The Scribbler

There are the rare moments in one's life when one hears a piece of news that you know is going to be historic. The unmasking of Deep Throat is indeed such an occasion to savour. I can't count the times I've seen All The President's Men and like everyone else (except for Ben Bradlee, Bernstein and Woodward) wondered who this mysterious individual really was and now, amazingly, the mystery has been solved. It's a man called W. Mark Felt. I'm glad to report that Mr Felt, though blessed with a Jewish sounding surname is not an MOT (Member of the Tribe). He is of Irish extraction. As pivotal as his role was, we can safely sit back in our seats and thank the good Lord that we didn't help to bring down this particular President (even a crook like Nixon). However, we can kvell in the fact that we have our own little fully blown (and I use the term advisedly) Deep Throater called Monica who literally, ahem, brought a later President to his knees. So there you hav...

At the end of a sunny day, Dana decided to start a water fight. She sprinkled a bit of tap water in my direction. Then her eyes lit up and she ran out of the room. I of course thought nothing of it, until she returned with a filled water pistol! That was it - The race was on to remember where I'd hidden the other three unopened packets. With pistols at the ready, the kids got in on the act and what could have been a ginormous water fight was almost immediately curtailed as Shira did not appreciate being spritzed in the face. The sheer impulsiveness of the moment was Dana all over and it's one of the things that I love so much about her. The pistols have been seized and are ready, waiting for another day when I predict we are all seriously going to have the most amazing and floodworthy water-fight. I can't wait (and neither can the kids).

My baby is definitely growing up. I can't believe that she's aleady writing her name. It seem like yesterday when she floated to the end of the birthing pool, screaming her guts out. Granted that she still does the same thing when she's in the bath, it is hard to reconcile this with the fact that she's developing before our very eyes. Soon, I will be sitting, listening to her stumble across her first reading words and wondering where the hell the last four-and-three-quarter years have flown to. I'm so very proud of my little Michal. Doesn't she write beautifully?! Today, her first signature; tomorrow, her entrance exam to Cambridge...

I am still pinching myself at the very notion that for once - just once - the French have done something right. By rejecting a referendum to adopt the European Constitution, which would have spelled untold doom for anyone in this G-dforsaken continent, they have actually done us all a favour. I'll come clean here in stating that I am an anabashed Eurosceptic. The sad thing is that I didn't use to be. I have, however seen no real merit in the concept of a United States of Europe. Saying that, I do know that people will argue that, having a united Europe will keep us all together and stop a war. So let's think about that one then. The presence of the EU really assisted in averting the atrocities that occured in Bosnia didn't it? The absence of so called borders in Europe have done everything to stop the free movement of terrorists from one country to another haven't they? Need I go on? Additionally, the EU has been unified in one thing - it's unending hostility to...

I wrote "To My Friends (dedicated to Tzahal)" in 1989. The premise behind it, lay in my thinking about a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (which to my eternal shame, I have never been) who finds himself entrenched in a solitary outpost, in the middle of the night, alone, frightened and depressed - thinking about his fellow soldiers, whom he wishes were there with him at that very moment. It is a song of about comradeship at the most difficult of times and how friendship can sometimes be the only source of hope when nothing else appears to exist any more. This was written at the height of the Lebanon War when our young boys were being killed in their hundreds. Putting aside the politics of whether the Army should have been there in the first place, this was a song about young men who really should have been at University, enjoying life instead of wondering whether they would be live to see the next morning. I entered the song into competition and although it didn't win...

I made the classic mistake of telling the kids in my first lesson that this was my last day - at the start of the lesson. Rather, I confirmed the "rumour" that was going around the school. I won't be doing that again. People have been very sweet. I even got a chocolate cake and a card. So, I'm happy to report that I've taught my very last lesson as a PGCE student and that does feel good. Now, the expectations will be higher, so I suppose I should really savour this feeling.

I have now passed another milestone in my teacher training. This morning, I had the last of my twelve observations over the year and it went relatively well. The Deputy Head sat at the back of the room and the students were so well behaved (we're talking about my year 10 class), that it literally freaked me out. I've never seen them so quiet! I got them onto the task and they worked really well. The D.H. and I had a chat and he gave me quite a positive feedback. So there you go. My university lecturer came in yesterday afternoon for an observation and also came out happy. Both observations, I'm delighted to report, have left my studying record virtually sparkling. In fact, my lecturer told me that I was a really strong student (don't get worried here, we're not talking physically - he's not the type) which only helped to send my already criminally overbursting ego and self-confidence to dangerous, stratospheric heights. Today is my penultimate at the school. Alt...

I've just discovered a seriously cool blog called Jewlicious . Have a look, I think you'll be impressed.

T a l i a can jump, thump, play, nay, Sing, ding, Be annoying and ignoring. She can dress, be impressed, She can press, sit, admit, Cry, lie, Shout,doubt, Can go like a nut. She's brave, As tough as a wave, Strong, long, Wet like a net. But I don't care, How she's born, I love her. by Hadassah (aged seven and-a-half)

To-Do List - 16 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity: 1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down. 2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice. 3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Frieswith That. 4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In". 5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone Has GottenOver Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch To Espresso. 6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write "For Sexual Favors" 7. Finish all Your Sentences With "In Accordance With The Prophecy." 8. dont use any punctuation 9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk. 10. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go." 11. Sing Along At The Opera. 12. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme 13. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play Tropical Sounds All Day. 14. When...

There was a time, in the not so distant past that I had, what is commonly known as a social life . This memorable epoch in my life occurred before I met and married the lovely Dana and we decided to re-populate the Jewish gene pool with our offspring. Please don't misunderstand me. I love my life and wouldn't want it to be different in any way. This is how things have panned out. I just miss having that "social life" I so used to enjoy. We'd go out on a Saturday night, a whole bunch of us and enjoy the shmooze, donuts, milkshakes, movies....and conversation. The latter element was the bit I liked the most. We'd talk total nonsense, but it made sense to us at that time in our lives. Now, my friends and I have moved on, got married, been blessed with children and become the archetypal Jewish parents, which is not a bad thing. But, oh...that social life! I'll be honest here. I don't have much of one these days. Who has the time? During the week, Dana is o...

WARNING!!! IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE FILM YET AND ARE HOPING TO DO SO, PLEASE DON'T READ THIS BLOG!!! Dana says that my opinion of the film is probably coloured by the expectation I've had (like everyone else, I imagine) and that six months down the line, I might change my mind. I don't think so. So what did I like? Aside from the astounding special effects (which are taken as granted), it is the only one of the prequels that feels like the other Star Wars movies (i.e. the older ones). This could very well be down to the presence of a numerous beloved characters (like Chewbacca and yes, Vader) or maybe the knowledge that the events we are witnessing therein are indeed leading up to the start of Episode 4 (known to you and I as the original Star Wars movie). Without a doubt, I would say that it is the best in the series since Return of the Jedi. What didn't I like? I was thinking about this (sad person that I am), but I honestly believe that one element has been missi...

A while back, on my previous site, I posted a blog about Hannah Szenes. This is what I wrote: "Blessed Is The Match Hannah Szenes was a young, Jewish Hungarian girl who emigrated to Palestine in the 1930's. During the Second World War, she volunteered to parachute back into Hungary to help rescue the Jews therein. She was captured by the Nazis and along with the complicity of the Hungarians (under Horthy), she was tortured and executed. After the establishment of the State of Israel, she was re-buried on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. She was only 23 years old. I so very much wish she had lived to experience the founding of the State of Israel. She would have been so proud. A number of years ago, I read her diary. I was so moved by the content that I felt the need to set one of her poems, written in Yugoslavia, just before her capture in 1944, to music. Blessed Is the Match Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame. Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of t...

I've just given a fab lesson to one of my year eight classes. Everything worked. The kids behaved well, they got on with the work; the resource sheets I used were relevant and easy to fill in and the end result was an informative lesson where learning took place. Most of all, I was in full control and only raised my voice once. As I was being observed by another teacher at the time, you might erroneously conclude that this was a deciding factor in my raising my standard (perish the thought!!!), despite the fact that she gave me a glowing report. So why then, should a lesson of this calibre (yes, I am showing off!) happen just as I'm about to leave? I've established a good rapport with the students, I'm fully in control of the class and I've got them working. For a teacher, it doesn't get much better than this. I found the same thing in my last school. Just as I had raised my game and given a higher quality output, I ended my placement. I've spoken to other t...

Following on from yesterday's entry, I am continuing my journey into the weird and wonderful world of self-improvement. It's really difficult to try and change aspects of one's character, that seem so normal, as to be frighteningly unmanageable. That's how I feel about my temper and in particular, the fact that I shout a lot when I get annoyed. The shouting leads to an outburst and then I've lost total control. What if I stopped (or least minimised) my shouting? It's going to be a long upward challenge but as the proverb states: "Every long journey starts with the first step". Yesterday, I took that step. After ending up with a sore throat at the end of each lesson, for want of shouting, I decided to take a different strategy: talk. So I talked to the students and the result was a calm, productive environment. I don't know if this was a one off, but I'm going to try it again with other classes. More importantly, I'm going to try it at home ...

I can say, without a shadow of a doubt that the hardest challenge I've faced to date is that of being a father. There's not a day that goes by when I don't wonder, at least once, whether or not I deserve to be given that responsibility. I can't even start to count the mistakes I've made in the role; whether it's about the way I talk to my kids; spend enough time with them; don't spend enough time with them; discipline them; don't discipline them...the list is endless. My eldest and I have clashed since she was very young. Character-wise, we are pretty similar which sometimes leads to an explosive concoction of temperament and sheer bloody-mindedness . The low point was last week. After another clash, she ended up writing a "book" about how much she hated me. She subsequently felt terrible about the "publication" as did I and wanted to rip it up, but I stopped her. It was time for a téte-à-téte in which we tried to find a way to build ...

I'm sorry, I know I wrote that I would only upload my songs once a week, but I couldn't wait until Monday to share another composition with you. I wrote Show Me (How) back in 1989 and if you click the "play" button, you will hear a singer called Claudia Van Buren , blessed with a fantastic voice, who delivers a stirling performance, with yours truly providing the piano backing. Claudia and I met when we used to attend Israeli dancing classes. Being a professional singer, she asked to hear some of my songs and liked this one enough to record it. The recording machinery was primitive (i.e. my cranky cassette deck) and so the sound quality is not the best. However, her truly amazing voice more than overcomes the technical limitations of the medium. If only I could sing like that!

A Hassid is standing by a hotel bar about an hour before shabbos all dressed up in his special Shabbos clothes. A magnificent looking blonde air hostess, with legs that go on forever, and breasts that are just waiting to envelop you, has just finished checking in, and is on her way to the lifts, when she sees the Hassid. She stops dead in her tracks and walks over to him. "Hi" she says ; " hullo" he answers. "I have a confession to make to you," she says he nods. "I have a sexual fantasy". He nods. "I want to be with a Hassidic man. I want to run my hands up and down his white silk socks, run my hands over his tzitzis, play with his gartel, run my fingers through his beautiful beard, and play with his payess. in fact I want you now, and I have a room upstairs, will you join me for half an hour." He looks at her thoughtfully and says "AND WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?"

I'm delighted to report that at about 2 p.m. this afternoon, I passed my numeracy skill test. I kid you not, but I actually had tears in my eyes. If you sadistically feel the need to re-live my last attempt, please feel free to click on this! I guess Kiki was right when she said I'd get it next time. In less than a week, I've managed to not only secure a job but also pass my final skills test. All I need to do is get some more successful observations under my belt, pass my other assignments, give a mini presentation to the other students in my group (and my mentor) and bob's your uncle - I'm set. Nothing though will give me as much satisfaction as passing that damned test. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls....I got it!

I had the pleasure of spending the day at my kids' school, observing Key Stage 2 lessons in Year 3. At one point, the teacher even asked me to take over and teach the class about the origins of the expression "raining cats and dogs"! I really enjoyed getting up infront of the class and talking about something that didn't entail carry out a demonstration of the computer! I made it a point of staying out of my daughters' classes although I couldn't resist looking for them during the lunch break. All in all, a lovely and illuminating day. Dana was afraid that I might see the school in a bad light, as a result of the experience. If anything, I'm even more impressed than I was before I walked in, not as a parent...but as a teacher.

The last entry really got me thinking. As you will recall, I alluded to some songs I'd written. To be precise, I wrote over sixty compositions between 1985 and 1992. I even managed to get into the finals of two song contests although I didn't win either. No matter. I'm fortunate in that I recorded all my songs onto cassette (I can read music but never bothered to notate) and a couple of years ago, transferred these onto CD. The beauty of this means that all the compositions are downloadable to PC. You might have noticed a new feature about the third of the way down the left hand column of this page. I thought it would be a nice idea to give you the option of hearing some of my compositions. I have to warn you that I'm not a Frank Sinatra. Far from it - but I hope that you won't find my voice too grating (or upsetting!!!) Some of my compositions are just tunes, played by me on the piano, whilst others are fully fledged songs, for which I wrote both the music and lyri...

On Friday, a teacher at the school made an interesting comment to another teacher who is pregnant. He said: "Be careful which music you listen to when the baby is born, because you will never be able to listen to that music properly again. Every time you hear it, your wife will say, "switch that off!" as it reminds me too much of labour!" This got me thinking about the influence music has had on my life to date. It may, or may not surprise you to know that as a teenager, I was a pretty mediocre student. I suppose I had the head to study, if not the will to apply myself. 1I found being 16, pretty difficult (as anyone who's been there can attest) and as someone who didn't have the highest self-esteem, I really had no idea of what I was or where I wanted to be. February 24th 1985 changed that. I had spent the weekend with a youth group, B'nei Akiva, visiting Liverpool. On Sunday, February 23rd, we visited a museum about the Beatles. I'd heard their musi...

This is a nice piece on a recent blogging conference held in Tennessee. Please click the link . I guess this means that blogging is here to stay!

These are the four most exciting words I've written on my site(s) to date: I've Got The Job! I received a phone call from the Headmaster this morning to tell me the news. Needless to say, my response to his comments was: "Fantastic!" The other good news is that the school is happy to start my contract on 30th June, which means that: a) I qualify to have the Government pay back my student loan - the cut-off date is 30 June and b) I get paid over the summer. He said that they had been "very impressed with my performance last Friday", which sent my ego into the stratosphere. Just as a measure of how ecstatic I am, I had a Year 10 class straight afterwards and they were horrible and yet, I'm still having difficulty extracating myself from the ceiling! This is a truly joyful blog. On Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, I have landed myself a new job, a chance to pay back my student loan and the fact that everyone around me (who cares) is deli...

This week sees three of my classes going off on study leave, so I'm going to be spending the last weeks at the school working on other projects (like putting up displays). I am beginning to feel the end is in sight (who are we kidding, it IS!) and just as in the other school, I have found a new confidence in my teaching abilities - right when I'm about to leave. I have established good relationships with most of my classes, am getting some work out of them (and that is a feat) and feel quite comfortable as a teacher in the school. Time to move on, I guess.

I wrote an impassioned blog as to how much of a proud Zionist I am...and it got lost in the process of publishing! I guess it was not meant to be. Happy Birthday Israel. My heart, my soul and my mind are entwined with your very existence. You're the best. G-d bless you in every thing you do and to hell with anyone who attacks you. You're much better than they will ever be. I'm a Zionist. Need more be said?

Today is Yom Hazikaron, Memorial Day for Israel's fallen soldiers and security personnel and 21,194 is the number of our boys and girls who have fallen defending the State of Israel since 1948. It is such a cold, unfeeling way of remembering them, because each one was a world in him/herself and we Jews don't like referring to one another as numbers. That was for the Nazis. So let's add some warmth to these terrible figures. Twenty one thousand, one hundred and ninety four human beings have given up their futures, aspirations and dreams in defense of the land of Israel. These souls are no longer here to see the fruits of their labour, but their memory lives on - Not through these numbers, but within the very fibre of people they touched and enriched. We, the living, have a duty to remember them and their sacrifice in the most appropriate manner and that is by living as Jews both in Israel and the Diaspora. May their parents, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, relative...

We received the lovely photo of the girls (please scroll down to have a look) yesterday. A few minutes later, with the aid of a scanner, I had it displayed as my desktop wallpaper, entered onto this site, as well as being wallpaper on my cellphone screen. We take technology these days for granted, but I have to admit that I was pretty gobsmacked at the idea of being able to use the photo in so many different ways - in so short a time. If you had told someone ten years ago, that you would soon be able to share your pictures with anyone in the world at the click of a mouse button, they would not have believed you. Who could envisage that we would not only walk around with telephones wherever we went, but also use them to take photographs?! Sometimes, it's interesting to take a step back and look at the technology available to so many of us. We take so much for granted these days and it is so easy to become blasé, that I sometimes wonder whether we really deserve such luxuries. I'...

The next four words are bound to strike fear into the hearts of every Kosher Baker: Kingsmill bread is delicious! Last Friday's Jewish Chronicle reported that the Sephardi Kashrut Authority has been carrying out some research into the manfucturing of bread in one of the country's biggest bakeries. It has found the whole process to be 100% kosher (well, let's say 99% because nothing in Judaism, except for the belief in one G-d, is 100%) and as a result, we are now allowed to eat the same bread that is consumed by virtually everyone else in the country (apart from the X amount of people who are gluten intolerant, but let's not spoil the mood, hey?). This will no doubt be nightmare country for the Kosher bakers who rely on people like myself to fill their tills and pay for their mortgages. However, proud that I am, of being an Orthodox Jew, I have no qualms whatsoever about buying the other bread, now that's it is both kosher (I'm not even going to expand on how yu...

Why Computers Sometimes Crash! by Dr. Seuss. If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port, and the bus is interrupted at a very last resort, and the access of the memory makes your floppy disk abort, then the socket packet pocket has an error to report. If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash, and the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash, and your data is corrupted cause the index doesn't hash, then your situation's hopeless and your system's gonna crash! If the label on the cable on the table at your house, says the network is connected to the button on your mouse, but your packets want to tunnel to another protocol, that's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall. And your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss, so your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse; then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang, 'cuz sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang. When the copy on your floppy's getting ...

Some of you might have noticed that I've said nary a word about the UK General Election. When you think back to the US Presidential Election last year, do you remember my entries? I talked so much about it that I even ended up irritating myself! Yet, here we are in the UK and the General Election has passed me by. Did I vote? Damn right I did because I intrisically believe in the importance of democracy and exercising your chance to vote. We are luckier than many others in far away (and not so distant) places, who don't have that opportunity to do something . The truth is that there was never any real chance that Blair would lose, so why carp on about an election that was so very boring? I wish I could provide you with some deep-seated meaning for my lack of interest and belief that these blogs could do without some useless politicking. Unfortunately, sheer boredom and knowledge that the inevitable would happen (and it did) drew a blank in the blogesphere of my mind (the place ...

A sea of people. Walking up the Mall, on the way to Buckingham Palace, I turned around to look at the mass of men, women and children following me. The air was filled with electricity and I tried to envisage what it must have felt like, all those years ago, making your way to the Palace to see the King and Queen on the balcony and sharing the occasion that was May 8th 1945. May 8th 1995 was no doubt different, but it was memorable just the same. I didn't manage to see the Queen as she was too far away, but I heard Cliff Richard live (please don't feel too envious) and I found myself, amongst the throngs, standing behind a Hassid. I guess we guys get everywhere. The RAF fly-by was incredible, except that my agrophobia got a little in the way. That said, it was a momentous occasion and at the time, we never cared to think that ten years on, the anniversary wouldn't merit the same sort of celebration. I have a bit of problem with commemorations. Does the fact that the War fini...

Well, it might be me and then again, it might not. There were four of us there today including one guy who is already working at the school (so he probably got the job). We all gave lessons and had the same interview. The headmaster was due to inform us at the end of the day as to who got the post, but instead told the four of us, seated around the large table in his room that... He was 80% certain about the successful candidate, but was still waiting on a least one reference from each and everyone of us. Upon leaving the school (and rather intelligently forgetting my coat, but let's not talk about that now), I contacted my uni and asked for my lovely lecturer to get the reference over ASAP. So here I am on Friday afternoon and no wiser as to whether I got the job. Great isn't it? Cliffhangers like this, I really do not need.

Today is the 26th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan. Today is also the momentous date of our acquiring our new Nissan Serena. So you could say we got a Nissan in Nissan. The car drives like a dream. Truly a Nissan to remember!

I've got my interview at the school tomorrow. I've been told I have to give a 35 minute lesson titled "How to use a questionnaire to collect data". Thrilling huh? I've put together a lesson plan and am mugging up on the Government's education policies (just in case I'm asked). I honestly don't know how it will pan out, but whatever happens, it will be a positive experience. I will find out how I fared by the end of the day, so at least, no long waiting. If I get in, great. If not, it's eyes peeled on the job ads...

I've just spent a very pleasant evening at a good friend's fortieth birthday party. Most of the people present were single and boy, did it feel great not to be one of them. I don't want to sound smug here, but it really makes you thank G-d that you are married and in my case, to such a special person. For the first time in a while, I didn't take being married for granted. I felt privileged, blessed and so very grateful that I had made the leap. I've got a wife and four kids to show for it and that really separates me from those poor souls who haven't yet moved to "our level". If you are single and reading this, fret not. Your partner is somewhere out there and he/she will find you. However, If you're married, you will know exactly what I'm crooning about. Doesn't it feel great to have moved from the single life?

Don't get me wrong. I really do enjoy what I do but I could have done without having to return to school this morning. My hay-fever has abated somewhat, but I feel totally drained and not particularly in the mood to teach. HOWEVER, I should remember that I'm only here for another four weeks and then it's total pandemonium, as I get everything ready for handing in, to the university. I have decided to work continuously over the next seven weeks or so, to ensure that I don't get the whole panic thing in the last five days. School hasn't started yet, so I'm enjoying a few precious minutes of calm! Come Friday and I've got an interview, so I have to ensure that I'm in tip-top shape and able to demonstrate the best teaching that I can muster. Who knows, by this time next week, I might be looking forward to starting a new teaching job in September. Whatever happens, I must remain positive and with that attitude, I can look forward to this new term in the right...

It seemed like such a good idea at the time. The weather was glorious and, being a Bank Holiday, we had to do something . "Let's go to the park", I suggested. Great idea huh? BONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!! uh uh. The kids loved rolling down the gently undulating hills and yours truly, settled comfortably on the soft, luscious grass looked at the sun, the kids, the other people enjoying the weather and promptly started to sneeze and sneeze....and.... That was about seven hours ago and my hay-fever has no inclination whatsoever of leaving me for the foreseeable future. Which moment of madness convinced me that the best place to visit was a wide open space and sit on grass - which I might add I am severely allergic to, at this precise time of year? Which mad thought was it? So there you have it. The kids had a wonderful time whilst, the highlight of the afternoon for me, was finding some toilet paper which could to double up as tissues. Yes, it was that pathetic. The...

Passover is the Festival of Freedom and today, I know exactly what that means. Today, I feel total freedom to eat whatever I want (kosher of course), do things I need to do (after two days yomtov)....