Working Holiday Part 3 : Changing Roles

My foot: looking worse,
feeling better

Today's session at school began and ended with improvising and plotting out scenes.  The group all took on roles in the story and have developed their characters throughout the day.  We've seen a real growth in confidence and performance!  This is very pleasing, as is the lack of any further growth of my swollen foot, which seems to have stabilised and has been much more walkable-on today.  So, no wheelchair required after all.  For the middle section of our day, we split the group; some opting to work on music with Rich and the others developing story with me.  We've asked them to bring in costumes tomorrow. I think that dressing up is going to help the group feel more at home with their characters, and to make their performances bigger and better.




After the session I joined my family, who had
made their way to the Victorian Village at Blists Hill.  What an amazing place!  They had already walked the green way, changed their holiday money for old money, tried candle dipping and stilt walking, taken a horse and cart ride, and visited the confectioners.  All before I got there!  It's a huge site, and with all it's period buildings, many of which have been transplanted there brick by brick, is reminiscent of the Avoncroft building museum in Bromsgrove.  The difference is that Blists Hill's buildings are peopled by a great number of role-playing Victorian staff who, along with many working exhibits and rides, really bring the place to life.  We got back and sorted some accommodation for Thursday, ate a very good bean chilli at the YHA cafe and visited the Shakespeare Inn so that the boys could go crazy in the play park that they have in their beer garden.




Experimental observations today:  I notice a that it takes a good couple of hours to switch from work to holiday mode.  BecauseI work in a way that is very flexible and reacts to the needs of participants, I am used to spending time after a session reflecting on what has happened within it, and devising approaches for the next one.  I'm reluctant to rush on to the next thing in case I might miss something about the thing I've just done.  All the same, I can't envy Rich all that reflection time he gets during his long drive home.


Links:
Avoncroft: Museum of Historic Buildings
Blists Hill_Victorian Town

Working Holiday Part 2 : Home from home

After a lovely lunch with my family, eventful only in the spillage of a my pint of Guiness over Four-year-old's magazine by Seven-year-old, compulsory palm readings from Nine-year-old with palmistry book from library, and the sending back of a cheese and bacon burger on the flimsy premiss that it contained no cheese or bacon, we are now installed at our home for the week.  Or, as it turns out, our home until Thursday as we only booked three nights and they are now full up.  Not to worry, I'm sure we'll find a space somewhere.  We've had a great evening exploring a little of the local area and the children have been able to meet and play with lots of children staying nearby. 


It's not all holiday though, and Rich and I had a good first morning at Hadley Learning Community with our summer school group of soon-to-be-year-sevens.  This is a transition project designed to give next year's intake of students a chance to meet and work together before starting in September.  We watched some short movies, played out a couple of silent movie scenes, created some music in garage band and sketched out a story.  Once warmed up, the group were bursting with ideas, and if I tell you that our film looks like being about a lonely, alien teacher flying into space to start a new life, but instead becoming embroiled in a murder mystery in which the suspects include a superhero who is married to a jellyfish and kleptomaniac robot singer, you'll probably be able to name several similar films that you've already seen.  Or not.


All in all, a great first day to the experiment.  I really can't imagine that this could have worked out any better...


Except that on Saturday evening I got an insect bite on my foot.  Not normally a big worry, you might think, but me and this particular bug have history.  Around this time of year back in 2000, it got me at our allotment.  On that occasion the foot swelled up over three days to the point where it was impossible to walk on.  I had to call on my then-employee, Steve Ryan to help me to A and E for treatment and crutches.  Twice since it has struck, and each time the result has been the same.  Except the bit about Steve who enjoyed his visit so much that he now works at the hospital but sadly no longer provides the informal ambulance service.


So I've been lying down quite a bit this evening.  Elevating the foot and watching it slowly swell up.  Taking a cocktail of drugs and regularly applying the antihistamine cream.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to find a wheelchair from somewhere and become your friendly, neighbourhood push-along camera-operator, until this subsides.


So in summary; work good, holiday good, insect not so much.

My foot.  Notice innocent looking tiny red dot next to ankle

I love the expression 'free o tread', but it's costing me pain!

The Great Working Holiday Begins!

What kind of a fool comes to school in the holidays?  In my case, it's the kind of fool who's teaching a film-making summer school at Hadley Learning Community.  For reasons which may or may not be interesting, I do a fair amount of educational work in Telford schools, and for jobs of two or more days I am faced with a decision: to commute or to stay over, that is the question.  If I commute then I spend at least two hours a day driving, if I stay over then it's time away from my family, which I don't much enjoy.


This week, for the first time, I am attempting to have my cake and eat it.  Moving the family to Ironbridge for a 'working holiday'.  They'll be able to enjoy exploring the area while I work during the day, and in the evening I'll have a very short drive home.


My co-worker on this summer school is the 24/7 working powerhouse that is Richard Shrewsbury.  Trombone player with the Destroyers and arts in education consultant, who has just arrived and ordered coffee.  Gotta work!