Typecast

(click to enlarge) The other week we were moving crap from the top of one cupboard to the top of another having a clear-out in the kitchen and we rediscovered two carrier bags full of our old cassette tapes.  At some time in the past four years I had made Kev promise that he wouldn't throw them out. They are priceless, yet worthless.  I am loathe to throw them out because I'm far too sentimental.  Plus they would have to go to landfill so I'm really fulfilling my role as eco-warrior...  * whistles nonchalantly whilst clinging to the past * Jukebox Classics,Robert Miles, Alison Moyet, Janet Jackson, Holly Johnson, Duran Duran, The Bee Gees (not mine), Hot Chocolate (I don't remember buying that one either), Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Sam Brown, East 17, all sorts of different compilation albums and almost every ' Now That's What I Call Music! ' up to number 21 - but sadly missing what used to be my pride and joy - the original N...

Back in the olden days when the world was black and white I was taught by the most amazing man - "Sir" was someone whose teaching was inspirational, ahead of his time and who wasn't afraid to try new teaching methods.  I have mentioned him before . When I wrote yesterday's post I was reminded about my high school English teacher.  A man who stayed sat behind his desk for the majority of the time, slumped.  A man who appeared to be ambivalent about teaching in general and about the majority of the students who passed through his classroom door.  A man who completely and utterly disliked me - or so I felt at the time.  I don't remember a single compliment passing his lips or a mark that merited mentioning.  I failed English Language and English Literature spectacularly because he marked my work so low that it was unsuitable to be sent to the examination board.

I was listening to BBC Breakfast News this morning and heard snippets of an article discussing the new Government White Paper and the proposed return to exam-based study.  The White Paper suggests that secondary schools will be considered to be failing if less than 35% of their students attain less than 5 Grade C's at GCSE level. Whoever originally decided that it was a good idea to make 15- and 16-year old kids, raging with hormones, study for two years then judge them for the rest of their lives on a series of 2-hour windows was mad.  Modular learning gives better results all round.  Yes, we should still have exams but they they should be relevant to progression.

It was 9.45pm.  I was just watching Nigel Havers air-kissing everyone goodbye as he made moves to leave the "I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here" jungle and... *click* ... we lost all our electricity.  Not just a power surge flicker but the whole house plunged into darkness and silence. "Told you something was up today,"  shouted Kev smugly from the other room ( we have separate lounges - it's brilliant! ).  He'd also rung me at work earlier in the day to ask if I knew why the electricity had gone off for a couple of minutes.  I tried to use my ESP, I really did, but my recent flu must have knocked my senses out...

Editors note : This post was submitted to me within the ethos of  Blognonymous .  The writer needs somewhere to consider her options and request other people viewpoints.  Please feel free to offer her your advice and thoughts in the comments section. oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Earlier this year I took part in an online creative writing course run by Tim over at Bringing Up Charlie .  The e-course was a great learning experience, even for people who had been writing for a while.  We were split up into focus/support groups (I was lucky enough to be placed with Sandy and Emily ), given fantastic guidance and it really built up my confidence to expand on my creative writing. When the e-course had finished, we were asked to submit some of our favourite pieces to be considered for publication.  Tim has collated and edited the book and it is full of fantastic pieces of writing INCLUDING SOME FROM ME! You can buy a paperback version of the book direct from Dotterel Press  for £8.99 +£1.00 P&P or you can download a version from Lulu  for £2.99 (you can also place orders outside of the UK via the Lulu link too) and all profits are being donated to Children In Need .

There are a number of threads on the  Blogger.Ed and British Mummy Bloggers  forums asking about how to engage with readers when blogging; how to write, how often to post and how and when to comment.  It's all about social engagement  at the end of the day.  After all, why do you write a blog if it's not to offer an opinion or keep in touch with people?

Fame.  The reputation that I had recently acqui red was a force to be reckoned with.  I had officially gone public to dispel the rumours but now so many people were determined to make a few quid from their brief acquaintance with me.  If the truth be told, I was sure I didn't know all of them but they were convinced they knew me.  Stories about places I'd never been and events that had never happened, but the media lapped it up and printed it anyway.  It created column inches and sold papers.

Here come the girls... L-R: Me, Rachel, Amie-Leigh three generations The Gallery prompt this week was "Before and After" You can see all the other entries >>> here <<< Don't be afraid to join in and link up too - just follow the instructions on the link above. Related Links : http://www.iamtypecast.com/search/label/gallery

This time for Musical Monday, Emily from Babyrambles has asked me to nominate the song that makes me get up and dance.  She's already picked a Michael Jackson number for herself, which I think is inspired, but I can get round that by buying the Wii game when it's released in the UK.

I don't feel 38 years old.  I imagine myself to be much younger, even though all the evidence points in the opposite direction.  During my routine contact lens check-up today my optician noticed a few extra vessels in my eyes, partly due to continuous wear but also because of "my age" * runs away, screaming *.  Oh, I also had to walk round town after the appointment looking a right twat with yellow-rimmed eyes because I'd had to have some weird dye inserted into my eyes.  And they'd ended up stinging.  And watering.  A lot!  So maybe some of the sympathetic glances aren't to do with my age, after all.

(click to enlarge) Just something I thought about whilst "in a queue" on the phone. I don't really look like that - I just can't draw very well.

An Autumn Evening The prompt for The Gallery this week was "Seasons" and  this is my most recent photo whilst out walking the dog.  Taken using the camera on my phone. You can see all the other Gallery entries >>> here <<< Related Links : http://www.iamtypecast.com/search/label/gallery

On Sunday night my throat feet dry and scratchy.  I knew I was probably coming down with something when Kev walked in and told me I looked tired.  I'm hardly ever ill but just felt a bit rubbish, you know?  So yesterday morning (Monday) I dragged myself into work but got sent home at lunch time on the grounds of "possibly having a contagious disease" (my boss being sarcastic but she knows that I'd fight my way though to the end of the day if she didn't manhandle me out of the door).

Do you ever wish you had a talent?  Nothing spectacular - just something that everyone remembers you for.  Henry Mancini & His Orchestra - The Pink Panther Theme .mp3 Found at bee mp3 search engine I can play the piano and I can read music but I've always wanted to just sit down at the piano at a party and start playing a song that everyone knows, with everyone gathering around the piano, singing along and calling out for the next song.  Old-time party style.  My speciality piece is " The Pink Panther Theme " but that doesn't have any lyrics and when people say, " Great! What else can you play? " I tend to mumble something and wander away from the keyboard.

Aaaahhhh! The Music Quiz that made you bash your head on the nearest hard surface!  Here are the answers as promised, with an extended version of each clip.  There were fifteen songs altogether.  Yes... really!  And if it helps, no-one got all fifteen.

There's a little bit of oneupmanship a craze going on in Blogland at the moment.  You have Paula with her visual music quizzes ( #1 and #2 , with #3 to follow on Friday ) and Garry with his headbashing  soundbites quiz ( we don't talk about his first attempt as it was a bit of a flop! ) so I've decided to jump on the bandwagon.  This is something I wanted to do with the #FridayTwiz but it moves a bit too fast on a Friday and not everyone has their speakers switched on.

This week, The Gallery prompt is "Show Me The Funny" .  Here are a few things that I've snapped over the past few months that have made me snigger:

Today's media reports that a pilot scheme on the Isle of Wight will allow girls as young as 13 years old to obtain a month's worth contraceptive pills from selected chemists on the island. What do you think of this?  Do you believe this is the right way to educate our teenagers; by offering them the opportunity to protect themselves against unwanted teenage pregnancies or should we be encouraging them to adhere to the  UK law  and refrain from sexual activity until they are age 16?

I was asked by Kate over at The Five F's to choose my Desert Island Discs - just eight pieces of music that I would be prepared to to listen to over and over again.  This sounds easy but it isn't.  Music affects people in many different ways, especially according to what mood they are in when they listen to it.  I spend more time hitting ' NEXT ' on my mp3 player than I do actually listening to the tracks. Anyway, here are a few that are stock favourites.  Songs or tunes that make me catch my breath and stop for a few minutes to sink into the arrangement of sounds and words.