Breathalyser

This week I did not get breathalysed on the way home!

The result was negative of course, Paul. How could you think otherwise?

Barcelona

The Ofsted inspection on Wednesday means I am not going out until that evening having seen the rest of the party set off this morning for a day long coach journey to Barcelona. The downside is that I will have to hurry to make the Olympic Stadium by kick off when England play Andorra. The school are paying for me to fly out from Bournemouth and then take a taxi to the ground which means I will see at least part of the game.

Should be lots of photos this time next week as I get back on Sunday and the start of the Easter holiday. No work either as coursework has all been handed in, marked and moderated.

Coriolanus

Somewhat embarrassingly for an English teacher, I have never been to Stratford to watch any Shakespeare before but Alison and I went up this weekend and watched a production of a play I didn't know anything about at all, Coriolanus.

http://www.rsc.org.uk/WhatsOn/3530.aspx

It was a fantastic experience with a three hour performance flying by. We had a relaxed drive up and enjoyable meal before hand and I was fully prepared to doze off during the play itself. However, despite a couple of very quick dozes, I was gripped by the play and found the time flew by.

We are planning to go up again soon to watch a performance of King Lear in May.

Honourable draw

It was a cup game for Iscape tonight and playing against a team that finished third in the top league, a heavy defeat looked to be on the cards especially when we were 2 down early on. However, a strong rearguard defence meant we clawed our way back in despite Matt's continued absence.

The goals were shared between Kev with a toe poke from close in and Dave with a tap in, good moves preceded both, and an own goal from a Matt I cross. That left us at 3 - 3 with minutes to play but with a goal start as part of the handicap system. Sadly a slight deflection saw an equalizer slam into the top of the net but a draw was a good result in the circumstances.

Hen Matt I Kev Dom Dougie Iain Dave Darren I

Goals Kev 1 Dave 1

Super Kevin Sets Up WIN

Iscape romped to their biggest victory of the season in the final game with a 7 - 1 win against bottom of the league opposition. The game started on a white flecked all weather surface following snow moments before our game started and with a make shift side in the absence of Matt C, Matt I and Dom.

Congratulations to Matt and Lucy on the birth of Phoebe on Tuesday morning.

The main issue to be resolved was that of top goal scorer and it was a race which went down to the wire.

We started well with a goal almost straight from kick off. I passed to Dave who finished well into the far corner. That pass was reciprocated moments later as Dave freed me in the area with a simple right footed finish to the near corner. The match was shortened due to lateness with the floodlights going off at 10.15 no matter what happened. Turning round, we scored a few more goals fairly easily in the second half with a shot from me saved but being turned in from an acute angle by Kev, revelling in his midfield role. It was Dave's turn to score next and to put himself in the lead with minutes to go. His tally of 10 was a more than respectable return from midfield, although the last two games saw him up front. Pete, Matt's brother guesting for the team, finished off a flowing move with aplomb and leave Dougie as the only outfield player without a goal (apart from Matt I and another guest player).

The oppoisition had scored by this stage having been allowed something like 5 shots, one after another, a threadbare defence. Poor Hen performed heroics to keep the ball out but it was forced home finally.

Moments to go meant the season was almost over but I received the ball in the area and juggled it on my right foot before cutting inside and curling a LEFT footed strike into the far corner. It was a carbon copy of Italy's goal in the World Cup Semi Final and no less important.

With our last attack Kev was brutally fouled but had the presence of mind to take a quick free kick. I was in the box with the keeper bearing down on me thanks to the excellence of Kev's pass, awareness and wonderful leadership (he asked me for a good write up). His quick thinking meant Dave couldn't quite make it over to me to hack me down and prevent a winning goal.

I eased the ball to one side and left the keeper sprawling. Left foot back, I evaded a lunging tackle from a defender and tantalisingly slid the ball goalward. Dave collapsed to the ground in tears and beat the surface with his gloved fists. He was inconsolable and cried in defeat, making my victory all the sweeter.

And to think I owe it all to Kevin the Magnificent.

I'm sorry to say that the goals are accounted for, Paul, apart from the fact that last week's game was recorded as 4 goals not 5 and we therefore have one goal extra (from Dave I'm sure).

Hen Nick Pete 1 Kev 1 Dougie Dave 2 Iain 3

The final standings for the season are: -

Played 11 Won 4 Drawn 1 Lost 6 For 32 (33 really) Against 38 Diff -6 Points13

Leaving us 7th out of 12 teams.

The goals scored reads as follows: -

PETE 1 DOM 1 MATT C 4 KEV 6 DAVE 10 IAIN 11

Dave did score three own goals as well.


In the way of celebration I got breathalysed on the way home as well. When I say on the way home I mean just as I left the pub car park. The policeman said I'd approached the exit to the pub too fast causing him to break as he travelled along the road.

Photos

A bit of a mixed bag regarding the pictures ranging from a poor photo of the recent lunar eclipse to pets and flowers. The pond photo is of our tadpoles which have burst out of the spawn and are swimming round in their hundreds. The camelia is flowering well and there is the white flower of Natasha's shrub which we got this time last year. Finally Maisie and Jellybean are sharing the sofa and posing nicely for a change.

I'm just having a break from working on the school's self evaluation form which we have to submit to OFSTED tomorrow.

Ofsted

With the work related to the school closure, trying to influence the vision of the new school, cope with staffing arrangements when attracting staff to a closing school is difficult to say the least, working on all the things connected with NPQH like school improvement work and school based assessment, it might seem things couldn't get more interesting (I want to sound positive here) but yesterday evening we had a call from OFSTED. So now we get to work on preparations for that over the next two weeks.

Thankfully it isn't a full school inspection. It is to look at education in sustainable development which sounds fantastic. I'd never even heard of it before the phone call!

Life is never dull.

Iscape win at last

It must have been my absence that did it, but Iscape won on Monday, our first victory for some weeks. It could have simply been the fact it was against the second bottom team with just one more fixture left this season against the very bottom side.

Regardless of the reason, it is a welcome change although there is some dispute over the final score. The website says 4 - 1 while the text I got says 5 - 1 with goals from Dave with three and Matt C with 2. That is crucial going into the last game in the battle for topscorer with Matt suddenly coming into the reckoning and Dave possibly catching up with me.

It hasn't been such an exciting race for many a year with my battle with Paul at Verwood coming to mind. We ended up level I remember simply because he shot every time he had the ball while I passed and set him up for a couple of simple goals in the final game. That's how I remember it anyway.

Ups and downs of football.

Argyle were a little unlucky yesterday I thought although the poor defending from the corner almost deserved to see them go out. I hate Watford. I saw them knock Plymouth out in 1983 and there was the semi final the following year as well. They have become a team I love to hate and they will deservedly be in the Championship shortly. The way they played against Ipswich and Plymouth suggests they will struggle there as well.

On a happier, more positive note, Glen's team won again making it 2 league wins for the year. They played at Bridport which meant an hour's drive which was made worthwhile by a hat trick from Eric. The game was goalless after the first half but Eric cut inside the defender early in the second period to slot home. Glen went on a mazy run and set up the second, squaring a lovely ball which was thumped home. A goal was pulled back leading a few anxious moments but the third made it comfortable and there could have been more.

Rossgarth have a genuine chance of staying up now having leapfrogged Wimborne with several games in hand.

Work

I haven't posted here for a while so as I'm stuck in inclusion for lunchtime I thought I'd catch up a little by moaning about my day.

I was in school before 7 to have a line management meeting with the Head of Humanities which went on until the start of the morning meeting we have before registration. I covered inclusion until the start of lesson 1 with a Year 10 class I am taking because their previous teacher(s) have left. We were preparing a piece of coursework on Romeo and Juliet without any resources etc as this was an unexpected development in my timetable. Less unexpected but equally new is the fact I am now teaching Maths although crowd control would be a better description. The top set Year 11 class have had no teacher for several weeks as he has been off with stress related illness. I now look after a group of almost 40 due to reorganisation while a proper Maths teacher instructs the class in the skills required to do well in the exams.

Break was spent in inclusion and followed by Year 11 English. That saw me back inclusion for the remainder of the day with lunch being an unexpected bonus as the guy who usually supervises so I can have a break had gone home.

It's Year 10 and 11 tutor meetings after school and a Governors Meeting at 7.00 which prevents me from playing football this week. I am feeling pretty fed up with the length of day and demands being made on my time. It doesn't seem right starting at 7 in the morning and still starting another meeting 12 hours later!!!

Sometimes it's good to moan but I am also trying to juggle work to do with the school closing, my headteacher qualification, achievement at GCSE and intervention at the same time. Tomorrow is full of teaching, interviewing new teahcer for English Dept and I know I have at least three meetings immediately after school which I should be in but I'm going to do some coursework with Year 11 students instead.