It’s that time again! Time to remind that despite the gruff exterior, there are occasions that make me crack a smile! I write this piece every month in order to remind myself and anyone else who needs it, that there’s always a reason to smile. September was a decent month too, so there are more than just the usual five too. You might call it a bumper edition!
Period 6 Frees! As a teacher, I sometimes find myself living for my free periods. The job is never not demanding and having my room to myself just to sit and work is always a blessing. This year, I’ve been rather fortunate, depending on your point of view. We have 6 lesson days at my school and on three of those days I’ve been lucky enough to be given the last lesson of the day free! I love it! Firstly, it gives me a goal to get to. I’m in my 50s and this job tires me out, so if I’m finished teaching before the end of the day that is just wonderful. I can relax and just get stuff done and this also means that I spend a little less time after work planning and marking. I also get to avoid some of the worst behaviour of the day too! And the best part? I have last lesson on a Friday free…all to myself…just me, the radio, an empty classroom and as much work as I can get through to start with planning for the next week.
Fantastic Forests. I’m a sucker for a lovely view. And I love a walk in the forest, having sampled a fair few across the world over the years. So an article on the BBC website about the most fantastic forests across the globe was right up my street last month. There were some that I’ll never actually see; the Jiuzhaigou National Park in China and the Amazon are either too far away, too dangerous or both for someone who might only explore them in retirement. However, the Hallerbos Forest in Belgium with its bluebell woods is close and very appealing.
The end of the Transfer Window! As a massive Newcastle United fan it felt like the whole focus of this year’s summer transfer window was on us and the sale of Alexander Isak, who memorably sulked and went on strike in order to force a move to Liverpool. A great role model for today’s youth, right there! Every day of summer was dominated by the story and it became quite exhausting really. In the end, he was sold for a British record transfer fee and, to be honest, it was just a relief in the end. Good riddance!
Couch to Team GB! This was the story of mum of two, Emma Broadhurst who recently captained the Team GB Triathlon team at the European Triathlon Championships in Turkey. Now that might not seem like that big a deal until you find out that Emma only started exercising again a few years ago after putting on weight having had two children. However, after not being able to stick to her exercise schedule she then entered a triathlon and joined a local triathlon club. With the camaraderie and support that she received Emma found that she was doing really well and then, two years later, found herself being called up to Team GB having finished second at an event in Cardiff last year. Emma is only 35, yet still a bit of a veteran in athletics terms and so this was a story that was bound to make an oldie like me smile!
Wor Flags. For the uninitiated, Wor Flags is a fan funded group that organises flag displays (tifos) at Newcastle United home matches. They’ve been going for a few years now and have held some incredible displays that help with the atmosphere in the ground on matchdays. Basically flags of all shapes and sizes are dotted around the stadium with frequent appearances by themed surfer flags that can sometimes cover entire stands or levels of stands. In my humble opinion, Wor Flags create the best displays in the UK. The one that made me smile last month – and once again feel incredibly proud to support my club – was displayed before the home game against Barcelona in the Champions League. Rather than banging on about it, I’ll just post the photos below. A thing of beauty.
Colourful towns and cities. I read an article about towns and cities that don’t shy away from a bit of colour and it made me smile. To get to our favourite beach when we’re on holiday we have to walk through the harbour of said town and most of the houses are painted different, vibrant colours. It’s just a lovely, lovely place. Then, about a week after reading the article I read that they were bringing back the children’s TV classic, Balamory. If you don’t know of it, Balamory was a fictional Scottish town full of happy-go-lucky characters who lived in a place where the houses were painted different colours. There was a lot of singing of catchy songs too. Again, just the mention of Balamory and the thought of all of that colour and remembering singing the songs with my kids when they were much younger made me smile!
And there we have it; a bumper (2 smiles more than usual!) edition of ‘Always look on the bright side…) and hopefully at least one thing to make you smile. Until next time; keep smiling!
Middle Age Fanclub 