Doldrum-o-rama

Posted on January 22, 2012 by NikkiiH

I’m in the photography doldrums.

I suspect it’s quite easy to slip into and quite difficult to climb out of.

2011 was, by any measure, a bit bleak.

After the promise of spring, bursting and racing in its fecundity and splendour towards…. yeah towards what?

Summer didn’t arrive.

And the glorious goldenred and cosy pinedamp of Autumn was, in 2011, a wet sludge of rot that dripped into a non-descript Winter with barely a brief pattern of frost to marvel at.

With almost a month of 2012 gone I still feel stuck in an interminable, seasonless gloom.

It’s wet wet wet.

Grey.

Windychill that the whips down my collar, up my sleeves and through me to the bone.

Caged in with fractious children, who have even more of an aversion than me to that heatless ball hanging white in the white sky.

I’m job hunting.

My CV must be good as getting interviews doesn’t seem to be a problem.

But three children and four decades, a “career break” and years of different priorities have left me with not a snowball’s chance in hell of achieving my former level of earnings.

If I can even get a job.

Over qualified, won’t be challenged, too small for you, can’t offer enough……

Blah.

Light should be creeping back soon.

When it does, I will take its photo.

Posted in Just Stuff | 4 Comments

Interesting Times

Posted on January 13, 2012 by NikkiiH

I think my Mum is worried that my Dad’s blood pressure won’t survive the 2 years and 8 months or so he’s going to spend yelling at the telly. If the last 48 hours is anything to go by.

We do indeed live in interesting times.

Exciting times.

In autumn 2014 we will go to the polls where we will be asked to make a momentous choice. Not about our currency, our defence force, our membership of the EU, our access to BBC, the DVLA, foreign embassies or high speed rail tracks.

Just a simple choice…..

… is it the will of the people of Scotland that their devolved government be given a mandate to negotiate with Westminster the terms for re-establishing an independent Scotland.

Or something like that.

I imagine.

There might be another choice in there for those that say Nay, such as “Does more devolved power tickle your fancy?”

Whether or not the weans will qualify for Blue Peter Badges or if we’ll still get Eastenders in an independent Scotland might well keep some people awake at night…… in only two days the arguments for maintaining the Union are taking on such epic proportions of absurdity it wouldn’t surprise me at all.

I’m laughing at the moment but whether I can maintain that humour for 2 years and 8 months or so remains to be seen.

I do hope that once this initial hysteria dies down and George “It’s our Pound and you’re no getting it” Osborne picks his toys back up, we’ll get down to some serious discussion.

It is indeed a momentous decision, it must not be rushed.

However, it’s just a small step, given the many we’ve already taken.

We’re been through the single bed stage and are now in separate bedrooms.

Time to get our own flat I think…….

And yes, I probably am going to go on about this for the next 2 years and 8 months or so.

I apologise in advance.

Have a photo. I made this. My hands hurt.

Posted in Politics | 7 Comments

Bricks in the wall

Posted on December 20, 2011 by NikkiiH

If I was left with even a niggling doubt that my childrens’ school has turned into an exam machine, this Christmas end of term has kicked the proverbial crutch right out from under it and eaten its Smartie tube.

Do you remember the end of term? At Christmas? Sparkly classrooms, relaxed uniform, concerts, happy staff with tins of Quality Street perched on their desks and Santa hats perched on their heads, watching the odd sneaky movie, gorgeous smells from the Home Ec department, class parties… music and cards everywhere.

That’s what I remember.

On 22nd December, the last full day of term, my daughter will be sitting a Maths NAB, an essential component of her Higher Maths course, and a Close Reading test in English.

At 10:30 tonight I finally persuaded her to stop her Maths revision and get some sleep.

And to what end? Having read Lily’s words over at Frothers, you’ve got to wonder.

I was shocked when I saw my daughter’s 5th year timetable back in August. There isn’t a single period that’s not devoted to the 5 subjects she’s pursuing at Higher level. No Social Ed, Citizenship, PE, nothing at all to take the pressure off the constant academic treadmill.

And now it’s clear she won’t be experiencing so much as an hour of joy at school this last week of term either.

But I must stop going on because the more I recall my wonderful memories of Perth Academy the more pissed off she gets that it’s not the same anymore.

The rector during my time there was a tyrant. When he died (recently) and I was offered the chance to write a few words recalling memories of his rectorship – I refused.

But at least he put a Christmas tree up… signalling a week of sparkly classrooms, relaxed uniform, concerts, happy staff……

Posted in Education | Tagged | 7 Comments

#ihateoxfordreadingtree Part One (I feel there will be more)

Posted on December 17, 2011 by NikkiiH

My hatred for the Oxford reading Tree is almost impossible to express.

But I shall try.

I loathe it.

I hate the puce yellow reading record books that come with it. I hate the banal stories. I hate that my son, who can read some damned complicated words and phrases, is having his intelligence insulted with this shit.

It didn’t bode well when 18 months ago the school invited all the “new” primary one parents to a meeting with the sole purpose of introducing us to this reading programme. By this time I’d already seen two of my children complete primary school with perfectly adequate literacy skills (actually quite a bit more than adequate, both got Credit 1 in SG English a year early). They managed this without the “aid” of the ORT. I couldn’t tell you what programme they followed, a bit of Jolly Phonics and a variety of books if I remember rightly. Definitely there were no parent meetings about how they were going to teach them to read.

So there was a real “Who are you trying to convince here?” feel to the whole thing.

I immediately disengaged and have remained so.

My antipathy towards homework isn’t knew, but gawd it’s growing.

The ORT has tipped me over the edge into open rebellion.

I don’t even bother opening his book bag most evening. Sometimes it’s not even his he brings home and I don’t notice for days.

I did see this week’s reading book though. I dropped it. I picked it up.

I opened it up and I gave it a good old FFS.

Yup – that’s a CAMCORDER.

Even better – see the notes that came with it?

Film? Cassette? Video?

My 15 year old couldn’t pick these things out of an assorted tray of junk – not even for a box of Haribo.

When the feck was this written?

3 years before my eldest was even born.

This book is nearly TWENTY years old.

W.T.F.?

Posted in Education | Tagged , | 4 Comments