded to be absolute little shits during my afternoon lesson!
However, I had to laugh the next day - as Karen presented me with a 12 inch vinyl copy of Six By Seven's seminal early single 'Candlelight', signed by Chris with a personalised message of "Everybody needs a lunch break"!
Naturally, I was well chuffed!
I may have to get it framed and hung above my desk - who knows, the sentiment might actually remind me not to work so bloody hard...! December 07 An amusing tale of corruption and cheese...Today I read something in a newspaper that made me laugh out loud.
I don't know if it's just because I'm slighly obsessed with cheese, but click here to see what it was that ticked my funny bone so..! |
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