Just pleasantly floundering around.....

When I was a kid I used to love these kind of puzzles. I know some of them have been around for ages but I still enjoy them....... 1) A large ship is moored to a pier has a rope ladder hanging over its side. Each rung of the ladder is 2 cm in diameter and the rungs are 50cm apart, centre to centre. The ladder hangs down to the water, the water just covering the fifth rung from the bottom. If the tide rises at a uniform rate of 10cm an hour, how many rungs will be underwater after two hours? A drawing might help you find the answer. 2) What are the tree mistake in this sentence? 3) Why do white sheep in Wales eat more than black sheep? 4) Why are 2007 pennies worth more than 2006 pennies? 5) How much soil can be removed from a hole 2 metres wide by 2 meters long and 2 metres wide. 6) A scientist made an amazing discovery. He invented a liquid so powerful it would dissolve any substance known on Earth He made millions of pounds selling it for £15 a bottle. What is the flaw in this story?...

Most people say 42 and that's probably right. I think they'd also be just as right if they said, cherry tomatoes. From my personal perspective - There is no real meaning to life. This is in no way a negative thing to say. In fact, the quest for a deep meaning to life appears to throw some people into an unnecessary panic - especially around mid life. I mean this statement in a 'huge picture' way. In a way of asking, 'what does a life amount to.' When you unpick the legacy of most people's lives, it usually amounts to very little with the exception of what might live on in those people they 'touched' in their life time - and this can be both positive and negative. (This might predominantly be their offspring but will to a lesser extent include others.) There are those that leave a huge legacy - the Einsteins, the Curies, the social reformists - but they are a tiny minority. Few of us will achieve such a legacy. Even our minor positive impacts on the ...

We went to a museum today. One that's been in Norwich all this time but that we have never made it to. Generally I am not really a museum person - not unless it's really something special. I hate to say it but unless I find quirky things, or things are explained to grab my 'social history' imagination, I get really bored. The hall was a merchant's house started in 1320 and added to in the following centuries. The name 'Strangers' refers to those skilled weavers that came over to Norfolk from the Netherlands and north Belgium to teach their methods to the locals. The different rooms are furnished as they would be in the 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries - with things rescued from different residences in Norwich. I do love social history and there were several things that grabbed my attention enough to keep me entertained. Including the following..... A picture portraying different ages of people - that apparently were linked to different animals....and of c...

When I deliver diversity training, I always arrive at the minefield part that is about language. As an activity, I ask people to speculate why some people (in some minorities) might prefer the second term: Immigrants > migrant workers Homosexual > gay Victims of bullying > targets of bullying Teenage parent > teenage mother and father traveller > Traveller This is not an overly easy task and I stress that not every individual in these groups would have issue with the first term being used - far from it. But I use it to illustrate how complex the issue of language can be. One of the main reasons for the difficulty in language is that it is dynamic. Some words develop negative connotations - often because of the media - and therefore these words are replaced or tuned more finely. No single person could be expected to know the up-to-date term for everything. In fact, to expect that causes people to become defensive. i.e. if you make them feel 'caught out' they will...

This week during training we had a debate that often pops up. The balance between 'freedom of speech' and the right people have not to be harassed and offended or anything that implies some people are worthy of less rights than others. There is that famous metaphorical illustration that speaks about a cinema and how you could, if you wanted, shout 'fire' and everyone would rush out of the auditorium in response to your call. But in the absence of an actual fire - you would be held responsible for any harm, accidents and/or annoyance you had caused. This illustrates that - yes - you can say something but not without responsibility. Theorectically, it's simple. We live in a society that generally values the rights of an individual to be free from abuse over the right for others to say absolutely anything they like (e.g. racist comments). I guess the complications arise in individual circumstances e.g. a piece of art that someone interprets as offensive or a provocativ...

When I deliver day-long training such as today, I like to break the day up with what we call, 'energisers.' They are brief activities I facilitate with the sole purpose of waking everyone up a bit - which is especially important in the after lunch 'graveyard slot' when you have a group of zombies filled up with more food than they are used to at lunchtime. The energisers often have the bonus of making people laugh. I always have a few energisers up my sleeve - some are based on brain gym. For example: You ask pairs of people to stand facing each other and: * take it in turns to count to three alternately, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3....etc then * alternate counting to three but clap on '1' then * alternate counting to three but clap on '1', and stamp in '2' then * alternate counting to three but clap on '1', and stamp in '2' and raise the arm (opposite the foot your stamped) on three. Others involve a little concentration - like the 'Pen...

You don't have to look hard to find a beach for yourself in Norfolk. We went to one such beach last weekend. It's called Trimmingham and it's just east of Cromer. First you have to walk across a field and then through a little bit of wood. Then you have to scramble down a slightly steep slope that I suspect would be somewhat treacherous after heavy rain. And then you arrive at a beach that you have pretty much to yourself: I actually witnessed a big clump of the cliff fall away in the distance so I would guess coastal erosion is alive and well here. Then you collect pebbles and play with them until they inspire you to do something with them.....

With two and a half house fires and a forest fire under my belt (and a few other close shaves besides) my brother (pictured left) had a theory that my subconscious lit a fire when I needed to have a change in direction in my life. Back in 1996, inspired by my most recent room combustion, he wrote this song about me: Closet pyromaniac  (It starts quietly) It give me a warm glow to know I have a song written about me, even if that song suggests a slightly destructive craziness - as portrayed well in the song. P.S.I love my little brother. He's pretty amazing. Are sister's allowed to say that about brothers or is that counter-culture and akin to boasting? He's gone on to play and sing swing/jazz with many other musicians since.....here's a fine perfromance of one of his songs ' Hoogly Googly Man' with his ever changing band 'Harry's tricks'

I hate plans. I am so far down the hate end of the hate planning/love planning spectra that it's yet another section in my freakdom dossier. So when I say 'yes' to an invite, I am happiest if there is wriggle-out space. There's always that with certain friends and certain events but I am aware there isn't with others. (Life's a teacher.) So we were home after a day wandering round town, a meal in a restaurant and far too long in a bookshop and, quite frankly, a bit tired. What's more it was raining. We were invited out to Henry's do. Henry used to be the drummer in our band (Klunk) and he's a quirky soul and very likeable. But we were tired and the rain looked annoying and it's not really summer yet - with it's brightness urging us to the outdoors - is it? And Henry's a wriggler himself - so he'd have understood. So we dithered and teetered on the decision's edge. But then the whole spontaneity thing kicked in - as it usually does...

What is it with nostalgia? A little glimpse of times past via a song, smell, brand of sweet, food, TV programme, advert and you get this little gooey rush. All you need is a name - especially one that you have forgotten and are being reminded of - to spark off this process. I have been reading 'One Day' by David Nicholls. It's a really light-hearted and quite touching read about a couple over twenty years - after their first proper encounter the day they graduate. You get a snapshot of their lives on 15th July from 1988 to...well I haven't got there yet. The way they change with age - from hot-headed, slightly naive, 'it's all about 'cool' and 'passion' and grabbing at life to becoming more mature and reflective - is brilliantly done. Thing is too - they're my era - just a little older than me - so the book causes nostalgic twinges throughout. Anyway, it was just one word that found me squashed at the end of the sofa with a warm feeling insi...

It's been a training-heavy week which is always interesting. I always learn something when I deliver training. I am still processing my learning in fact. Highly reflective - as ever. In today's post, I am just going to tell you about an activity that has always gone down well - one that I did last Tuesday with a group of teachers as part of training in 'spicing up (PSHE) lessons'. Here it is: I start by asking people to start with a blank canvas friend. In other words, a friend that has no qualities - as yet. I then give everyone 100 Grifs, Doobles, Blibs, Knigols...whatever the currency is that day and ask them to keep a tally of how much money they have. This activity relies on a degree of honesty (and sound maths) but I actually nearly always admire the cheek of a cheat! I then declare a quality (one at a time) and people bid for their blank canvas friend to have that quality. It is surprising how well it works. People that have been taking a back seat will suddenly ...

I’ve always been a bit of a social misfit in one way or another but certainly when it comes to appearance. I think this particular misfit calling started with the pink National Health Specs given to me at age four in an attempt to sort out my astigmatism and lazy eye. Oh and the eye patches. They made me stand out a bit. Not the pizazz type standing out. I would also regularly break my glasses (probably passive aggressive ‘accidents’) and often they were held together by a plaster. It wasn't a look that overly helped me to fit in. Then there was my mother’s insistence on cutting my fringe a) wonky and b) half way up my (alien bone down the middle) forehead. I know everyone has those tatty old photos with examples of mother’s coiffure love but my barely-a-fringe came with me into adolescence – which also added some greasy lankness which tended to stick it down flat. Not a great foundation to launch a lifetime's relationship with hair styling. I also suffered from tooth overcrowd...

I have always thought it a funny but true concept that as people, we don't know what we don't know . In fact there's bound to be much more we don't know than we do. A humble and open mind can go much further than a closed one. Anyway - that was just a not-entirely-relevant preamble. *************************************************** When people are set up as experts, sometimes if they are asked a question they don't know the answer to, you see them making something up - because they feel they ought to know the answer, rather than admitting they don't know and offering to go and find out. I suspect this is similar to a need to be right and a fear of appearing not to have absolute authority over their area. I hope I am not projecting too much! If given the choice between a fabricated answer posed as the correct one and someone who says they are not sure but will go and find out, I know which I would prefer. Here's an example: Recently a teacher expressed her ...

My six year old son is often walking round our house with a camera filling it up with shots along the lines of a computer screen, his knee, a close up of his mother's ear, a guines pig's bottom, the remote control etc. This inspired me to do the same. I wandered round my house taking photos of corners and things I like to look at. And this was some of the result.... Bathroom spirals and stars that are all over the walls and ceiling... The clock centre. A shop bought one and one our daughter made from an old record, a cereal packet, a CD and milk bottle tops as part of an art project at school. I love how the numbers are wonky. Chap says one shows the time in Norwich and the other shows the time in the twenty second dimension - because they are always a little out of sync. Time runs a bit more randomly in the 22nd dimension because of the irregular spacing of the numbers. A thirtieth birthday card my lovely friend Dayna made for me. It's made out of tissue paper, watercolour...