The Scribbler

It's been a while since we had a little chinwag, so I thought I'd keep you abreast of what's going on in my oh so uninteresting little life. Firstly, I managed to miss this blog's anniversary on 20th April. We were 4, which is something to celebrate in a naval-gazing sort of way. Congratualations to one and all. So what's new? Dana flew off this morning to Israel to see her ailing grandmother. It is important that she's there right now, as the medical situation does look somewhat ropey. It has also been a while since I've been left in charge of the little ones. Good or bad thing? I'll tell you next week when the wife comes back. School is very busy as ever. Pesach/Passover came and went and I'm glad to report that the house is starting to resemble it's old self. I'm sure I still can't find half of what I stashed away before the festival blasted it's way into our lives. Then again, when I need it, I'll probably have some sort of v...

It has definitely been a bizarre yet productive day at school. The Year 12's were in, but precious few teachers and even fewer kids showed up. I'm one of the teachers whose union is not striking, so although I've had to come in, the day has afforded me the opportunity to catch up with some work and prepare my lessons for the next few days, granted that I won't be able to do so over the weekend, as it is Chag again (the second part of the Pesach festival) and to be honest, I don't feel like starting getting Monday's lessons sorted out after having re-arranged the house, post Pesach, on Sunday night. One's work as a teacher is never complete and I believe that if I spent 24 hours doing school work, I still wouldn't get everything finished! So you go with the ebb and flow, making sure that you work smartly and keep your head above the waves. Sooner or later, all the work does get sorted out - although sometimes, you're up waaaaaaaaaay too late, making...

I don't often reproduce other another writer's work, but I found this article fascinating. It is not often that one hears the thoughts of a political figure whose assassination went (thankfully) wrong. How would-be assassin's bullets changed me (CNN) By José Ramos-Horta East Timor President Editor's note: José Ramos-Horta, the president of East Timor, survived an attempted assassination at his home on February 11, 2008. He is in Darwin, Australia, recovering from gunshot wounds. José Ramos-Horta, the president of East Timor, says he believes he has been given a second chance at life. On February 11, a group of renegade soldiers invaded my home. As I walked toward my house, I was not aware that they had disarmed my guards an...

For those who don't know, Mark Speight was a very popular kids' presenter on British TV. Spending time with young children, you inevitably end up watching some of their shows and you get to know the regulars who liven up their TV channels. For all intent purposes, Mark (because I guess that's what he would have wanted me to call him) fitted the bill of a perfect childrens' entertainer. He messed around, mimicked characters and basically did everything that was expected of him. I also remember that he was a pretty dab hand in the art department too. The kids watched him eagerly, in the same way as they would any other TV presenter. A few months ago, things turned nasty for Mark and the children's world in which he inhabited took on a very adult gloss. Firstly, his fiancee was found dead in the bath, having inbided a cocktail of alcohol and drugs (never a good idea if you want to guarantee seeing your grandchildren) and he was subsequently arrested for being complicit...

Hi Jimmy, I hear that you intend to go to the Middle East next week and will be meeting with Khaled Mashaal, the head of Hamas. Will that event take place before or after you visit the people who are being bombed on a daily basis by his terrorists' missiles? My fervent hope is that you get a big fat Kassam up your anti-semitic arse. Yours ever so sincerely, The Scribbler.

An employee sends a letter to his boss asking for an increase in his salary. "Dear Bo$$ In thi$ life, we all need $ome thing$ mo$t de$perately. I think you $hould be under$tanding the need$ of u$. We are worker$ who have given $o much $upport, including $weat and $ervice to your company. I am $ure you will gue$$ what I mean and re$pond $oon . Your$ $incerely, $tan $kar$kowky" The employee received this reply "Dear Stan: I kNOw you have been working very hard. NOw a days, NOthing much has changed. You must have NOticed that our company is NOt doing NOticably well. NOw the newspapers are saying the world's leading ecoNOmists are NOt sure if the United States may go into aNOther recession. After the NOvember presidential elections things may turn bad. I have NOthing more to add NOw. You kNOw what I mean . Your Boss NOel kNOwles"

And you thought you had it hard.....

1. Teaching Maths In 1970 A logger sells a truckload of timber for £100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit? 2. Teaching Maths In 1980 A logger sells a truckload of timber for £100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or £80. What is his profit? 3. Teaching Maths In 1990 A logger sells a truckload of timber for £100. His cost of production is £80. Did he make a profit? 4. Teaching Maths In 2000 A logger sells a truckload of timber for £100. His cost of production is £80 and his profit is £20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20. 5. Teaching Maths In 2008 A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of £20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their ho...

Charlton Heston, who died last night was without a doubt a very fine actor. He was one of the few thespians who rarely gave a bad performance and his films are very watchable and mostly entertaining. I say all of the above as someone who doesn't like the man. In fact, I would go so far as saying that I dislike him- which is rather unfair since we didn't meet and it looks like we won't either. Does it really matter what I think about him? Nope. Not a damn jot ( please note the play on his famous Planet Of The Apes line). However, seeing that I'm choosing to write a blog about him, I suppose, I should share my antipathy for the man! Charlton Heston, on screen and in every interview I saw of him over the years represented one of the traits that I like least in fellow human beings, that of arrogance. I'm probably one of the few people around who think that he was miscast as Moses in The Ten Commandments . The Bible (and by extension, the Torah) categorically states th...

I want to establish a few facts: 1. It is the 6th April. 2. It is also Rosh Chodesh Nisan - the first day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. 3. It is therefore exactly two weeks until Pesach , Passover, also known as Chag Ha'aviv, the festival of Spring. 4. I am looking through the garden window and I am not seeing sunshine. 5. I am not seeing blossoming trees. 6. I am in fact looking at snow, tumbling from the heavens onto white grass that used to be green. Here's the mathematical sum for all of the above April 6th + Rosh Chodesh Nisan + Two weeks until Pesach = Snow. Now I know why I was always lousy at maths. I could never understand the logical aspect of the subject.

As it is now official, I'm very proud to report that our school received an "outstanding" grade from OFSTED. I know that my lesson did not play any part in the decision, but it is still very humbling to think that it didn't do any harm either! The majority of people who know which school I am at, have a totally wrong impression of how great a place it really is. I hope that this result will finally bring it home to them that their pre-conceptions are totally wrong. Last year, I was working in a failing school - this year, I'm at an outstanding one. Now, how cool is that?

When I was a kid, I looked forward to the time when I would be in charge of my very own home. I would fix things when they broke, redecorate the house exactly in the style that I desired and be in total command of my life as well as lord and master of my very own home. I didn't realise that when you get married and a wife moves in, she usually gets a say over what the house will look like. I also didn't expect to be as hopeless as I've turned out to be in the simple art of redecorating or mending. In fact, I'm not a very good housekeeper at all. Enter the wife and her extraordinary (and hitherto unseen) powers to majestically transform one of our kids' bedrooms (the larger one that Dassi and Tali sleep in) from a squalid patch of a box into a offering that would not seem out of place in a four star hotel. Not only has she repainted the walls, to the extent that one would think she's a proper decorator...she has now gone and (with a little help from her friends...

A university creative writing class was asked to write a concise essay containing the following elements. 1. Religion 2. Royalty 3. Sex 4. Mystery The prize-winning essay read : "My God" said the Queen, "I'm pregnant. I wonder who did it!"

I've just come back from a wonderful evening at our school. Once a year, the drama and music departments put on a teacher's evening, where members of staff get up in front of a mic and do their thang - thankfully not in front of the kids, although a few were there. I sang a number of songs on guitar, but apparently, it was my piano based Imagine that caused a few tears to flow, which I have to say that I'm quite chuffed about. I can't think of any time when my piano playing has caused such emotions (and no, it wasn't that bad!) However, my hat goes off to the other performers, because they were simply stunning. As they say a splendid time was had by all and you can't ask for better than that. I've already started thinking about what I can play next year (if I'm asked back!)