I had some sad news this week. Madge who was my first boss (Headteacher) died after a long illness. She was an inspirational lady who at that time was a bit of a pioneer because it was mainly male Headteachers in Gloucestershire Primary Schools in the early 70s. I learnt much from Madge about children. She never gave up on those high maintenance children who were up against everything and I held that close when I was a Head. I will remember many of the humorous moments we had then mainly thanks to Madge’s often determined and frequently scatty approach to a problem. She always went that extra mile to support families at school. She certainly influenced how I saw education, she wouldn’t have liked today’s straight jacket on the curriculum, because she was a strong believer in the arts in its widest sense!

So today’s title was  a memory of those happy times at Stroud Valley Primary School and was certainly the sound track of my first year of teaching!

I was doing the monthly bird count this morning and had two Common Cranes briefly fly over. It was a quiet morning but had a lovely view of a Kingfisher flying along the ditch below where I was standing.

I am Story Telling later, not sure if we are inside or out depends on the weather. I am away most of February but March is looking busy for Gigs. I have had a good 12 to 18 months with some interesting varied venues that I have performed at!