Friday, July 28, 2006

Prague
My trip to Prague last week went well. I met several people from the school I will be working for, and managed to organise my accommodation for the coming year. A kindly American called Johnson was my host for the trip, and I will be living in the same apartment building as him.
The apartment is in an area called Žižkov, which is a few kilometres from the centre. This area has lots of cafes and bars frequented both by locals and expats. I'm sure I will settle there happily.

I had more time than I expected for tourism while I was in Prague. One of the letting agencies failed to arrange appointments for me to view apartments, so I used the time to familiarise myself once more with the city. Prague has changed immensely since my first visit fifteen years ago, most of the buildings have been renovated where many were dilapidated before. There are many more restaurants, and they are much more welcoming. Most of the international chain stores are represented there now, too.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Exam time
I was working at Farnborough College again on Monday. The Speaking and Listening exams were being held for the Summer Course students, and I was acting as a facilitator for the afternoon session. Each student took part in an individual session with the external examiner, followed by a group discussion.

My duties were to ensure that each student was given a record card for their marks, which they had to hand to the external examiner, and that they were present when the examiner called for them. In the case of the group discussion I had to read out the topic for the group to discuss, warn them if they were straying from the topic of discussion, prevent any one student from monopolising the discussion, and ensure that everyone took part in the discussion.

The one thing which Farnborough is famous for is the Farnborough International Air Show, and this year's show began on the same day as the exam. The flying display began in the afternoon, and the college is directly under the approach path of the runway. This meant that the poor students had to cope with aircraft noise during their speaking and listening exam.

I had warned them beforehand that this might be a problem, and they coped with it sensibly, but maybe next time we should ask the air show to hold their display on a day which doesn't conflict with the exams...

Friday, July 14, 2006

Flat hunting in Prague
I have now agreed a start date for my work in Prague. I will fly out on August 5th to start on the 7th. I'm sure the time will rush by between now and then.

I need to find somewhere to live. I have been checking out property ads on the Internet and the language school has an arrangement with some local landlords, but there is no substitute for checking out a place in person. I will take a short trip out there next week to view a few places and choose one.

The trip will also give me an opportunity to visit the school and meet at least some of the people. Many of the teachers won't be there until the beginning of September. I won't have a full teaching load in August, so I will have a chance to settle in and get up to speed without being overwhelmed.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Cycling again
Since Malcolm's accident Sue and I haven't been out cycling much. We decided last weekend to get out and take a trip to get back into the groove again. Sue took Friday off work and we spent the day riding down to Portsmouth for a late-afternoon ferry to Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight.

Once over the water we followed the small lanes from Fishbourne to Sandown taking in a scenic road across Brading Down. The views were good, although there was a lot of fast traffic for such a minor road. I think the culprits were people anxious to get away for the weekend, along with a couple of motorcyclists out for an after-work burn-up.

We were booked into the Youth Hostel at Sandown. We haven't been hostelling for some years, but decided to re-join this summer. The hostel was nice and less formal than they used to be. It was a fine evening, so dinner consisted of fish and chips from Fat Harry's taken on a bench near the pier, followed by an evening stroll.

On Saturday we left Sandown via an off-road cycle route to Newport, and then made our way to Yarmouth for lunch. We left Yarmouth on the ferry to Lymington, and from Lymington we rode through the New Forest to Burley. Burlet hostel was very busy, not just inside, but also with families and groups camping in the hostel grounds in tents and teepees.

On Sunday morning we set off to ride through the New Forest to Mottisfont Abbey which is a National Trust property. We are members of the National Trust so we are able to make use of their properties for informal tea-shop stops. At Mottisfont they served some excellent cheese and watercress scones which set us up for the next part of the ride.

We rode through King's Somborne and skirted the north of Winchester, pausing for a cream tea at the garden centre in Headbourne Worthy. From there we skirted the south of Basingstoke to arrive home in the early evening.

It was a lovely weekend. We had some damp spells, but each day ended with sunshine Some of the roads were busy, but many were quiet, and the whole experience reminded us why we love cycletouring.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Alec Muffett
One of my ex-Sun colleagues mailed on Friday to say that Alec Muffett is in hospital in France following a motorbike accident. Alec's friend Chris Samuel is keeping his blog updated with news of Alec as it comes in. I hope he makes a speedy recovery.