Looking out the window

I just looked out the window and what did I see? I saw the sun skirting along the horizon at 1pm I just looked out the window and what did I see? I saw the first buds on the trees for the upcoming spring I just looked out the window and what did I see? I saw a bunch of hyped up drunks from the pub next door singing their football clubs anthem walking down the alley. -I saw a mother duck walkinIg with her newly hatched ducklings walk by. -I saw a child play with a new found friend for the first time on the swing -I saw the fog rise over the pine trees in the early morning hours -I saw the moon come up over the Ochil Hills -I saw what I thought was smoke from a nearby chimney, but only to be rain being blown by gales of wind -I saw a Canada Goose land on a Loch -I saw a drop of water from melting snow drip away -I saw the lights go out in the village for a good night's sleep -I saw an old man walking to the shops and a jogger rush past -I saw the sunshine that woke me up and was glad

Ma Fry

For this West Highland Way trip I am once again known as 'Ma Fry', also-Mummy, MUMMMMM!, Mother, and WOMAN!. It's quite endearing to hear a 16 year old boy crying out 'MA FRY!!! HELP ME WITH MY SHOES!'. I will admit all this Mother Hen-ing does make the female hormones churn a bit more. I dare say that keeping charge of 7 boys in hostels whilst putting up with others around is more than just bit stressful. I feel like the most fearsome Mother Hen EVER. It's like i see someone even looking at one of my boys' snacks and i just go into absolute battle-mode. I really think if someone took something that was labeled ours, I might just go off the hook. It's not really the idea that they are taking something that isn't THEIRS, it's that the stuff belongs to one of 'my boys', mess with them, your messing with the wrong lady wolverine. Primitive instincts? Thank you for kicking in! Another thing. Alright, so I know we've got some 'different' people travelling with us, I know very well they can be uneasy to be around, they can be annoying, they can make you uncomfortable, BUT REALLY PEOPLE----GET OVER IT! Personally, I would really like someone to make some comment, I really would. For instance, a pair of women who stayed with us last night, obviously had an issue with us. But instead of being assertive and upfront about whatever was bothering them, they just chose to be social outcasts with a severe lack of humor and people skills.....hold up, maybe I'm assuming too much and maybe that was just them, woops. I think the kids would like to see a good row, they really do get a hoot out of watching 'the American' blow up. Maybe I should just start a fight. What I can't get over is that I'm not even hormonal now, and neither is Janka (my other female coworker on this trip), what gives with this temper?! The boys lucked out so much that there isn't raging hormones going on, that would so bad, I'm laughing about it actually. One of the boys last night asked when supper was ready, before I could give him a good enough smart answer he went right for it and said 'Is is going to take as long as a piece of string is long?' He should be proud of his mother for teaching him that. This is such a useful space to bitch, my bad.

Let's go for a walk

154km=~95miles, The Scottish Highlands, rain/fog/mist/possible snow/hopefully sun, 7 teenage boys, 5 group leaders, 1 mini-bus, about 140 bags of crisps/chips, a hell of a lot of biscuits/cookies, and a brick of cheese that weighs almost 8lbs. And that's just a beginning of it. With 7 months of planning, multiple Health and Safety measures being taken into account, money approved, money raised, meetings, arguments, medication sorted, assuring parents, a few hundred £'s just on food, we aren't going to mention the amount on lodging...., finding this person's favorite CD's, that person's toys, "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PILLS?!", checking out hostel after hostel...even some camping wig-wams (yup, they've got 'em, I can only imagine what the Native Americans would say about it), the packing lists, the re-packing, borrowing a horse trailer, and the it goes on and on and on. Nevermind the distance, look at these boys that are taking on the distance. These kids are all special needs in some for or another. More likely than not, these boys have been told at one point that they "won't" be able to do something because of their condition or disability. They've all been put into other groups/classes because they "can't handle the 'normal' class", but here they are, together, learning responsibility for themselves and others in a totally un-natural environment. Not doing the daily set routines that they've all be accustomed and attuned to. They have to WAIT for things that would normally have been gone out of the way to have done first for them. THey are eating with people they don't know, not having the creature comforts of everyday life. Maybe for you going for a hike doesn't seem like it would be all that bad, or even it IS normal for you. But this isn't these 7 boys. These 7 don't understand why their feet ache, how to deal with the stress of being away from home. Hell, some of them can't even speak. That is what makes this trip so damn important for them, doing it in the face of "you won't be able to". AND THEIR DOING SO WELL!! Besides some blisters and sore feet, their doing so well. Smiles on their faces, hopping around. Even my guy was showing genuine happiness by chattering away his happy scripts from cartoons earlier today. Even though this is only the second day, it still is so good to see it heading off on a great start. And God willing it keeps up.

Curriculum for Excellence?

Kindergarten- Playtime, arts, learning to count, starting to spell small words and read books about an adventurous animals, tasty snacks, cooties.

1st & 2nd grade- Solidifying how to stand in a line, learning addition with counting pieces of things like beads or buttons, reading accomplishment? Every single Curious George book....ever. Going on field trips and only remembering how funny that ticket lady looked. Even more dangerous cooties. School plays based on vaguely popular children's books or fairy tales, first real interaction with the dreaded substitute teacher. Learning to play the paper plate+dried bean tambourine. You're still crying over not getting that Fruit-Roll up in your lunch box.

3rd-5th grades- Maybe these aren't totally correctly grouped together...But by this time you seem to comprehend 'cool'. There's the cool boys that sit on top the jungle gym at recess and YOU WISH YOU WERE THEM. There's the cool girls with 55 different silly bandz and hair ties on at the same time and YOU WISH YOU WERE THEM TOO. Your first tests are given to you that actually have a number grade instead of either an ugly sticker or a cool sticker. Science fairs, chapter books, teachers trying to explain to you why multiplying complex fractions is important to your life, that boy/girl looks good to you and you have no friggin' idea why you can't stop looking at them. Fights with friends, you actually can write a paragraph about something and it is legible. Field trips to farther away places and all you can still remember is dang good cornbread and how your friend got his foot stuck in the toilet. People talk about cooties, but you're not quite sure anymore.

6th-8th grades- Something is up with those girls, something definitely happened over the summer. Cliques, unforgiving teachers, hall passes, DRAMA-RAMA!, something called studying that now takes up so much of that ole' ain't doing nothin' time, epic poetry and literature. Looking at your maths book and seeing more letters than numbers...but those numbers are hidden in there somewhere. Blowing up the science lab and needing to stay after to do it AGAIN WITH THAT DORK LAB PARTNER. Caring about your grades, remembering the next week what that plaque said in the museum even though you pretended not to care. Making out for the first time, awkward slow dances, still nothing has changed about those boys. Will you go out with me? Check Yes or No...

High School- 4yearsofcompletetorture/fun/bestimeofyourlife/ohnoshedidn't...istayeduplateforthisexamandstillgotadamn75%?wtfcryinginthebathroom
nevermindimokslammingdoors.IDON'TWANTTOTALKABOUTITOK!?!butireallydo...
makingfriendslosingfriendsfightingoverboysgirlsthatgradethatscorefornoreasonatall.
lockerscarsgamesican'tbelieveigotsodrunklastnight...areyouok?what'sgoingtohappen
nextyearwhenwegotocollege?goodbyestopeopleyouwillneverseeagain,thankfully.
bodyimageindecisionstillnottalkingaboutit.breakingshitdrivingfast,thatwasabadbad
decisionwasn'tit?sometimeswishingyouwerethatlittlekidagainandthengettingoverit...



Somewhere, somehow we learn things. Which is amazing. The Dept. of Education in the Federal and State legislations all believe they have pin pointed it DOWN. School boards for private schools also think they are ON IT. Really? I've really been thinking about this for such a long time now, the curriculum for excellence. What a funny title--for excellence. Many schools/districts have a statement just like it, 'learning for the future', 'preparing tomorrows leaders today'. Really? So in going to such schools with such promising one liners, my child is guaranteed to be tomorrows leader? My child will have EXCELLENT knowledge skills and marks to prove it? What you're teaching my child is really preparing them for the future? Really?

How does a child learn to speak, how does a child learn to eat with utensils? How did you learn zip a coat, wash yourself, what social skills and mannerisms are important? How did you learn to read, even just sounding out words? How are you passionate about your interests/hobbies? How do you make and keep friends?

Maths, reading/writing, learning the arts, the sciences, history is all so important. What about being a good person? Are our schools teaching that? If a child is one of many children in an overly busy house with barely there parents, how are they to know how to for say....manage finances/cook nutritious meals/learn how to use the washing machine or how to monitor the heating/ac in the house? If these parents aren't 'there' because they're pulling all they have to make sure their kids have a roof over their head and at least a full belly and clothes on their back, is it really ALL their fault that when their kids move out on their own that they're bankrupt by 25, inability to manage day to day tasks, can't cook for themselves never the less find a doctor or be able to make a professional phone call for enquiries?

Are these kids being churned out into college unprepared for things that lie outside the books and desks?

I think about this due to what I've seen everyday for the past 4 years, children LEARNING. Children learning how to make a bed, how to take a totally independent shower, how to choose foods that are good for them and that they like....in the right quantities, children learning spacial awareness by learning to MOP. Watching a child's self esteem grow by slowly talking to new people and being congratulated on such a big step.

I'm not saying that schools aren't doing a damn good job, they are! It's just watching the world from a totally new dimension, really seeing what youths are NOT learning and how much of a detriment it is that they are at when it's too late.

Teach the kids the freedom of choice, seeing motivation by ways of encouragement, and appreciating the world by having the world appreciate them.

it's been awhile

I'm a hoarder. I've been guilty of telling myself "Let's not write in the blog yet, there hasn't been enough to write about....let's wait awhile to there's LOADS, and then we'll write." I bet the cat ladies say that too, "Just one more kitten and then we'll be a complete family", oh God, I'm comparing myself to a cat lady.

So here I am, September 28, day before Michaelmas Day, calling up the A&E channel to document my hoarding.

So on with it..

This school is next door to 2 pubs. To be more specific, outside of my little cottage is 'our' pub, you know...like Drew Carey and the Warsaw Tavern. You can expect the same 15 people there every Friday and Saturday nights, the same karaoke songs, we're getting to the point of just nodding at the bartender... Having such a close locale to said establishment has it's ups and downs. Up-Had one too many? In reality you could just slide yourself down the wall to home. Down-Had one too many? Everyone in the pub that lives locally knows where you live and your boss....and you'll hear about it Monday.

There's also the concern of drunkards just randomly walking onto our property. No shit. C'mon now, haven't we all had our fun drunk time on the playground? Of course. Walking onto private school property WHILE children are there and attempting to violate houses/the pirate ship ??? ehhhhhhhh, no.

Then there's the pathway that goes from pub to southerly part of town, right past my window. How many nights have I woken up thinking that a crowd of 8 rowdy Scottish 50 yr old men are actually singing Robbie Williams in my front garden? At least once a week.

It's really warming how people here can just let loose and dance their asses off and act a fool w/o wondering who's watching. Another example of how Americans have a stick up their asses. Yep, go to an American club and see the percentage of people only dancing the way they see in rap videos or the way they think someone is going to compliment them. Example: A friend of mine and I partially reenacted the Baby one more time video in the middle of a club last weekend. Shame? Exact Opposite.

As an American, even for one that's travelled to European countries, the whole of the pub/club culture is just so fascinating. People here really don't realize how different something so simple can be from place to place. Try and bring your dog to most bars in America and you and your pooch will get the boot, many pubs in Britain have their own dogs...or cat. Also the whole children in pubs. Now, I doubt you'll see a kid in a dance club, but it's perfectly acceptable during quieter hours to see kids in pubs, especially since many serve very tasty food. Think the American Family Restaurant. Why the hell not I say. This allows the child to see what a pub/bar is, and then they most likely won't have a distorted view of them as they get older. Such places won't be a thing that they clamber to get at just because they are told they 'can't go to them yet.' I think this is very helpful in the development of mature/responsible drinking.

As far as I can count there are 4 pubs here in our town. Luckily for many people, they are all within a very short distance of one another, thus making it very easy to wander past all four within a night and observe the hilarity that ensues. One of them isn't really a pub I don't think, more of a hotel w/ a bar, but really who's judging.

The one that seems to win favorite is also my neighbor, however, there's a brewing feud between customers of that pub and the 'danceclub' that's up the road. We use the term danceclub loosely as it is yet another small hotel, with a restaurant + bar...however it has a slightly impressive light thingy and disco ball, thus making it a 'club'. *Rolls eyes*

The 4th pub, is by far the most scary. In by means of how the building looks and also by the customers. First off, I've never seen a woman in there, I know I wouldn't go in for the grime that seeps out of the doors is enough to make me keep on walking. The windows haven't been cleaned in so long I think the gunk has over taken the glass and dissolved it, mmmm yummy. Now, I bet it is a respectable establishment full of good times and well paying customers, but unfortunately they have misplaced their mop and bucket some time ago.

Go ahead and visit any Bristish town/city/village and ask an assortment of people where the good pub is in town. Have a meaningful conversation about their choice if possible...or at least hear them out. Maybe even invite them for a drink w/ you, especially an old man, he'll love to tell you about the gossip surrounding the area. Chain bars and modern bars may be seeping into popularity here, but nothing really can compare or can compete w/ the British Pub.

When you say hills you really mean mountains right?

Coming from east coast America I have become accustomed to a certain pattern of weather movement throughout the year. Even as a young child I knew that looking over the mountains to the west in Spring and Fall I could watch a rolling storm or batch of wind clouds come right over us. However in the winter and summer the same could be seen but even more interesting systems could come in from the north or even south. As a child in Pennsylvania one learns quickly what the term 'NorEaster' means.

This isn't the case in Scotland. The North Atlantic is a turbulent part of the globe, ever changing with its winds, pressure, temperature, etc. The northern part of the British Isles feels the brunt of these changing moods. The locals around the countryside in Scotland say, "If you're not happy with the weather now, just wait 20 minutes and it will be different." How true is that. What a job it must be to be a meteorologist here, you can just about always be right.

I entered into Scotland by train on Friday passing through York and Newcastle England and then across the borders into sheep fields, thistle patches and coastline. Take a moment and think of a romantic film about a Scottish maiden waiting for her hero soldier to return from some war on the continent, or just think of the Outlander book series. You see the bluffs and the waves crashing against the rocks? Yeah, no seriously, the seaside by the North Sea is like that. Its just wild seeing the sea and then turning round and seeing the heather and mosses, it makes songs well up inside you!

Moving on. Edinburgh airport is gray, such great camouflage against the sky. I was picked up by car and we drove, in the rain through the "hills" to Auchterarder. Hills. rolling, one might have a lovely house on a hill, or go for an afternoon walk on a hill. PEOPLE DIE IN THE SCOTTISH HILLS. You can't build a house on them because the rocks are too steep! Classification of these hills are actually mountains, found that out during lunch, but the Scots are a modest people and prefer to call them hills. Much more endearing I say as well. Oh, we're going for a walk on one this weekend, should be lovely.

Stand by a hill here and look around, I think you'd see at least 30 different shades of green. Its almost unnerving. First of all you've got this bigass 'hill' at the back of you, then you look round and you see all this LIFE. Yes, plant life. It's freezing cold, but theres flora all around. This brings me back to my original point, the weather here is so bizarre that all theres left to do is GROW.

Take the rainforest right, it rains buckets there all the time and its hot as Hades thus making trees that are hundreds of feet high. Ye've not got the heat here, but the moisture definitly, and as living things do, they adapt. Shrubs, nettle, thistle, grasses here are so hearty they can withstand the winds and odd cold spells that turn up ohhhh, let say IN AUGUST. Crops are planted and fruit later in the year, but thrive. Here at Ochil Tower, we are totally organic, have been for 40 years, but still theres zucchini that are 10 inches in diameter and 18 inches long, that's one damn big squash.

In the time it took me to write this blog the temperature has dropped I'd guess 5 degrees outside and the cloud cover has gone from minimal to totally covered. The weatherman called for HEAVY RAIN today, I'm guessing we'll see that by dinnertime.

Clever Clever Romans

The Romans were a damn smart group of people. They built massive cities full of extremely modern architecture and engineering. They understood the stars, they were learned in language/politics/literature, they used plumbing for goodness sake! And they were so intelligent about where they put their shit.

The hill in Lincoln. A hill like many others, it's high, it has a good view from the top, when rain falls on it...the water rolls down. However, this hill is so good, when the Romans came to town what a thousand years ago, they looked at this hill and thought " Ain't nobody gonna mess with us up there", and so they built temples, an arena, government offices, etc. up there. And from then on the Hill was where it's at. Today yes, there's the Castle and the Cathedral (so so so nice), there's also a pub district because like the Romans pub owners are smart and they know that if people are doing a pub crawl around Lincoln, if they walk up the hill they'll be sober by the top therefore able to drink more when they get there.

There's also a nice sweet shop on a road up the hill, reminscent of Burty Bots (sp?) from Harry Potter. It's so small my friend Emma's boyfriend Sean and I had to que up outside. It's possible the store could only hold about 5 people max. 5 people all trying to gawk at the wondrous Toffies.