Why Do We Have Residentials?

Is it for team building? - No
Is it for strategic planning? - No
Is it for professional development? - No
Is it to give people who have very little worthwhile to say a platform from which to pontificate, then argue with each other over issues and decisions that they actually agree on? - Usually.
For me it is usually the food and leisure facilities. This weekend the food at the Worsley Park Marriott was fantastic. A medley of Salmon, fish and chips then treacle tart always goes down very well. Then less than 12 hours later a gargantuan Full English. In addition the leisure suite and the building itself at this hotel are fantastic as well as immaculate.

Typical

In my absence on Friday night my eldest daughter ends up in casualty after falling off her bike. The end result are two stitches just below her mouth. In true caring sibling style my youngest daughter asked if they could watch when she was having the stitches put in. When my wife replied 'yes', she cheered.

At home with the youngest daughter as she has got a virus. Then off to work at 12.30 for one lesson then on to Worsley for the residential.

Apparently the boy has got himself a girlfriend so my wife has taken him to have his long flowing locks tamed. No more the wild man of Borneo. Back from the residential the youngest daughter has now come straight back to Earth with a virus that looks as though it is all set up for a weekend of fun.
Actually not a bad day at work, a DCC SLT meeting at 7.30 which went OK, three cool lessons, break duty, dinner duty and then an EPAC SLT, even got home for 4.30. Nothing very eventful happened or was said, however not looking forward to the DCC residential at the Worsley Marriott tomorrow. There is only so much purple one can take.
Sad news tonight the black goldfish Henry died and was buried in the dustbin. The mercenaries didn't even blink, each of them just asked if they have another for themselves.

The curly youngest is back from Beeston with the rest of her class. Today they went to the Candle Workshops and even Thumper managed to catch the bus back.
The boy has returned from school with some very spicey bread that he made in food tech yesterday. In addition to the chili powder I do believe there was a hint of cheese and tomato puree present. When he tasted it however you would have thought he had served himself something scraped off his own shoe.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg shake hands on the steps of 10 Downing Street signifying the beginning of the new Con/Lib coalition government.

Only In A School

A student is sent to the lab technician by his teacher Mr X and says 'Could Mr X have a pair of tweezers?', 'No problem' replies the technician 'Why does he need them?', 'Oh, something fell down the plug hole in the sink'. Thinking about the students education the technician handed the student the tweezers and said 'Here you go, tell Mr X he doesn't have to send you back with them'. The student went back to the lesson but returned five minutes later. The technician said to the student 'I thought I told you to tell Mr X he didn't have to send you back with the tweezers'. 'I know' replied the student 'I don't have the tweezers, I told Mr X but he has now sent me to ask, If I am not to be sent with the tweezers how and when is he going to get to get them back to you?'......A true story that took place today.

The Queen has asked David Cameron to be the new Prime Minister, the first Tory PM for 13 years following the resignation of Gordon Brown. This opens up the probability of the first UK coalition Government for 70 years since WW2.

Meanwhile in the middle of Cheshire my youngest daughter is having a bedtime story on her residential after a day at the Ice Cream Factory.

One Giant Leap

When you are five a night away from home and not with family must seem like a huge issue. Not for my youngest daughter who today has gone on her first school residential with the rest of her residential class. I bet there were more sleepless nights amongst the teachers taking this pack of monkeys, than the students themselves. She has been very excited for weeks, her only concerns being what ice-cream to have at the farm and which teddy to take (obviously Thumper triumphed over that up-start Sleepy Bunny).

You Wanted The Best

I went to see the Monsters of Rock themselves - Kiss last night for the third time (14 Years since I last saw them, where did that go?). After a shaky start and an early insistence on playing some new tracks they soon got into their 6 inch platformed stride, even finding time for 'Crazy Crazy Nights'. By the time that we left at 10.55 to catch the last train they still hadn't finished. Even so a fantastic night from two guys pushing sixty putting in over two hours none stop on stage.

The Transfer of Power

So Chelsea win the Premier League meaning more northerners are cheering than southerners, and more definitely more southerners are crying than northerners as the trophy is wrenched from the grasp of the Stretford Divided. How standing in the shed end at the bridge must be so different now than when I watched them led by Kerry Dixon and Andy Townsend in the early 90s. I can vaguely remember 8 goals in a season let alone one match.

Do we actually need a government? 4 days after the election and coalition talks are still taking place between Cameron and Clegg. Nothing seems any different, the country is still and always will be in debt. True to form the British public just get on with it, the only difference being no-one is telling us what new things we can or can't do and no new taxes have been put in place. Much better than Labour already then.

A Huge Day For Sport

Yep this day will go down as the day the face of sport changed for ever.
Whilst playing for the local U15 'the boy' produced a bowling figures that would make anyone who had picked up the leather or willow to play the gentleman's game very proud. With figures of 2 overs, 1 maiden, 1 wicket for 4 runs, his dismissal of the oppositions last man, clean bowled even brought a tear to both his sisters' eyes. That might however have been the bitter northerly that was blowing.