Monday, 22 September 2008
Let the search begin
After a weekend of celebrating Sarah's birthday it is back to thte start of the week again and this means that it has gone past time for me to get my ass into gear and get a job. I have realised now that with the lack of demand for primary school teachers in Wales and also that I lack the QTS which many a school would demand in their applicants it may be time to look in other areas for work. Which kind of sux.
Thursday, 11 September 2008
Pub Quizzed
Last night was the inaugural night of 'The Special Ones'. Well it was just basically a pub quiz night and our team ended up winning first place. We kicked some ass.
It was only thanks to Liz's parents who got us inot the place and gave us a few of the answers which allowed the greatest team in teh universe to win!
It was only thanks to Liz's parents who got us inot the place and gave us a few of the answers which allowed the greatest team in teh universe to win!
Monday, 8 September 2008
Arrrgh! Working, so many edcisions to make!
So after a promising start to the day calling up and making contact with many of the agencies aound Cardiff it all went a bit pear shaped after recieving an email from one particular agency that listed some of the required things to bring in for the interview. This particular thing was Proof of Registration with the GTCW (where applicable).
Now normally I usually just say fuck-it and turn up to these interviews no problem as it is them the agencies that really need me as I am the person that makes them the money... but for some reason this particualr thing stood out as something that needed to be investigated. Hmmm, turns out that it is a registration for teachers that are qualified. Teachers that have QTS.
QTS the bane of teaching in the UK. It seems that they are just interested in preserving the profession for their own British teachers as the UK system seems to be very lengthly in actually getting into the teacing profession. Once you are in OK, no problems, but this QTS thing really pisses me off.
So in England I can teach for 4 years without needing to gain QTS, but here in Wales they have decided to be different and reduce this down to only 2 years. To make it a bit more difficult if I wished to work here in Wales as an unqualified teacher I would most likely be on a reduced pay scale, pretty much equilivent to that of a teachers assistant. Not much encouragement for me to persue a career in teaching for the moment.
But what I think really annoys me the most is just that I have to decide if I will teach as-is for the next year, or will I just go in headfirst and try to gain my QTS, even though outside the UK it dosn't mean diddly squat. Hmmm decisions, decisions.
And also a bit of pressure in that I really need a job.
Now normally I usually just say fuck-it and turn up to these interviews no problem as it is them the agencies that really need me as I am the person that makes them the money... but for some reason this particualr thing stood out as something that needed to be investigated. Hmmm, turns out that it is a registration for teachers that are qualified. Teachers that have QTS.
QTS the bane of teaching in the UK. It seems that they are just interested in preserving the profession for their own British teachers as the UK system seems to be very lengthly in actually getting into the teacing profession. Once you are in OK, no problems, but this QTS thing really pisses me off.
So in England I can teach for 4 years without needing to gain QTS, but here in Wales they have decided to be different and reduce this down to only 2 years. To make it a bit more difficult if I wished to work here in Wales as an unqualified teacher I would most likely be on a reduced pay scale, pretty much equilivent to that of a teachers assistant. Not much encouragement for me to persue a career in teaching for the moment.
But what I think really annoys me the most is just that I have to decide if I will teach as-is for the next year, or will I just go in headfirst and try to gain my QTS, even though outside the UK it dosn't mean diddly squat. Hmmm decisions, decisions.
And also a bit of pressure in that I really need a job.
And so the Saga continued
Well after a fantastic time in Croatia, seeing Split, Dubrovnik and some parts of Bosnia, Alex and I headed back to Switzerland on our Easy Jet flight arriving in Geneva. It was like travelling into another dimension. We got onto the plane with blue skies and temperatures in the shade reaching 30 or so degrees and we arrived in Geneva with pouring rain, wind and a temperature around 20 degrees. Feeling a bit exhausted from the early morning travelling we headed off to our friendly HI hostel in the dodgy part of town, as Patrick put it, for some rest and recuperation along with catching up on our washing. Exciting I know, but these things have to be done every now and then. We also booked a car for the following day for two weeks which should allow us a bit more freedom travelling around the alps.
The next day we go the car, our fantastic little Ford, I would never have guessed that one day I would have been yelling at the top of my voice inside a car ‘Go Ford!’ We spent the first day with the car finding our way around Geneva, well I did, and then we spent some time in Geneva’s famous swimming place. Today the lake was really cold, almost 14 degrees, and I was still wondering why nobody seemed to be having a swim in the water. We ended up spending the night at Patrick’s place, on his floor and it was the hardest floor in the world. Bad nights sleep.
The next day we were off to Annecy, driving on the wrong side of the road was going to take another day or so to get used to it. I had a flight in Annecy, back at the place where I had my inaugural tandem over 5 years or so ago. This time it was almost as good. We met these Poms that were travelling around the Alps, Jan and Chris. They were flying around having a good time also. I was really pleased in that I had not forgotten that much of the flying business. I was still able to do some relaxed take offs while others really still struggled. After that flight we hung around the landing zone watching the enormous numbers of tandems that would come in before deciding to start our journey to Grand Bonnard.
It was an amazing drive. Alex took a turn driving and he chose to drive on the road that was a bit challenging. He seemed to have a good time, but in the process it made me feel a bit sic. He was, I think a bit nervous and it showed in his driving, making it a bit jerky and uncomfortable. But the incredible scenery made up for the lack of a smooth journey. Grand Bonnard proved to be bit of a washout as when we arrived the cable cars had already stopped, so that meant that there was no more cable car rides to the top and Alex just missed the local school going up for a tandem in the setting sun. After that the rain decided to make itself known. So our tiny little tent got given a nice washing and a real testing overnight.
Morning dawned and with it miserable weather. That and the fact that it was the first night of camping which always causes a bit of soreness from the different, I mean much more uncomfortable, conditions. So with the horrible wet weather that we discovered when we woke up, we decided to head off to somewhere else to hopefully find some fine weather, to do a bit of flying and also some sightseeing. With the only deadline being to meet mum and dad at Geneva in the 19th we decided that Interlaken was the place to be, Interlaken and the promise of flying in Murren, Grindelwald, Shinge Plate and also the sites around Interlaken. We headed off back tracking then via Chamonix till we reached Interlaken. I was surprised that when I turned up at the campsite near the river that they still had me on file. Oh well, not completely anonymous in Switzerland, it just goes to show how well organised the are in that country.
The next day proved a bit better on the weather front. We checked out Murren and were very lucky to catch a guy falling from the sky with a squirrel suit on, before he threw his chute and landed safely. It looked amazing and at the same time completely insane. We decided that we would head off to Grindelwald to hopefully make the most of the shitty weather. We ended up getting a flight in and although it proved a bit dodgy and lumpy it still was good to be back flying in the really amazing scenery. We flew at Grindelwald the next day, I ended up having a couple of flights, the first one was ok at around lunch time, while the last one was later at about five in the evening, near to the end of the day and looking back it was a bit stupid.
Alex and I both took off and by the time we had flown half way down a storm front had popped its head over the top of the Jungfrau and decided that it didn’t want anybody else flying today. It started to come across pretty quick. So first Alex then I pulled in big ears to get down much quicker, rather than risk a long, long walk through the night. We later caught up with Jan and Chris and they said that it looked like we were both parked and just dropping like stones. Well the wind had picked up a bit and I guess that it was a bit foolish to fly but when we got through the really rough and bumpy wind layer the air turned a lot smoother for the landing and we were both able to land safely, pack up and then there was still time for me to trudge off to the train station with both gliders while Alex took off at a fast jog to pick up the car before the storm broke. It was an exhilarating flight, taking off through the light wispy clouds then feeling a bit like you are about to die…
A couple more flights at Grindelwald and I was becoming more and more courageous in my flying. I saw some guy perform some helicopters while I was overhead, they looked really cool. But all good things come to an end, so the next day we headed off back to Geneva to meet up with mum and dad and hopefully get some better weather. We hired the free bikes again and went for a ride all around Geneva; to the botanic gardens the fountain and also a bit of the city. At the conclusion of the bike riding trip we managed to loose dad for a while, but he had just decide to return to the bike shop by himself. We went back to the car and packed up the car a bit better before heading out to the airfield and picking up our gliders, repacking the car a lot better, while it was pouring down harder than cats and dogs, and then heading off to Chamonix with a really loaded up little car. Apart for m the rain there was not that much of a problem in heading from Geneva. We arrived in Chamonix just before dark and eventually found our Gite; Gite le Vagabond. It turned out to be a place above a pub, nice but with really weird bunk beds. The bottom was really low, the top bunk really high, weird.
Argule de Midi the next day then followed with a trip to the Mer De Glace and the ice grotto before we headed of to the place where dad could be having his tandem flight. It was a real nice place and I had a great flight but it was really busy. Loads of students were flying from another site to the same landing- zone and funny enough we ran in to Jan and Chris again (can’t get rid of those two). The next morning we said goodbye to mum and dad early before Alex and I headed off to the la Flagere launch site for an early flight. I got a bit trashed by some rough air coming off some trees but it was a real nice flight. Just a nice sled ride down, but considering the weather forecast it was the most we could have hope for. We had actually headed to the top launch site but it turned out to be a bit dodgy with some cross wind and rocks all around, un-flyable even though it looked really amazing. So we took the chair lift back down and took off no prob form the bottom take-off .
After this it as back into the car again and the destination this time was Fieche. Along the way the weather decided to change at an amazing rate. At one point we were driving along at the same speed as a cloud was. It was an amazing feeling to see the weather rushing in so fast through the valleys, especially when one valley met with another, the clouds streaming around the corner of a mountain to be whisked away in the wind in the other valley. The next day we were really tired. Too much travelling and not enough rest and relaxation so we were both trashed. We ended up spending the day doing our washing, playing foosball, aerobe and giant chess. However this relaxing was not to last.
The very next morning we were up and about flying Fiesche with almost the most amount of paragliders that there was in the air I had ever seen. So many gliders around. I got a little freaked during the second flight so I headed off to find a thermal of my own resulting in my flying lower and lower till I landed. After a holiday of flying I needed a break so we caught the gondola to the top and took a short walk to the peak of the Eggishorn to look out over the Aletsch Glacier. Amazing. The most serene place that I have ever been to. I was reminded of the movie about Buddha or somebody who had meditated beneath a tree till they nearly starved. I think that if I hadn’t been wearing a singlet and the weather wouldn’t have dropped to below freezing I would have been able to sit there looking at the glacier all day.
The next day the weather had turned sour so we headed back towards Geneva, arriving just after lunch. We got a flight in which was what I decided was the best of the holiday so far. It was amazing, climbing up to near cloud base, getting out of the cloud suck, spiralling in the cloud suck to only gain all the height I had lost really easily, Really hard spirals, some bigger wing-overs and a safe landing. A great flight to finish off the holiday.
The next day we were again given great weather. Alex and I climbed up the winding path to the top of la Slaeve and back down before I decided to chill out and catch all the pilots landing in the evening. There were some amazing limestone caves that we passed through on the way to the top, caves that Patrick and Laura had not even realised were there. Alex got in one more flight before he would have to pack away his glider for the rest of the trip. It was a great way to end our time in the Alps. One last day of mountain sunshine and relaxing for a wind down. The next day we were off to Amsterdam and that is where the rainy weather started. Amsterdam proved to be a bit awkward, we caught up with Dagmar and had a few beers and then we were soon bound for Cardiff. Cardiff came around really quick and soon Sarah was there to greet us at the airport and to really finish off the end of my holiday, even though we were headed off to London after the weekend. It felt that Cardiff was where my holiday ended. Yay! Now back to the hard real world of working.
The next day we go the car, our fantastic little Ford, I would never have guessed that one day I would have been yelling at the top of my voice inside a car ‘Go Ford!’ We spent the first day with the car finding our way around Geneva, well I did, and then we spent some time in Geneva’s famous swimming place. Today the lake was really cold, almost 14 degrees, and I was still wondering why nobody seemed to be having a swim in the water. We ended up spending the night at Patrick’s place, on his floor and it was the hardest floor in the world. Bad nights sleep.
The next day we were off to Annecy, driving on the wrong side of the road was going to take another day or so to get used to it. I had a flight in Annecy, back at the place where I had my inaugural tandem over 5 years or so ago. This time it was almost as good. We met these Poms that were travelling around the Alps, Jan and Chris. They were flying around having a good time also. I was really pleased in that I had not forgotten that much of the flying business. I was still able to do some relaxed take offs while others really still struggled. After that flight we hung around the landing zone watching the enormous numbers of tandems that would come in before deciding to start our journey to Grand Bonnard.
It was an amazing drive. Alex took a turn driving and he chose to drive on the road that was a bit challenging. He seemed to have a good time, but in the process it made me feel a bit sic. He was, I think a bit nervous and it showed in his driving, making it a bit jerky and uncomfortable. But the incredible scenery made up for the lack of a smooth journey. Grand Bonnard proved to be bit of a washout as when we arrived the cable cars had already stopped, so that meant that there was no more cable car rides to the top and Alex just missed the local school going up for a tandem in the setting sun. After that the rain decided to make itself known. So our tiny little tent got given a nice washing and a real testing overnight.
Morning dawned and with it miserable weather. That and the fact that it was the first night of camping which always causes a bit of soreness from the different, I mean much more uncomfortable, conditions. So with the horrible wet weather that we discovered when we woke up, we decided to head off to somewhere else to hopefully find some fine weather, to do a bit of flying and also some sightseeing. With the only deadline being to meet mum and dad at Geneva in the 19th we decided that Interlaken was the place to be, Interlaken and the promise of flying in Murren, Grindelwald, Shinge Plate and also the sites around Interlaken. We headed off back tracking then via Chamonix till we reached Interlaken. I was surprised that when I turned up at the campsite near the river that they still had me on file. Oh well, not completely anonymous in Switzerland, it just goes to show how well organised the are in that country.
The next day proved a bit better on the weather front. We checked out Murren and were very lucky to catch a guy falling from the sky with a squirrel suit on, before he threw his chute and landed safely. It looked amazing and at the same time completely insane. We decided that we would head off to Grindelwald to hopefully make the most of the shitty weather. We ended up getting a flight in and although it proved a bit dodgy and lumpy it still was good to be back flying in the really amazing scenery. We flew at Grindelwald the next day, I ended up having a couple of flights, the first one was ok at around lunch time, while the last one was later at about five in the evening, near to the end of the day and looking back it was a bit stupid.
Alex and I both took off and by the time we had flown half way down a storm front had popped its head over the top of the Jungfrau and decided that it didn’t want anybody else flying today. It started to come across pretty quick. So first Alex then I pulled in big ears to get down much quicker, rather than risk a long, long walk through the night. We later caught up with Jan and Chris and they said that it looked like we were both parked and just dropping like stones. Well the wind had picked up a bit and I guess that it was a bit foolish to fly but when we got through the really rough and bumpy wind layer the air turned a lot smoother for the landing and we were both able to land safely, pack up and then there was still time for me to trudge off to the train station with both gliders while Alex took off at a fast jog to pick up the car before the storm broke. It was an exhilarating flight, taking off through the light wispy clouds then feeling a bit like you are about to die…
A couple more flights at Grindelwald and I was becoming more and more courageous in my flying. I saw some guy perform some helicopters while I was overhead, they looked really cool. But all good things come to an end, so the next day we headed off back to Geneva to meet up with mum and dad and hopefully get some better weather. We hired the free bikes again and went for a ride all around Geneva; to the botanic gardens the fountain and also a bit of the city. At the conclusion of the bike riding trip we managed to loose dad for a while, but he had just decide to return to the bike shop by himself. We went back to the car and packed up the car a bit better before heading out to the airfield and picking up our gliders, repacking the car a lot better, while it was pouring down harder than cats and dogs, and then heading off to Chamonix with a really loaded up little car. Apart for m the rain there was not that much of a problem in heading from Geneva. We arrived in Chamonix just before dark and eventually found our Gite; Gite le Vagabond. It turned out to be a place above a pub, nice but with really weird bunk beds. The bottom was really low, the top bunk really high, weird.
Argule de Midi the next day then followed with a trip to the Mer De Glace and the ice grotto before we headed of to the place where dad could be having his tandem flight. It was a real nice place and I had a great flight but it was really busy. Loads of students were flying from another site to the same landing- zone and funny enough we ran in to Jan and Chris again (can’t get rid of those two). The next morning we said goodbye to mum and dad early before Alex and I headed off to the la Flagere launch site for an early flight. I got a bit trashed by some rough air coming off some trees but it was a real nice flight. Just a nice sled ride down, but considering the weather forecast it was the most we could have hope for. We had actually headed to the top launch site but it turned out to be a bit dodgy with some cross wind and rocks all around, un-flyable even though it looked really amazing. So we took the chair lift back down and took off no prob form the bottom take-off .
After this it as back into the car again and the destination this time was Fieche. Along the way the weather decided to change at an amazing rate. At one point we were driving along at the same speed as a cloud was. It was an amazing feeling to see the weather rushing in so fast through the valleys, especially when one valley met with another, the clouds streaming around the corner of a mountain to be whisked away in the wind in the other valley. The next day we were really tired. Too much travelling and not enough rest and relaxation so we were both trashed. We ended up spending the day doing our washing, playing foosball, aerobe and giant chess. However this relaxing was not to last.
The very next morning we were up and about flying Fiesche with almost the most amount of paragliders that there was in the air I had ever seen. So many gliders around. I got a little freaked during the second flight so I headed off to find a thermal of my own resulting in my flying lower and lower till I landed. After a holiday of flying I needed a break so we caught the gondola to the top and took a short walk to the peak of the Eggishorn to look out over the Aletsch Glacier. Amazing. The most serene place that I have ever been to. I was reminded of the movie about Buddha or somebody who had meditated beneath a tree till they nearly starved. I think that if I hadn’t been wearing a singlet and the weather wouldn’t have dropped to below freezing I would have been able to sit there looking at the glacier all day.
The next day the weather had turned sour so we headed back towards Geneva, arriving just after lunch. We got a flight in which was what I decided was the best of the holiday so far. It was amazing, climbing up to near cloud base, getting out of the cloud suck, spiralling in the cloud suck to only gain all the height I had lost really easily, Really hard spirals, some bigger wing-overs and a safe landing. A great flight to finish off the holiday.
The next day we were again given great weather. Alex and I climbed up the winding path to the top of la Slaeve and back down before I decided to chill out and catch all the pilots landing in the evening. There were some amazing limestone caves that we passed through on the way to the top, caves that Patrick and Laura had not even realised were there. Alex got in one more flight before he would have to pack away his glider for the rest of the trip. It was a great way to end our time in the Alps. One last day of mountain sunshine and relaxing for a wind down. The next day we were off to Amsterdam and that is where the rainy weather started. Amsterdam proved to be a bit awkward, we caught up with Dagmar and had a few beers and then we were soon bound for Cardiff. Cardiff came around really quick and soon Sarah was there to greet us at the airport and to really finish off the end of my holiday, even though we were headed off to London after the weekend. It felt that Cardiff was where my holiday ended. Yay! Now back to the hard real world of working.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)