Sunday 17 January 2010

Z doesn't go anywhere

I'm having to get myself organised. I have written a lot of emails, including one that's been hanging over me since I returned from my holiday at the end of November. It reached the stage that I was putting it off because I'd left it so long. Sometimes one needs a deadline and there wasn't one, as such.

Tomorrow, I'm going to a Spanish lesson. Not to learn Spanish, just to watch Year 10s learn Spanish. I'm quite up for joining in though. I find the whole governor lesson observation thing quite hard, I feel a bit of a lemon, but it's all right if I talk to people and ask questions and that sort of thing. I've also got to extricate myself from something I'm supposed to be doing in a fortnight's time. Reluctantly, I've decided that, as it includes walking over the entire school, it will be too much for me ten days after a major leg operation.

Wink has returned home, but will come back in two or three weekends' time to check up on me. I've never been so looked after in my life, and I've led a pampered life. Well, that is, I am faced with the prospect of all this pampering. Mind you, I found myself being prayed for in church this morning, which is a disconcerting experience, I can tell you. I knew it would be on the cards and was embarrassedly resigned to it, but I thought they would at least wait until I'd been under the knife and wasn't actually there to be startled.

A film starring Richard Burton has just started on television. I'm not going to stay and watch it - I can't take war films any more, and besides, it's late. But didn't he have a wonderful voice? And my goodness, Leo McKern too. Looking remarkably young. Young is a bit of a relative term, I don't think he ever actually looked "young". Anyway. I digress.

Not that I was actually talking about anything. Maybe this is one of those posts that isn't going anywhere.

Right. The only place I'm going is to bed. It's after half past twelve, whatever the time at the bottom of the post says, and I've hardly started on the Sunday papers yet.

13 comments:

Dave said...

Perhaps you could get a wheelchair, and then check out disabled access to the school.

Z said...

That's the purpose of the visit, yes, Dave. Accessibility for someone with any sort of physical or sensory disability. It's not just an "interested governor" thing, it's a proper survey.

Pat said...

I've got my Miss Marple hat on and deduce you are shortly to have the hip op. Lots of friends - but particularly my sister and Margaret my close friend - have had them with great effect. My best wishes for all to go smoothly and a speedy return to normal. Knowing you you'll get the most out of the experience.xoxox

Z said...

Thank you, Pat - most friends have had great success, but a few haven't gone so well - I've two friends who still have a limp and some mobility problems, another's hip dislocated and a fourth is permanently on crutches, so I'm not taking anything for granted. But I hope to be better than I am now.

Blue Witch said...

I really really hate it when schools (or anywhere else come to that, but I only have direct experience of schools) get non-disabled people to do their 'disabled' surveys for them. It's like having a straight actor playing a gay role, or an Asian role being played by someone with coloured make-up. Just totally unnecessary in this day and age. Unless you meant you were due to be accompanying 10 people with various physical and sensory disabilities around to see the real problems they experienced?

I think that praying for someone while they are present is a bit - well, weird at best!

Z said...

Well, a staff member with a disability is taking part and students with disabilities are being interviewed and consulted about the survey. We haven't got anyone in school at present in a wheelchair, though expect to have in future - it's impossible for all the school to be accessed by wheelchair. I would have been useful, at least, as a person who uses a walking stick.

The school is built on a slope and there are a lot of differences in levels - we know a good deal already about the physical problems that people encounter. The idea of this is not just to survey the school, but set up a template, a blueprint, whatever you like to call it, for other schools to use too. The person coming from County is a specialist in hearing difficulties -the main focus for us is "invisible" barriers to learning - which includes building materials and teaching styles (such as facing the board rather than the pupils) as it's something we haven't gone into much, but a lot of people, children and adults, have hearing loss.

In this case, it'll be more useful to sit someone down and ask which classrooms they have more difficulty in than to walk them round the school.

martina said...

There are others besides your fellow church members and family praying for your speedy recovery Z.
Cranford concluded last night on public t.v. Is there any acting part where Dame Judi Dench doesn't succeed? She is amazing.

Anonymous said...

I was just mentally agreeing with your comment about Richard Burton's voice - he is one of the speakers on the son et lumiere presentation at the Pyramids - when Judi Dench pops up in another comment - she too is one of the speakers, though I can't remember if she was at Giza or Luxor!

I don't think I would want to be there while people were praying for me either.

Z said...

There's another season recently started here, Martina, it'll be with you in a few months.

I saw her years ago playing Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. It also had Nigel Havers and Zoƫ Wanamaker, as I recall.

I remember going to the Planetarium years ago - probably 25 years and being thrilled to hear a radio broadcaster doing the voiceover. His name was John Ebdon and he had the most wonderful dark brown voice - rather like Nelson Gabriel's in the Archers, for those of you who are old enough. I found out afterwards that John E. was a director at the Planetarium - I think he did the commentaries live.

luckyzmom said...

We all know you are going to be just fine, because we will all be praying. I will have to start early.

Z said...

Aw, aren't you all lovely? Thank you.

martina said...

I think we actually just saw the series you mentioned. This time it was a 2 episode series where Mr.Brown married a widowed Baroness and a lot of bits left from the last series were cleared up.

Z said...

Could be - I only saw the first episode, in which the ladies who were against the railway were persuaded to take a train ride and see for themselves.