I have to Chair a debate on this issue tomorrow. Honestly, reading the comments that some people have made on the website, am I the only person in this country that thinks that a line should be drawn when the government starts telling us what we should wear? All right, if children can't understand what their teaching assistant is saying, then she ( Read more... )

My lords, ladies, gentlemen, and, er... common folk, I have an important question:

Could someone please explain to me the origins of the phrase 'sitting like a lemon'? 
To use it in context: "Don't just sit there like a lemon!"

I can understand the principle that the subject is not moving, but why a lemon? Has there been some great event in the past ( Read more... )

I have been offline for a scarily long time, for no particular reason that I can think of. However, this time has not been passed unconstructively:

~ I have submitted my application to St Catharine's College at Cambridge (only a week after the deadline - go me!) although I have no great hopes for my chances, because a) wow, do they make those forms ( Read more... )

Kate is, unfortunately, back at college. This has led to the unleashing of wrathful!Kate, an incarnation of the usually mild-tempered young lady that is a direct result of early mornings, a new 'healthy eating' regime, and a huge pile of essays waiting to be written, all with enthralling and exhilarating titles such as 'Assess the positives and ( Read more... )

Another life-threatening sailing ordeal:

(This one was whilst teaching beginner sailors, many of whom, I fear, will never come near the sea again.)

Waves: *are deceptively small*
Kate, Harry, and Mother: *launch boat*
Waves: *turn into The Most Gigantic Waves In The World*
Boat: *decides that it would like to be a flying boat, but discovers the flaw in ( Read more... )

I went up to London today (twice in three days - I am now incredibly poor), and ( Read more... )

I have got the proofs of my book. To add to my copies of the front cover. Only two more months, and they will put them together to form a Real Book.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much wrong with what the proofs, so I don't get to be all prima-donna-ish (or whatever the authorial equivalent is), and send it back with complaints and abuse ( Read more... )

I am back, and can safely say that the last week has been on of the most disasterous holidays that I have ever been on. Events are as follows ( Read more... )

I have finally achieved one of my life-goals, and have won something in a pub quiz. Hooray! Not that it had anything to do with our intelligence (the nearest that we've ever get is two points away from winning), but because the winning team gets to choose another team to play 'pot luck', and we have enough luck to pick the right envelope, as well ( Read more... )

News Items:

~ The Parents left for Cornwall on Friday, leaving my brother and I to fend for ourselves for a week. During that time I have a) failed to tidy anything away, meaning that I will have to spend the whole of tomorrow picking up my detritus, b) put too much powder in the washing machine, causing it to overflow and fill the laundry room with ( Read more... )