Snow Joke

And neither was that. Apologies.

Yet again, schools and local education authorities have come under criticism for closing because of the snow. I've given up defending each condemnation individually and decided to write the reasons I think many schools have closed and why I support it.

Yes, I do work in education and yes, I am pleased that I've had two days off but that's more down to the foot injury! I have lost out on a week of pay for this.

We live in the age of health & safety. Unfortunate though it is, this will be the first thought of the headmaster and LEA. During heavy snow in early 2009, a school I teach in decided to open to staff only. The school in question has a very steep driveway which is tricky to ascend without battling through ice and snow and driving up there would have just been silly so most teachers parked at the bottom. And yes, one of the staff fell and broke her hip very badly. The school were in lots of trouble. They would be in a much worse situation if it were a pupil who fell. It's not even getting to school that is the issue in all cases, many large comprehensives involve teachers walking around big sites to different classrooms and even driving if the school has two sites. It may come as a surprise to some but school grounds ARE NOT GRITTED. They are icy deathroads! I'm sure headteachers would rather face criticism for closing than injured teachers/pupils/lawsuits.

And a note to those lambasting schools in central Cardiff where the snow has cleared. Most staff and teachers don't live in Cardiff. The teachers I know are having a hard time navigating their way through ungritted country lanes and have turned around to go home. Even on my road in north Cardiff, there was still a good 3/4 inches of snow on the ground. Some people decided to start their car only to realise this was silly and go back inside. If say 30% of staff live in rural surrounding areas and can't travel (I'd wager it is more like 60%), a school can't operate. Simple. In my experience of teaching in more deprived areas, if the snow hits, the parents (who don't work) will let the kids have the day off anyway and schools that do open will have a poor attendance where no real work is even attempted.

Now, let's talk about traffic. I know you want to. I haven't got the figures but a big portion of morning rush hour traffic is to and from schools. Granted, some of it is unnecessary when children can walk or share lifts with friends but that's a different problem altogether. By shutting schools, the roads become clearer. Not only does this give local authorities a better chance of clearing snow and getting more grit down, it makes life easier for the emergency services and others. I'm not saying that education isn't important, far from it, but I am saying that we can sacrifice a day of lessons if it means everything else running smoothly. Inevitably, the bad weather will mean more accidents needing assistance so why not lesson school traffic so that emergency traffic will have a better chance of getting where they need. Let's not forget other professions too. It makes economic sense for shop staff to be able to get to work, the same goes for transport workers.

Right, that's enough for now. I think my opinion is now clear!

Miranda July

I'm not sleeping well and in my wild thoughts at night, I decided to blog about the books I've read in 2010. I read a lot and I always find myself recommending books to friends but not being able to describe why they should read them. Jotting some thoughts down as I finish them may help me!

The first book of 2010 I finished was a collection of short stories by Miranda July, 'No one

belongs here more than you.'

I'm really bad for judging a book by its cover. And its title. I had not heard of Miranda July or this book before ordering it, yet I knew I'd love it. I'm not always right though, I recently read 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt. The less said the better.

The first thing that struck me about the book was the characters. They all have a certain vulnerability which is so attractive to the reader, especially readers like myself. More often than not, these characters discover themselves in odd situations, I found it reminiscent of the start of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami. Many of the stories focus on relationships, not always of an intimate nature, sometimes with a relative as in the brief two-page offering, 'The Moves', where a father teaches his daughter how to please a woman as he feels it's the only thing he can pass on. In 'How to Tell Stories to Children', we live through Deb and her relationship with a friends' child. The subject matter is often achingly simple, 'Something that needs Nothing' is essentially a story about unrequited love but involving teenage lesbian runaways, peep shows and wigs. Brilliant. Some of the time, the stories edge to to the dark side but always compelling.

I don't really want to use this word, but this is a quirky collection of stories. Charming, elegant and heartwarming. Check out this little website, http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/, a fun site where Miranda July writes stuff on her stove!

Next up: Eeeee Eee Eeee by Tao Lin.

Just another post.

I imagine there have been a lot new blogs created in the last day or so. I also imagine that this will become just another in the great unread millions out there. Even if I'm the only one who gets any pleasure out of it, it's still worth it.

This holiday period has given me a lot of reflection time. Too much. I managed to sprain my foot on Christmas eve and haven't been able to walk unaided since. I blame a mixture of ice and gin. Unfortunately, the ice wasn't in the glass. Inevitably, the start of a new decade will always get one mulling over what has or hasn't been achieved in the last one. I saw the year 2000 in at the Millennium Stadium with the Manic Street Preachers and a few close friends. Those were the same friends with whom I spent Christmas this year. A thought that makes me go all warm inside. In fact, it surprises me. In a good way. Not that I haven't made any since then! Some dear, lifelong friends have been made, especially during college and my time in London.

Living in London was a major part of the 2000s for me. It seems all musicians live in London at some point in their lives. In hindsight, it was a frivolous move and it backfired on me greatly. I think I was trying to escape things that had happened and thought that meant physical distance rather than anything else. Nevertheless, my first year living there, in Archway, was one of the best years I've had thanks to the new friends I made. The fact that I was having a bad time in college doing my Masters and had little to no money, having a great bunch of housemates made up for it. That year was followed by an incredible Summer working in Aberystwyth. I say working, and technically it was, but it was mainly fun times with fun people which I'd absolutely love to do again. What I didn't realise was how quickly these happy times would disappear. I decided to stay in London for another year despite not really being able to afford it and move in with a friend in East Dulwich. What a disaster. I could barely afford my rent, so I rarely left the flat. My flatmate was often staying with his girlfriend so I was alone for a lot of it. I read a lot that year! Luckily, I did manage to get some decent work for around 3 months on a UK tour of a musical. This helped financially for a while but eventually it ran out. When our contract ran out, I finally decided to move back home to Cardiff. I do think it was the best decision I made in the 00s.

So here I am, a year and a half later and much much happier. Even though my job isn't really what I want to be doing, I can manage comfortably only working 3 days a week in school and freelancing. I'd like to move out, but it makes financial sense at the moment and isn't as bad as I once thought. Living with my mother after 7 years of not was a struggle at first, I'll admit but has worked itself out slowly. I've also made some great new friends in the last year thanks to Twitter. It's unlike any other social networking site I've used in that most people are normal. Mostly. Some of my other friends think it's a bit weird that I meet people 'off the internet'. They can't see past facebook. Unfortunately, some people still believe that everyone on the internet is some axe-wielding nutter. Twitter, fingers crossed, seems wonderfully devoid of them at present.

So, post game analysis is over. Things I want to achieve in the next 10;

• Be fitter
• Know more
• Write stuff
• Get proper career

Achievable? Hopefully.