The Power of Words
In the week since we’ve touched down on UK soil I’ve been back to work, travelled (again) up to London and attended a book launch. It’s fair to say it hasn’t exactly been an easy transition. I was expecting the tiredness. I was expecting the excitement at seeing faces I had missed for so long. […]
Read More
Surrounded by shining glass walls. Metal and flashing screens, colour and sound. Crowding in so close and so high you forget the size of the sky. Pasted up the sides are bright kanji – symbols pronouncing fun, food, fashion, all can be found on different floors. Inside the beautiful structures is a small lift, buttons browned […]
Read More
Everyone loves to feel like they’re progressing. The problem is, for some things, outcomes are not quite as tangible as we’d like. If I were an aspiring baker, I’d continue to work on my crumb texture, or perfect the proving of my bread (I only know these words because of Bake Off). As a runner, […]
Read More
The leaves on the tree outside my window are dying. But they are so beautiful in their death. Near the top, they still have green hearts, tinged with an acid-bright red. Towards the bottom, they’ve faded to yellow, as if dipped in custard. Every year this tree stands for months with naked branches. Not until […]
Read More
The results are in. After months of worrying over the impact the new English GCSE would have on our students, we’ve found that, thankfully, they’ve done about as well as we expected. Look a little closer, and you could see the particular issues this new system has thrown up. Unsurprisingly, in English Language, the question […]
Read More
A slump of a man is in the waiting area. Hunched over the chrome and black chair, his scuffed trainers rest on the marble. Baggy denim hangs from his knees, eyes darting through the shaggy fall of hair. Jacob stands separate, watching his brother’s discomfort. Sealed in a suit, the polish of his shoes matching […]
Read More
Thick green canopy that stretches away, an endless carpet folded over the slump and rise of mountains. Underneath, we trudge through sinewy grasses. They slap and swoosh, fondling our legs and leaving seeds as mementos. Down now, the air earthy, ground beneath sinking under the pressure of our feet. Fingers of sunlight tease their way […]
Read More