Highlight of my day was getting a 'follow' on twitter from Dick King-Smith. Though now I'm writing this and check it out, he died in 2011 and the page is "a tribute by the K-S family," so I've deflated a fair amount but not entirely. He's the guy who wrote the kids' novel they turned into the film 'Babe' amongst others, including 'Martin's Mice' which I used in the first scheme of work I ever taught, to a Year 7 class (age 11). We all loved the book, it was better than any of us had dared hope. The kids all gave their enthusiasm so openly - they didn't want to stop working with it when we'd finished the s.o.w., so I had them re-write it as a play, which they then performed to their regular teacher, who fell asleep during the performance and snored and we all giggled and that was that - I fell in love with them and with teaching. Which was obviously my first mistake. (Not really - I'd made shitloads by then, I was 39, for fuck's sake.)

So, looking to find what had prompted this unlikely event, of being followed by DK-S, I found that my most recent post, on the day of all the bollocks about Corbyn not singing the National Anthem, had been a retweet of this: "Janey Godley ‏@JaneyGodley [Glaswegian] Sep 15
see when am QUEEN? AM MAKING EVERY CUNT SING THE BIRDIE SONG" which made me very happy, though in fact it was probably the retweet of Meg Rosoff's talk about fear and children's literature which lured them in.

I didn't make the video as planned because when you look at it through a lens you can see what a fucking mess this place is and I couldn't be arsed to start tidying up but couldn't quite bring myself to film it either. Soz.

I am grateful for: a sit in the sunshine after yoga, very mellow; a tax rebate - didn't know I'd been paying tax so that was a bonus; friends; free prescriptions for the over 60s, though I do believe they're still free in Scotland, Wales and N Ireland, just in England most people have to pay; art group tomorrow (yay!)

xxxx