Today I weakened and took ‘The Final Empire’ into school with me and read it before the start of lessons, at lunchtime and in the free period that I lost.
That makes two free periods that I have lost this week. This in a week in which the English Department (against my better judgement) decided to collapse classes to cover the absence of the head of English rather than find that rarer-than-a-hen’s-tooth character in private schools in Spain: a supply teacher.
Assurances that we would not be used for cover have, of course, naturally been ignored. Sincere expressions of regret by management cut no bloody ice with me when my free time is being encroached on. What does it take to motivate this pleasant group of professionals to behave in a professional way? That was indeed a rhetorical question as I know from past experience the simple, human answer to this question. Everything takes time. And part of that time is going to be taken up with my contacting my union representative to discuss some of the ludicrous working practices that my school adopts to save money at professional expense.
When does my probationary period run out I wonder!
The book (all 650 pages of it) has been read and thoroughly enjoyed. The structure is complex without being demanding and the elements of the story are familiar, yet pleasingly arranged.
Brandon Sanderson, the author has been described as “the natural successor to Robert Jordan.” Who he? There is obviously a fantasy world of which we dabblers in the other fringes of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Harry Potter’ know little. The book is the first part of a trilogy and I shall look out for the other volumes.
I think I shall now move on to the first of the Larsson trilogy and save up the Terry Pratchett for a thoroughly self-indulgent wallow later.
Real Madrid were defeated 4-0 in a Copa del Rey match against a second division team last night. You can imagine the whoops of delight that emanated from the sofa as a rabid Barça fan squinted at the poor computer picture which was his only access to the game. This continued in school today where the Australian Humanities teacher who supports Madrid came in for a quantity of good humoured ribbing. Except there is no such thing as ‘good humoured ribbing’ when it comes to football in Spain! Support for your chosen football team is something deep and atavistic and my dilettante amusement about how seriously everyone takes it is condemned on all sides. Delicious!
So, it’s a choice between soul destroying marking and the first volume in the Larsson trilogy.
Choices! Choices!
That makes two free periods that I have lost this week. This in a week in which the English Department (against my better judgement) decided to collapse classes to cover the absence of the head of English rather than find that rarer-than-a-hen’s-tooth character in private schools in Spain: a supply teacher.
Assurances that we would not be used for cover have, of course, naturally been ignored. Sincere expressions of regret by management cut no bloody ice with me when my free time is being encroached on. What does it take to motivate this pleasant group of professionals to behave in a professional way? That was indeed a rhetorical question as I know from past experience the simple, human answer to this question. Everything takes time. And part of that time is going to be taken up with my contacting my union representative to discuss some of the ludicrous working practices that my school adopts to save money at professional expense.
When does my probationary period run out I wonder!
The book (all 650 pages of it) has been read and thoroughly enjoyed. The structure is complex without being demanding and the elements of the story are familiar, yet pleasingly arranged.
Brandon Sanderson, the author has been described as “the natural successor to Robert Jordan.” Who he? There is obviously a fantasy world of which we dabblers in the other fringes of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Harry Potter’ know little. The book is the first part of a trilogy and I shall look out for the other volumes.
I think I shall now move on to the first of the Larsson trilogy and save up the Terry Pratchett for a thoroughly self-indulgent wallow later.
Real Madrid were defeated 4-0 in a Copa del Rey match against a second division team last night. You can imagine the whoops of delight that emanated from the sofa as a rabid Barça fan squinted at the poor computer picture which was his only access to the game. This continued in school today where the Australian Humanities teacher who supports Madrid came in for a quantity of good humoured ribbing. Except there is no such thing as ‘good humoured ribbing’ when it comes to football in Spain! Support for your chosen football team is something deep and atavistic and my dilettante amusement about how seriously everyone takes it is condemned on all sides. Delicious!
So, it’s a choice between soul destroying marking and the first volume in the Larsson trilogy.
Choices! Choices!
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