New Beginnings

I suppose I should preface this with things we decidedly do NOT love - such as poorly babies and trips to A&E and the out of hours doctor. Our little boy has not been well over the last week or two which is stressful. But this is a positive blog and I will not dwell on these things but reflect instead on new beginnings.

For the teaching community, our years run from September-August, so we often feel a sense of a new start and clean slate at this time of year. Unlike those in other industries, we get that new-stationery-and-pencil-case feeling at the end of August. Maybe a lot of us became teachers because we are closet eraser-sniffers? Who knows! We have the excitement of a new term with lots of new people to meet - hundreds, in my case, because I started a new job this September.

There is something invigorating about leaving something one is very comfortable with and stepping into the unknown. I would like to think that over the last 10-15 years I have become a lot more at ease with the idea of change and actually like to shake things up. I believe it is good for us to put some danger into our lives - relative danger! - in order to be able to think critically about where we are and where we want to be. I admire those who look at their lives and make courageous decisions to change career, retrain, or move area or country.

Making the decision to change jobs is like this. The easiest thing as a teacher is to grow comfortable with the routine, the curriculum and topics taught. The challenge lies in changing everything up and re-evaluating what you like in your job and what you're good at.

Another fresh beginning happened for me this summer - we got married in July. Getting married for some is a 'piece of paper' or a legal formality. For others, it is establishing a lifelong promise and covenent, to change your name and the way you relate to each other.

I am growing into the persona that my new name gives me, and it feels good to embark on so many new beginnings all at once.

Sky Atlantic

OK, I know that we're not supposed to be fans of anything News International at the moment. But I am a sucker for an expensive, glossy TV Drama. Which has been furnished in abundance by Sky Atlantic since its launch on 1st February 2011.

The perfect TV Drama needs an excellent script, lavish costuming, sets and locations and quality actors, preferably Hollywood calibre, slumming it on TV. Sky Atlantic has not disappointed.

First we had Boardwalk Empire, a prohibition era drama in 1920s/30s Atlantic City, New Jersey. It stars Steve Buscemi in the main role of the Machiavellian Enoch Thompson, and Kelly Macdonald as the 'plucky Irish widow' who becomes his mistress. Why did we like it? The posh frocks, the illicit champagne and the evocation of the Depression era. What did we enjoy less? The extreme violence which interspersed those features. It was a bit slow-going, but enjoyable and escapist nonetheless.

Next came Game of Thrones, a sprawling epic fantasy series set in a pseudo Medieval never-never land. It is adapted from one of the seven novels in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. It has one of the best theme tunes and opening sequences I've *ever* seen!

What we loved about this were the well developed characters and the development of multiple narratvies all slowly and inexorably moving towards the coming of the Long Winter. Mysterious creatures prowl an area beyond a vast ice wall. A battle for the throne rages among several undeserving clans. The daughter of a previous king becomes a dragon. What's not to like!??!! The soft-porny bits I suppose. And the fact that the big name actor, Sean Bean, won't be reprising his role as Ned Stark in Season 2, for reasons which will be obvious to viewers of Season 1. But there's enough danger and excitement to keep us tuning in to Season 2. It's being filmed at the moment in Belfast and also partly in one of our most favourite places on earth, Mdina in Malta.

Finally, a series which hasn't finished yet, Mildred Pierce. This stars Kate Winslet eponymously as a mother in the Depression era. Caitlin Moran wrote a brilliant piece reviewing this mini series (5 parter) which I cannot hope to better. Alas, I cannot provide you with a link since it's on the Times' premium pages. Again, the period detail is superb and the producers' care over this should be praised. Fans of Neighbours back in the day should also note that the love interest is Guy Pierce.

Alongside these brilliant series, Sky Atlantic also shows stuff like ER from the beginning and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

And we're more excited about forthcoming Renaissance blockbuster The Borgias than we can say...

A yarn windfall....

Now, mum and dad are clearing out a lot of stuff in preparation for a move. I found myself therefore in receipt of a large amount of surplus yarn.

Much of this yarn dates back to the 1980s when mum was still making knits for us kids. But some of it belonged to my Nana. I am more thrilled than I can say about using old yarn - intended for who-knows-what kind of project - to make something in the here and now. Part of the feeling of satisfaction comes from seeing something through for someone else. There's something inherently sad about someone buying this yarn and never using it. But part of it is the feeling that I have a 'connection' to my Nana. I don't remember an awful lot about her, since I was very young when she died. But I do remember her knits and things she had made for us to wear. There was one very beautiful red velvet dress she made for me - and a matching one for my cousin, a year or two older. I felt so grown up and special in it.

I take fulfilment then from relearning the feminine crafts which were important to my Nana.

So what will become of the yarn? The pale pinky coloured yarn, still in the bag at the top of the picture, is currently being knitted up into a cardigan.

The rest? I'm not sure yet. Some people feel fear at a blank sheet of paper - the essay as yet unwritten and unplanned. I used to. These days I feel enlivened by the possibilities of things I can create - cake ingredients, yarn and needles. And I enjoy feeling the connections to my foremothers, for whom all this was a daily act, a neccessity, but, I also hope, a pleasure. 

These shoes...

I have been suffering from a shoe dilemma for a few weeks now.

The warmer weather poses women a distinct footwear problem. We like to wear pretty skirts and forego tights. This also gives us the possibility of getting some colour onto our legs - mine resemble uncooked chicken ten months of the year.However, most of us cannot wear flip flops to work, and in any case, they are not the best shoe for foot health. Long term wear of flip flops not only gives me a thong shaped tan on my foot, it also seems to make me walk with my toes digging in and hanging onto the shoe for dear life.

The flat pump would, to all intents and purposes, seem to provide a perfect solution to the balmy weather. You can walk in them all day and a variety of pretty shades are available to co ordinate with our summer finery. However, the wearing of flat pumps with no tights leads to an unmentionable female problem.

Foot odour.

None of us likes to think we have it, but those cheesy smelling pumps we need to throw out tell a different story. No amount of febreeze in those pumps is going to rescue those shoes now.

Enter our saviour, the strappy sandal.

This week I bought possibly my favourite general purpose shoe ever.

This is the perfect compromise shoe. The brown is a good match with most outfits, the gladiator style toughens up a skirt or looks great with leggings or jeans. They zip up at the back, behind the heel, and the flexible straps hold and support the foot very well. They rose to the challenges of yesterday - a 15 minute walk uphill to work from the train station, and then a busy day's teaching all around school and another walk at the end. No rubbing, no achiness. And best of all, air circulates around the foot all day, meaning no nasty pong. I think I'm in love.

The Low Wedge Crossover Gladiator Sandal in Brown is available from Matalan instore and online