The Scribbler

...I don't want to be an astronaut! Here's the situation. You've got a crew of people up there in space with a damaged shuttle. The last time something like this happened, their predecessors' machine literally disintegrated. I tell you, I really wouldn't like to be amongst those poor souls right now. In saying that, they are aware of the problem (as opposed to the previous team) and so there's a chance that they can do something to avoid disaster. Can you begin to imagine their feelings as they attempt re-entry? What will be going through their minds? The expression "There but for the grace of G-d go I" comes to mind and I pray that G-d protects them when they come back down, because they're going to seriously need His help in a few days time. I look forward to having them rejoin us whilst at the same time gasp in disbelief as to why NASA sent these people up without sorting the problem out. Heads are going to roll and well they should.

People, we bloggers are here to stay! Have a look at this link if you don't believe me.

The girls have resumed their summer swimming lessons and they are all blooming in the water. Last year, you may recall that Dassi swam a mile! She got another badge today for her backstroke. She has so many badges that one glass frame has now been filled! I can't tell you how impressed I am with her swimming ability. I wish I could swim that proficiently. Tali is also progressing nicely and really enjoying her time in the water, as is Michal. Today, Shira and I watched all three from the back window of the pool and we had so much fun zipping from one girl to the next, waving at them and seeing if they would wave back (they did). Give it another year or so and we'll have a fourth water baby trying to earn her wings. Looking at Shira's expression today, I could see that she could hardly wait to get into the water and catch her sisters up. My daughters- the water babies!

We are fast approaching August and this can only mean one thing in CW's calendar (Denton's sitting out for this one. He thinks movies are for pansies) - the publication of the latest Movie and Video Guide ( honestly, with the amount of plugs I give to Leonard Maltin and his book, you'd think I'd be getting a commission by now ) and of course I've got my pre-ordered copy - All I can say is G-d bless Amazon. So the annual battle begins. CW picks up the book, reads the preface with growing anticipation and tries to guess how Len (we're on first name terms don't you know) will rate the movie and whether there will be agreement. More often than not, we do agree. Unlike Mr Maltin, I do not give lectures at the University of Southern California, but dammit, I pay my £3.50 for a movie ticket, so I'm entitled to an opinion aren't I? So what have we agreed on this year? Well, virtually nothing! He rates movies out of four stars, whereas I prefer the five star...

Tali's found her Tamagotchi. Drat!

I took the kids to see Madagascar this afternnon. I really liked the way Manhatten was animated, particularly the bit in Grand Central, which was nothing short of stunning - I honestly felt that I was standing there on the concourse and surely that is the greatest compliment one can give to a cartoon. As for the rest of the movie, hmmm! I laughed twice but can't remember the lines (which probably went way above the kids' heads) and actually felt myself dozing off towards the end, during what was supposed to be the most exciting part, so that's not good. Summing up,the kids had a good time and that's the most important thing. The fact that I was disappointed with the movie shouldn't put you off taking your kids or nephews/nieces to see it. My Rating 2 (Out of 5)

I'll come clean. I'm a sucker for old Hollywood movies. In fact, about 80% of our burgeoning DVD collection is comprised of old movies. Why do I like them so much more than the modern stuff? Easy! It's because they have something called "quality" ingrained within virtually every frame. In old Hollywood, they cared about the script, the character development and the finished result. Am I being unfair to the modern stuff? I don't think so. This doesn't mean that there aren't gems scattered amongst the new crop, but I'm finding it increasingly harder to find quality movies amongst the dross (much of which is mostly entertaining though eminently forgettable) pumped out from the relic that is Hollywood 2005. I find that the older movies have another ingredient that is lacking from about 99% of the movies you see today - charm. Old movies are filled with it. Think of The African Queen , Charade , The Quiet Man and Singin' In The Rain ....all these m...

Tali's lost her Tamagotchi. One down, two to go....

Today, my university was running an afternoon seminar to introduce new candidates to the PGCE. I was asked to give a little talk about my experiences, so that they could find out what the course was like from the horse's mouth , so to speak. I agreed to go along and help, keeping in mind that I would also use the opportunity to bring my folders back. As I drove there and back, I listened to my latest acquisition, the Beatles 1967-1970 (The Blue Album) , which I found at an amazingly cheap price, considering that it usually retails at over £30. I haven't heard the album in years (and never on CD) and so it was a real treat to hear the crystal clear sounds booming in my ears, as I faced the depressing London traffic. The thought struck me that as gifted as the boys were, I don't think they would have been as successful had they not been blessed with a producer such as Sir George Martin. Had, say Phil Spector or Jeff Lynne done the job instead, would the Beatles still be The...

The older girls went to Hamley's yesterday. It is one of the biggest toy shops in the world and all three came back with Tamagotchies . They have been talking about nothing else since. I have bloody Tamagotchies coming out of my ears. I admit that I originally bought one of the "first batch" back in the late 90's when they were all the craze. Then, you couldn't turn them off and since this one was decidedly unJewish, it didn't make it through the first Shabbat (as I couldn't feed it until after Shabbat was over), so I sensibly gave it away to Dana's maid of honour (who funnily enough teaches in the girls' school) Wouldn't you know it, but Tamagotchies have become more resilient these days (a bit like a hospital superbug that won't be knocked off by pansy antibiotics) and thus allow you to "pause" them for as long as you like. Irritatingly enough, you can also connect them via infra-red, share presents, play games and...wait for i...

After digging to a depth of 100 meters last year, Russian scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 1000 years, and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand years ago. So, not to be outdone,in the weeks that followed, American scientists dug 200 meters and headlines in the US papers read: "US scientists have found traces of 2000 year old optical fibers, and have concluded that their ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital telephone 1000 years earlier than the Russians." One week later, the Israeli newspapers reported the following: "After digging as deep as 5000 meters, Israeli scientists have found absolutely nothing. They have concluded that 5000 years ago, their ancestors were already using wireless technology.

Long John Baldry who had a hit with Let The Heartaches Begin has died. I mention this because it was at number one in the charts on the day I was born. Nice to know that I outlived him.

In an effort to overcome the continuing criticism that he is unsupportive and in fact dismissive of Israel, one of America's closest allies, President Bush today announced that he is converting to Judaism in the hope that this will demonstrate his affinity and empathy with the Israeli people. Authorities have, however, been unable to handle the millions of applicants who volunteered to be the mohel (circumciser).

I came across this superb article which best describes why why we despise our obnoxious mayor. I wish I could write this clearly but the guy's a journalist, so I suppose he's had more practice. The Jerusalem Post, 24 July 2005 Red Ken drags London into the gutter By ROBIN SHEPHERD "We are all in the gutter," said Oscar Wilde, "but some of us are looking at the stars." Then again, some of us are looking straight down into the sewer. Those at least were the sentiments I was moved to express listening to London Mayor Ken Livingstone's recent interview on the BBC about the London bombings. In it he put the blame for those bombings squarely on Israel and the West, whose exploitative and violent policies, he said, had encouraged the killers to act. Unfortunately, as evidenced by the hugely supportive reaction Livingstone has elicited from the British Left, this latest list of blood libels against Israel, distortions about the West and willful ignorance concern...

The horrendous and tragic killing of an innocent Brazililan by the British Police, on a tube train, has understandably sent shock waves throughout the world. He approached the underground station, dressed in a heavy winter coat on a warm summer's day and for reasons only known to himself, did not respond to the Police when asked to stop. To make matters worse, he ran away and jumped over the barriers with the police giving chase. We know what happened next. It's no secret that the Police are very jittery these days and without condoning their actions, I can fully understand why they did what they did. If I had been a policeman, I would have reacted in exactly the same manner. I see this poor Brazilian as yet another murdered innocent and duly blame the terrorists (if only indirectly) for his death. In his death, the poor man has unwittingly further demonstrated that whether or not we were on those trains or buses when the attacks took place (last week and on 7/7), we are all n...

Today is the fast of the seventeenth day of the Jewish month of Tammuz and it ushers in the period, in the Jewish calendar known as the The Three Weeks. These twenty one days are a very sad time for our nation as we remember all the calamities that have befallen us over the millenia. As we go through the period, the laws of mourning become stricter, so that, from the 1st of the Month of Av, we enter The Nine Days where we are prohibited from doing any that one could consider as "entertainment" or pleasurable such as drinking wine or eating meat or even going swimming.The culmination of the entire period takes place on the ninth of Av , which is the saddest day in our calendar and spookily, the day on which, not only both temples were destroyed but many other terrible atrocities also occurred. The tradition is that, during this period, G-d does not look favourably on us or anything we do, so we don't want to undertake projects or activities that could be considered to be ...

I received this letter in the post today. "Dear CW, Congratulations . I am pleased to inform you that following the meeting of the Assessment Board (Secondary PGCE), you have been awarded: Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Secondary) - Pass As you have also passed all three QTS Skills tests we will be recommending you to the General Teaching Council for the award of Qualified Teacher Status. I wish you a long and successful career in teaching and look forward to seeing you at the Awards Ceremony on..... Yours sincerely, X Director of Secondary ITT" Ladies and Gentlemen, I've done it. I have successfully passed my course and am officially known as an NQT (Newly Qualified Teacher). This means that I am effectively half way through to becoming a full qualified teacher. I need to complete my NQT year and if all goes well, by this time next year, I will no longer be a student teacher. The difference is that I am now going to be teaching 90% of the time (on a weekly timeta...

I have a really positive blog that I want to get out to you, but I have to post this one first - and I don't want to mix the two totally diverse emotions. This post is about the inscrutable pain I feel in my heart when I think about the people who have been killed in bombings, particularly those who escaped other attacks, only to succumb to their inevitable fate. In Israel, I read of numerous people who survived one bus bombing, only to be killed in another. How can one understand this? Why? Why did they die a month, two months, a year later in the same manner? What could they have done that granted them that extra time - only to be eventually killed? What could they have done? Anat Rosenberg was an Israeli lady who left Israel four year ago because she was afraid of being killed in a bus bombing. She was one of the victims of the London bombs on 7/7 Why? What had this poor woman done to die in London, escaping numerous similar attacks in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa etc? What the he...

Let me introduce myself. My name is CW and I belong to a proud nation called the Jews. We've survived near annihilation by the Babylonians, Greeks and Romans, who all tried to finish us off. They disappeared, yet we're still here. We lived through the Inquisition and the Nazis and neither destroyed us. They were consumed by their own fire. Guess what? Our collective memory is phoenomenal. We don't forget. Ever. This is a message to all of you who try to attack us - Bin Laden, Hamas and all you fat arsed muslim terrorists out there - don't screw with us, because we WILL beat you. We have G-d on our side and you don't. Take note Mr Mayor of London, take note. Enemies of the Jews, here's our message to you: We've been around for over five thousand years and we're not going anywhere. You won't beat us - but we will outlive every one of you and your descendants. We will be around when your skeletons have turned to dust. Get the message?

I can't remember if I mentioned this, but my dad is a U.S. Citizen. As a result, although I grew up in the UK, I personally identify myself as being American, even though I have not received State approval. Those of you who have been reading my blogs for a while may recall that my grandmother passed away last September, less than a month after her 100th birthday. She lived on 93rd and West End Avenue, on New York's Upper West Side. I visited her number of times and was last there in January 2002 - I was unfortunately unable to make it to her levaya (funeral). I have always felt at home in New York. I love the city - the buzz, the pace, generally the atmosphere. When I went there with my parentsa while back, my father took me to the places that he had grown up in. I finally saw the area that moulded and developed him and it made me understand my father all the more as a result. It was a very special trip. I'm delighted to report that my parents will be going to the US in la...

Problem Resolution In The Workplace

Another Thursday and another attack on the transportation system in London - thankfully though, this was on a much smaller scale and no-one has been hurt. This afternoon, I board the bus taking me home from school. It is the same type of vehicle that has been attacked on both occasions. I go upstairs and sit a row from the front, next the window. Two stops down, a man walks up the stairs lugging a holdall. He has darkish complexion - he could be middle-eastern? I can't tell. He sits next to me. I look at him and I look at the bag. What if it is holding a bomb? I wouldn't stand a chance would I? I try to reason in my mind that he's probably harmless but I find myself jumping to extraordinary conclusions. What if? I take the decision to go downstairs and find myself a seat next to a largish lady. The innocent man gets off about two stations later. I feel bad for having suspected him in the first place. Further on, a mother gets on with her two young children. They are holding...

I'd like to introduce you to my alter-ego, Denton Farmer. Denton's a hard boiled private eye in the mould of Philip Marlowe. He has nothing to do with teaching, but I've always harboured a desire to write novels utilising him as the chief protagonist. He's someone I created a while back and am still hoping to write about one day. Let me describe Denton to you. He's about 45, 5' 11, clean shaven and square jawed, with warm brown eyes. He's married to his job and world-weary. He inhabits a Dashell Hammett/Raymond Chandler existence, where nothing is quite as it seems. He has seen too much in his relatively short life-time, but every time he's about to quit the racket, he gets suckered into another case - usually when a gorgeous broad turns up in his ramshackle office. Essentially, Denton's a good hearted guy who falls for sob-stories and that's why he gets himself involved way above his head. And I mean way above his head. I will forthwith sign of...

After eleven months, I am absolutely thrilled to report that I have received my first paycheck! Ladies and Gentlemen, CW is now a paid teacher. I balked at how much has been taken off (see, I knew the feeling wouldn't last long)in tax and stuff but no matter, I have the payslip in my possession and a rather scary smile on my face. It's official, my student days are over and I am once again a part of the workforce. I probably won't feel this good again (unless the amounts increase considerably) so I will enjoy the feeling of knowing that next month, I will be getting paid for doing absolutely nothing. Isn't it great being a teacher around this time of year? (smug expression glued to face).

This was sent to me: "AP and Reuters reported that the French Government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "run" to "hide." The only two higher levels in France are "surrender" and "collaborate." The raise was precipitated by the recent fire which destroyed one of France's white flag factories virtually disabling their military. Additional reports indicate that the French now have numerous small arms for sale, the quality of these firearms is near perfect, having never been fired and only dropped once." hee hee hee.

This posting is dedicated to my old friend Kiki, who's going through a tough time right now. She's the one who got me into this blogging thing and I owe her a debt of gratitude, so please go over to her site and leave a message of support. She needs some real cheering up, so c'mon people let's get to it. Operation Kiki is now underway - go and get her spirits sky-high! Kiki, we all love ya, hope you feel brighter really really really soon.

A friend of mine spotted a picture of a girl in a photographic magazine he subscribes to. He says she looks like Michal. We've been debating it and haven't come to a unified decision. What do you think? Which one is the real Michal?

I was prepared for the worst. Today, I was put down to teach three out of four lessons - in fact, virtually the same lesson to all the three Year 7 classes. Imagine the situation. This is the last week of term and the kids are in no mood to learn. They want to mess around, surf the net, play games. Am I mad, trying to teach them Excel spreadsheets? I made a deal with them. "You do the work and once you've finished and I'm satisfied that you've done your best, I will let you go onto the internet." The kids in all three classes bought into it and as a result, four days before the end of the school year, I had kids producing work, some of it quite good. I would like to say that today was without faults, but, let's not forget that I'm a teacher and perfect work-days don't ever happen (or maybe they do and I haven't experienced them). I was talking to one class, standing at the front of the room, using the interactive whiteboard when an M&M was flun...

I'm happy to report that the miserable shit who was prime minister of this country in the early 1970's has finally snuffed it. Yes folks, Ted Heath is finally dead. I hate the man. During the 1973 Yom Kippur war, when Israel was close to annihilation and fighting for their very survival, Golda Meir begged the UK to give the country some arms to defend themselves. That anti-semitic sonofabitch refused because he was "afraid of what the Arabs might do". He didn't give a damn about the survival of Israel and my people and frankly, I don't give a damn about him. With G-d's help, we managed to win without him and as a bonus, he got his come-uppance soon after when the Oil Crisis shut this country down. Within a year, he was also kicked out of No 10 by a victorious Harold Wilson - a true friend of the Jews. He subsequently used every opportunity at his disposal to criticize Israel but was totally discredited by Margaret Thatcher who showed him up to be the pomp...

Like many people, I too went through a musical journey as I was growing up. My songs took in various influences, from show tunes (such as Rogers and Hammerstein) through to the early Beatles. On the way, I hitched my horse to the Dylan Saloon. I haven't really left there since. The Mistake was my attempt to write a Dylanesque song - unfortunately without the subtlety of the Master, but using the folk style (i.e. rhythmic meter) that he started his career with - the difference being that he became the legend he is, whilst I pursued other interests! This is my very humble tribute to him. The Mistake In the streets of a city, A man walks each day, With a bag in his hand And a scowl on his face. And he walks to the subway And pays the tube fair, One hand in his pocket, The other in his hair. And he gets on the train With a ticket in his hand, Looking at the people Trying not to stand. When he gets to his stop, He waits for the doors, That open to his life And close for his cause. And ...

Who? As you might know, I'm quite a film buff and this is something that I've inherited from my dad. From a very early age, I showed a worrying interest in most things cinema, to the extent that I have (or had) quite a collection of books on the movies - actors/actresses, the studios, movies themselves etc. I thought a while back about whom I would consider to be my all-time favourite director. I can't really give a rational reason for this waste-of-time exercise, but as you know, we movie buffs need to spend considerable hours understanding why we like to be "movie buffs"...sort of gives a rasion-d'etre to this anorakish hobby. I thought of the greats - Hitchcock (he'd be second on my list), Spielberg, Howard Hawks, William Wyler, Woody Allen, Orson Welles (ok,The Third Man is genius, even though it was directed by Carol Reed), Robert Altman (I liked The Player) and then, Robert Aldrich. Aldrich won. You probably don't know who he is, but if I mention...

Shira will be two at the end of August (quite literally as her birthday's on the 31st). At present, she has a very limited vocabulary, however the words she does know, she utters with such conviction that you really cling onto each syllable as though it were a precious gem. A case in point was the conversation we had this morning. Me: "Shira, I LOVE you" (with emphasis on the word love ) Shira: "Really?" (said with a great deal of conviction and followed by a cheeky smile) . Think of the Barclaycard advert, with the final "Priceless" comment and that's how I would describe her reaction and reply. It was truly priceless.

My girls received their school reports this afternoon. Dana told me to read Dassi's with my sunglasses on. She wasn't kidding - it was glowing. Tali's and Michal's were nearly as strong. Jeez, I never got reports like that. Well done girls, you've made your old man very very very proud.

Yeah yeah, I know that I shouldn't complain...but I am. I've spent most of the week avoiding teaching as I can't take being stuck in a sauna-like classroom with 30 or so other sticky bodies and over-heated computers. The school, like many others, doesn't have any sort of air-conditioning and the heat in the rooms I am (meant to be) in, is virtually unbearable. So I've been slacking, I'm afraid. My tutor has noticed and gingerly asked me if I would be doing any teaching next week. Since I'm dead bored most of the time, I really don't have an excuse. All I can hope for, is that the weather gets a little cooler (not bloody likely in the middle of July), as least until next Friday. After then, let it boil (well, maybe not exactly boil ) because I will be immediately jumping into a cold shower!

I have just received an email from my university lecturer, telling me that I have scored a "1" (i.e. the highest mark) in my last assignment and that I have achieved an assignment average of 1.5 - he wrote that my result was "the highest in our class and I am almost certain, the highest across all subjects". Wow! I've never been top of the class before, let alone (possibly) top of the year and I do feel extraordinarily honoured. As those of you who have followed my entries throughout the year will know, it has not been an easy period - but it's great to see that the efforts I made to get the work done, have brought on such rewarding results (quite literally!) I can't quite believe it!!!

I don't quite know what I expected from this movie. I am a big fan of Spielberg and have, like most people, seen the majority of his films (although I missed out on The Terminal ). Where do I start? In short, War of the Worlds is, I suppose by it's nature, a dark movie. There are no light moments or rather, these are so overshadowed by the seriousness of the material that you don't really remember them. I have to say that nothing quite matched the thrill of the first set piece, where the aliens invade. It is truly jaw-dropping, in the same vein (if not as horrific) as the beach invasion at the start of Saving Private Ryan . Tom Cruise demonstrates that age is definitely an advantage when it comes to the quality of his acting. He really is convincing in the title role of Spielberg's typical "Average Joe" character - think Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and you'll know what I'm talking about. Funnily enough, this movie was quite r...

A few days ago, the British Police disclosed the identity of the first victim of last Thursday's terror attack. She was Mrs Susan Levy whose smiling picture could be seen throughout the media for the next few days. Mrs Levy, as you will surmise from her surname was Jewish and a few "what ifs" have come to my mind. What if Mrs Cohen had not been on that tragic underground train and instead (at the exactly the same time as the bomb exploded) found herself, like many other British Jews, checking in at the EL-AL desk in Heathrow, looking forward to boarding her flight to Israel for a two week holiday? What if Mrs Cohen had arrived in Israel a few hours later (and it would have been much later, considering that Heathrow Airport was in turmoil immediately after the incidents) and made her way to one of the hotels in Netanya, so popularly frequented by the British crowds? What if Mrs Cohen had decided to do a little shopping yesterday afternoon in the local mall....and ended up ...

For those of you who use RSS readers, I have now made this site more accessible to you. To get the code for your reader, please click on at the bottom of the left hand column.

A major milestone in Talia's life took place last night - she lost her first tooth. This is not bad going, considering that she's six years and nearly five months old. Rest assured, the tooth fairy was on hand to dish out the dough. Mazel Tov Tali!

This morning we found Shira (nearly two) in her cot, with a tissue stuffed right up one of her nostrils. Michal (aged four) immediately pointed the finger of blame at Dassi (nearly eight) who proclaimed her innocence with a dramatic "I was framed by Michal!" pronouncement. Meanwhile, the purpetrayer of this evil deed remains at large, although I suspect that the guilty party may be none other than Shira herself, who was mischievously trying to get her hapless sisters into serious trouble...

I thought that it would be appropriate to upload this particular song in light of what happened only three days ago on the streets of London. I wrote it back in 1988 and it's still a philosophy that I strongly hold by. You need to have hope in life, otherwise you might as well curl up and wither away. Hope When you look at the world And see your love, You think of a spell That's been cast from up above. You cry to the clouds, You cry to the sky, But the distance you can't travel Makes a tear leave the eyes. Finding out the truth Is harder to achieve, When the dream you wish for Is one you must believe. You cry to the sky, You cry to the sky, But the distance you can't travcl Brings the tears to our eyes. Chorus Pray with all your heart Your dreams will come true in time, For all the hope you need Is just by your side. When you look at the world And cross that stream, You break that spell, You find your dream. You smile at the clouds, You wink at the sky, For the distanc...

All the teachers were asked to go to the staff room at lunch time for a meeting. It turned out that as there were only three buses still running, there would be a serious problem in the kids being able to travel home (since the majority were travelling on bus routes that had been cancelled). We were also told that, understandably, we had to stay in school until the kids got out safely. The deputy head even offered to put up teachers who could not get home in her own house. We were asked to get the kids into their form rooms and use mobiles or landlines to contact their parents about picking them up. The teachers needed to speak to the parents first, to find out how they wanted their kids to get home. It goes without saying that some parents could not be contacted and there were a lot of scared, hyperactive kids walking around school. A long line of parents queued outside the school waiting for their children to come out. I had to write notes for the front office, to confirm that I had ...

When I heard that buses and trains had been attacked, my immediate reaction was "terrorist attack = AL Queda." I got some strange looks around the staff room. I also think it was deliberately timed to coincide with the start of the G8 Summit to send a message to the leaders that Al Queda is more important than anything else going on in the world and to focus the world on "The Base". I received an email from Tel Aviv to check if we're ok. Talk about situations changing around. Usually, the traffic goes the other way. The only thing I can say to the people around me is "welcome to MY world". This is only the beginning. London has now become the latest terrorist target. Will the stupid, naive British public finally realise who the hell they are dealing with? Yes folks, we had to go into Iraq and Afganistan and kill the terrorists. You cannot negotiate with these savages. Yes folks, Israel has to finish off the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist cells beca...

EXPLOSIONS HAVE RIPPED APART TWO BUSES IN CENTRAL LONDON AND THERE HAVE BEEN EXPLOSIONS ON THE UNDERGROUND TRAINS. THERE ARE MULTIPLE CASUALTIES. I know the train route well as I travelled it on my journey to uni. The bomb went off during the rush hour and I could have well been on one of those trains had this happened a month ago. I'm speechless.

I can barely conceal my overwhelming enthusiasm for the IOC's decision to award the city I live in, management of the 2012 Olympic Games. I'm not going to harp on about why I'm so against the decision, suffice to point you to the blog I posted back in June. So now I have to spend the next seven years listening to endless debates and counter-debates as to how prepared/unprepared this city is and whether anything at all will change. It makes you almost wish you were listening to some gossip about the Royal Family instead (I said almost ). One positive outcome is that we beat the French (once again) and if I think about it from that angle, I can come to the conclusion that hosting the games not be such a bad thing after all. Guess what....I'm already beginning to feel better!

From the outset, I could have never guessed that the day would pan out the way it did. I wanted to wear shorts and a T-Shirt. After all, it was the school sports day, why should I go in formal work-dress? Dana convinced me to change my mind and the only compromise was the wearing of trainers. She was right, but for the wrong reasons. I found myself freezing my nuts off in the sports stadium, being made responsible for maintaining order at the the sandpit, the one that was to be used for the triple jump. I say freezing because the weather was atrocious. It started off sunny and quickly spiralled into a cold, grey morning, with a cool wind to boot. I spent two-and-a-half hours there watching kids "practice" their jumps. I can't even being to describe how thrilling the experience was. I don't know who skipped school more, the teachers or students. Strangely enough, there were a phenomenal number of teachers who called in sick. They seemed fine yesterday.... Mid morning, ...

At 6.33 p.m, this evening, I created a little bit of personal history. I purchased my first music download. Yes, folks, I paid a whole 99 pence (just over a $) to have a copy of.... Can you guess? Which artist would be the first to get me to part with my money (forget the amount, it's the principal we're talking about here)? Quiz over. I downloaded Paul McCartney (who else?) and U2's blistering live version of Sgt. Pepper that opened Live8, but two days ago. It was worth the gargantuan amount. Since then, I have burned it to CD, copied it onto my phone and generally wrung as much value as I could out of my investment. Go on, say it. I know that I'm pathetic but yet, strangely proud to confess that my first ever paid-for download (yup, I'm labouring the point) consisted of a Beatles classic no less. I'm already saving up another amount to purchase the last bit, with the Beatles songs (Drive My Car, Hey Jude, Long and Winding Road) if Sir Bob decides to spoil us B...

Happy Independance Day to all the U.S. visitors. I hope your day seriously r o c k s !

I've survived my first day of teaching at the new school. Who would have thought that seventh and eighth grade students could be so vile mannered, thuggish and generally repulsive in their behaviour? And I'm only referring to the good ones. Seriously though, it was pretty challenging at times and I did end up by calling two separate parents to complain about their little darlings (it's a school policy to call the parents if the kids are obnoxious) but then again, the mum's did say they would "talk" to their little angels. Waste of time there then. I'm being perfectly realistic here in stating that I had an almost impossible job. I was covering for another teacher (the one I'm replacing) and it is three weeks before the end of the year, so what else could I expect? Next term, those little beasts are mine, to mould and perfect - I almost feel a Dr Evil cackle coming on - but in September, I think I'll be in a better position to get through to them. ...

ALL ABOUT ME I can run, Say “done”, Eat, Beat, Touch my feet Sing, Ding, Swim, Look at my hair all day, Play, I can lie, Jump high. I love exploring, I can be a bit annoying, Sometimes I hear my dad snoring. I can watch, But not speak Dutch, I love to watch TV, But hate the name Evie. So I have told you about me, So ta ta , I must go down for tea. BY HADASSAH (aged 7 and ¾)

Back in 1989, I described how I felt about the concept of peace and the song is dedicated to John Lennon. I also think we should Give Peace a Chance - but not at any price. I've had to compress the file quite a bit so the quality is not great and for this I apologise in advance. A Piece Of Peace I do believe in Peace, Peace. Just a bit of it. Like Gandhi, Like King, Like Lennon. But I ain't gonna cry for it. I ain't gonna die for it. I'm just gonna pray for it. Pray for it. I'm not alone, When I search for the key To the armoury, Yes the armoury. I'm trying to save us all, To rescue our fate From the killers of the globe, The blood on their guns is not paint. Chorus: Look at the people. They are searching for an answer, Oh an answer, For the people of today. Asking "What is peace?" I wanna know, Yes I wanna see The signatures On the pact of peace. "Drop all arms, Make Peace forever. Drop all guns, Make peace forever Forever." Chorus X2 I do b...

These are the contents of an email I received today, which I would like to share with you. I appreciate that it is lengthy, but please try to read it all the way to the end. "Wafa Samir Ibrahim al-Biss is a 21 year old Palestinian woman, who lives in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza strip. In January 2005 she suffered burns in a cooking accident in her home. She was admitted for treatment to the Soroka hospital in the Israeli town of Beer Sheva. She became an outpatient and was issued by the Israeli authorities with a special pass entitling her to cross into Israel to receive medical treatment. On 21 June 2005 she was arrested at the Erez crossing point, on her way out of Gaza and to Soroka, wearing 10 kgs of explosives in her underwear. On Israeli TV she admitted that she had planned to explode the bomb in the hospital where she was being treated. She stated that she had been recruited by the Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, and added that she had wanted to target as many chi...

Many years ago, when Moshe was a young boy, he found a mezuzah on the wall of a deserted house near his street. As there was still time before he had to get home for his supper, he pulled it off the wall and opened it. Inside, he found a piece of old paper on which were written the words that he would never forget: "Please help me. I'm being held prisoner in a mezuzah factory." * There was an advert in the Jewish Examiner that read: "Wife wanted. Please reply to Box Number 856". Five thousand replies were received, all saying: "You can have mine". * A German comes to London and stays with Solly and his family. The first morning, they all have breakfast together and eat bagels. The German exclaims "Wow! We don't have bagels like this in Germany." To which Solly stands up and yells "And whose fault is that?" * And last but not least.... Hymie muttered a few words in the Synagogue and found himself married. A year later, he...

A road sign leading to the Jewish Settlements in Gaza. As I've written before, I truly believe that we have no choice but to quit Gaza. I don't however gain any pleasure whatsoever in seeing the unedifying spectacle of Israeli police (the majority of whom are Jewish) forcibly removing their brethren from the area, in all effect, making it Judenrein - Jew Free. Please don't think that I am in any way whatsoever comparing the Israeli Police to the Nazis, who also were tasked to clean the area of Jews. My intentions could not be further from this vile idea and yes, the situation here is incomparable. I mention this because a number of right-wingers are jumping onto the so called bandwagon and coming up with some appalling comparisons to use against their fellow Jews - which are unforgivable. I think that I understand the emotions involved (as much as someone who is not in the immediate area can comprehend) and feel deeply for the Settlers. However, I hope that they can ensure...

I find it hard to fathom but I'm into my second twenty-four hour period as an employed person. I guess this means that my halycon days as a student are now at an end (hah! I talk as though I'd never been anything else but a student). I does feel good to be getting some financial remuneration for my hard work, but I can't help but miss the benefits (mostly financial) that I received as a student. I suppose these misplaced loyalties will disappear as soon as I get my first paycheck - thirty agonising days from now) and realise how sweet it feels to be "in the money" once again, although the inevitable depression from realising how much is taken in tax obviously sours the experience. I shouldn't complain. I finish work in three weeks time and get paid for doing almost nothing over the summer. I guess this is one of the great perks of being a teacher. I can however testify that by mis-September, I'll be so exhausted that the word "summer" will be but...

We've just come back from a wonderful evening. A second cousin got married today and we were invited to the the dinner (though unfortunately, we couldn't make the wedding). I don't remember the last time so many members of our family spent an evening together under one roof. It was amazing to see my first cousins sitting in one direction, my uncle and aunt in another - and knowing that there were cousins present who had come specially from Israel, America etc to be there. These included the Rabbi who married us (who is a brother-in-law of the bridegroom) and whom we haven't seen for nearly ten years. He is extremely dear to both of us. The only fly in the ointment was that my parents weren't present, as they were flying back from holiday this evening. They would have absolutely loved it. I just wanted to share this special evening with you. As a family man, I really love gatherings like this. Unfortunately, there are always those who can't aren't able to com...