Working at Home

Thank you for all the questions I am getting about my trip. Bumble is fine and has now returned to school, he couldn't wait and he needs to get back to his job. I unfortunately have to finsih my work at home even if I really would ratehr be at school. I did pop in and see all the staff yesterday and that was great, they have all been so busy. I can see that Waimataitai Wai Learners have continued to be right into their learning. I am looking forward to seeing all of your wonderful work at the Art Auction.

It is hard to believe that last week I was in summer and this week I am in winter. Does anyone know how that works? It was light at 4.30am in the morning and didn't get dark till after 10pm in Scotland, I come back here and it is still dark at 7.30am and at 4.30pm it is getting dark again, I wonder why that is?

Next week I am off to some meetings and courses and will visit a school in Christchurch that has been trialling a Nurture Group this year. I want to find out how it is going for them. I can see the time to get all my writing done and all the other projects I have planned to do will go very quickly.

Bumble is Back !!

I know many of you wanted photos while we were away but that proved too difficult for Bumble. However now we are back we will be trying to work out how the best way to share these with you will be. This photo is from one of my favourite places.... Bled, in the background there is a church on an island where people go to get married. The man has to carry the woman up the stairs on his back and she must not say anything. It is a very interesting tradition. I know someone getting married I wonder if they might try it.

Bumble is having a rest in Hyde Park, London, he had been walking all around London that day and had had lunch at Convent Garden with the pigeons who are always very happy to talk to tourists having lunch.

This is a very famous fountain in Rome.

This is Bumble at the "Lizard", right at the southern end of Britain. It does not have as many tourists as "Lands End".

And one more ....... Bumble really enjoyed San Gigminiano in Tuscany, Italy. He liked the old buildings and streets and the beautiful Tuscan Hills and valleys.

Be back soon..

Hi to everyone and thanks for all the really neat comments while i have been away. I will be back in New Zealand on Sunday and maybe I might see some of you next week, but I have lots of writing to do before I come back to school officially.

I really enjoyed Scotland - I love the Scottish people they are so friendly, generous and helpful. A lot of Scotland is like New Zealand. When we visited Edinburgh you get off the train and you hear the bagpipes as some one is playing just outside the station. Every where you go you see the Scottish thistle which I really like also. I did manage to get some Scottish and Welsh rugby jerseys - some of you will know they are for.....

Today Bumble, Pauline, Sarah and I are going to Kew Gardens ( Miss Wilson and Mrs Vincent will be very jealous!). Pauline thinks that Bumble will get hayfever and maybe he should stay home but I think he will tough it out. Pauline can be so thoughtful sometimes. After Kew gardens we will have dinner in London and we are going to a show called "Sister Act". They have so many shows in London it is hard to choose. Another hot day here.

Might see you next week sometime...

What do the Scottish call Lakes?

HAve spent the last few days in a place called Pithlocry, can you find it? Back to near London now and have started thinking about the trip home and how to pack my bags. Did you know in Scotland and England you have pay to go fishing in the rivers and it is very expensive.

Bumble is off to bed already as we travelled over 560 miles today - not sure how many kilometres that is but it took us a long time. In Britain they use miles, pounds and pence. They still have 1 penny two pence, 5pence pieces too - really strange and quite annoying when you are not used to them.

Fly out on the plane from Heathrow Airport on Friday evening at 6.40 and we get to Christchurch by 11am on Sunday but we only fly for 21 hours so how does that work out I wonder????

Armadale, West Lothian

Thanks for all the comments. I can't believe the weather in Scotland, 27 degrees yesterday and looks the same today. Yesterday I visited three different schools - all very different. Uphall, Toronto and St JJoseph's in Whitburn. I saw a music therapy session and got to conduct the orchestra. We went to an assembly and presented certificates for brass exams. We saw the most amazing toilets ( yes really) at St Joesph's - beautifully painted with murals - have an idea....... about this.



I have met some amazing teachers and head teachers ( that is what principals get called here) and really neat kids. They are very interested in us.

Last night we caught the train into Edinburgh and went right past Edinburgh Castle. They are ripping up the main street in Edinburgh to put in trams, I wodnewr why? This is not the first place that has done this.

We are off to Pithlochery tomorrow for two nights and thenhead back to London until we catch the plane home. I think Bumble is ready to come home now, he has had so much fun adn learned so much but I think he misses school and everyone there. Hopefully he will back in time for the senior cross country.

Well best get going again we are off to Linlithgow to do some shopping.

I heard teh SING OFF was fantastic, am really sorry I missed it - did any one video it?

Miss you all - hope you remembered Mrs Donaldsons birthday last week too...

Hi there from Chipping Camden - can you find it?

I am really sorry it has been so long - we have just been so busy!! Bumble, Pauline and I have been all over right to the bottom of the country - no not the famous Land's end but "|The Lizard".

We stayed a night in Clovelly which is famous as it hasa steep street adn donekys are theonly things other than people to cart thigns up and down the hill. It is also the place where Charels Kingsley came from. Last night we stayed in Burford adn it has the most amazing array of houses. We are a day beign our plans as we satyed longer in Bath - it was 27 degrees.

In Bath I visited Jane Austin Centre - she is a famous author - do you know any books she wrote.
It was my birthday last week and I was given a beautiful book about an artist called Sue Dove, I saw some of her work and |I am going to try some out.

We will be heading off to Scotland at the end of the week and then we will be int he same place that the famous singer on Britains Got Talent is from - Susan Boyle. In fact I am visiting two schools there. The finals of Britains Got talent are this week - everyone here is talking about it - it seems really strange.

Hope the junior Cross coutnry went well and you all tried your best, the rest of you will be all training hard as well. I might be home in time to come and watch the senior one!

Keep working hard - Kakite

Bumble Bumble where have you been? I've been to L..........n to visit the Queen.

Bumble has had an amazing day. He,Pauline, Sarah (Pauline's daughter) and I took the train from Staines into Waterloo Station. We all had lunch in Covent Garden. The weather is better, we were worried Bumble would feel the cold but the temperature has improved as it is Spring here. We looked around the market and walked back through Trafalgar Square and past Nelson's Column. We walked back to Waterloo Station and were just in time for the changing of the Guard. We went past 10 Downing street, someone important lives there. (do you know who?)

Bumble was so excited about being in all these famous places that he forgot to get a photo but he also saw the L............ Eye, Big Ben ( which he felt rather overwhelmed by) and the wind picked up as we were crossing the large river that runs through L.............. and he was so pleased to be holding onto to my hand or it would have been a near catastrophe.

We had to "spend a penny" at Waterloo Station except it wasn't a penny it was 30, think that is inflation. ( You often have to pay or"spend a penny" in foreign countries!! New Zealand is lucky.)

Before we got to this huge city which is also the Capital of England we came from Zagreb having stayed in a Hotel famous for having guests of the Orient Express. It was very flash and Bumble really liked the luxurious corner room we had that overlooked the promenade. Before that we stayed in a place called Bled which was in a different country to Zagreb. It was in Slovenia. We really liked that as we had a beautiful lake to look at and we biked around it. We had visited the Castle at Bled and were enjoying a nice coffee in the sun when a tourist asked if they could take Bumbles photo. The tourist took 4 photos of Bumble with the lovely little island church in the background. Bumble hasn't stopped smiling since he was so pleased to see the look in Pauline's face as the tourist didn't ask her.

As you can probably see Bumble has been having the time of his life - I hope he settles down as we are visiting two schools on Thursday and Friday in a different country ( to the west of L............) and he needs to be on his best behaviour as he is representing all the Wai Learners from Waimataitai.