For my “lockdown holiday” I thought I’d walk the route of the Canterbury Tales. I assumed, wrongly, that there would be loads about it online. There isn’t. There are some great resources, but it took me longer than I’d thought to find a GPX map for my phone so this is a quick tying together of what I managed to find and a mini-diary of the hike.…
Life
Cellular Automata in Google Sheets
I’ve been exploring binary with Year 8s and thought they might like to have a look at the weird world of Cellular Automata.
There are lots of resources out there but I couldn’t find one that helped them create their own easily.…
What cathedral are you building?
I’ve been on a school trip to York these last few days. As you’ll know if you’ve been there, the Minster dominates the city. On a walk round the city walls, I was chatting with a 10-year old about the 250 years it took to build, from 1220 and 1472.…
Jaron Lanier, BUMMERs and Being Human
I’ve just finished reading Jaron Lanier’s 10 arguments for deleting your social media accounts. Some are more persuasive than others, but they’ve made me decide to delete my Facebook account for 2020.
The arguments are all linked and as follows:
- You are losing your free will thanks to the addictive nature of much of it and the behaviourist focus of the coding (Facebook gurus Sean Parker and Chamath Paliyapatiya would seem to agree)
- Quitting social media is the most finely targeted way to resist the insanity of our times.
3 Men and a Donkey – Notes on hiking Le Stevenson in the Cevennes
I’ve just got back from hiking Le Stevenson with a donkey and thought I’d jot down some notes while they’re still fresh in case it helps anyone else.
What is Le Stevenson?
In September 1870, Robert Louis Stevenson was waiting for his American sweetheart to finalise her divorce and to kill time set off with a donkey to hike through the Cevennes.…
What Shaolin Monks Taught Me About Teaching
The best teacher training I have ever had was from a 34th Generation Shaolin Warrior Monk, Shi Yan Jun.
Over the years, I have had in-school training such as INSETs, after-school twilight sessions, teacher observations (given and received). I have had off-site training run by battle-hardened professionals but sweetened with coffee, fancy biscuit and lecture notes.…
Last day on Lesvos
Very belated, but as promised for Anna-Karin, here is my last diary update from Lesvos. Bit odd rereading the retsina-y scrawl. Feels a lifetime away. Looking at the Calais eviction happening soon has made me think about another trip.
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My last full day.…
Evelyn Waugh’s Letter “This is quite true”
This was read out again last night at Letters Live, this time just as brilliantly by Tom Hollander.
Superman Pants
My diary entry from my first day in the Moria Clothes Tent, Lesvos.
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Today was superman pants.
They just arrived. The women and children queuing on one side the men on the other, startled, slow, shivering and in shock. I really wasn’t ready for it.…
Trying to help
Had a bit of a rush of blood to the head.
Am off to Lesvos after Christmas to help out with the refugees for a week. Tickets and hotel booked.
I’m not actually doing it to raise money. I’m paying for it myself and to be honest, I may well end up staying in my hotel bedroom trying to get the wifi to work and pretend things aren’t as grim as they are outside – but if you like the work the real aid-workers do, I’m sure they’d appreciate your support.