Married life - the story so far...

It's actually suiting me rather well.



I've certainly been too busy being married to post to this blog for a while so I offer the following by way of an update.



Our wedding was fantastic. More fun than I imagined. Full of wonderful friends, the weather was great and the location in Northumberland was magic. Lou looked beautiful.



Photo by Jason Baughan, www.baughanphotography.co.uk



Our photographer also did a brilliant job.



We spent our honeymoon in the Algarve region of Portugal courtesy of a family friend who loaned us their apartment. This isn't it!



Lighthouse at Cabo da Sao Vicente, Portugal



Cliff top walks, lounging on the beach, visits to castles and meals out were the order of the day. We also did some bird watching and visited A Rocha at Ria de Alvor and watched some bird ringing.



Undignified weighing of a Great tit at A Rocha, Ria de Alvor, Portugal



We got quite a decent list together in Portugal which included some lifers and other "Mediterranean specials":

• Azure-winged magpie
• Hoopoe
• Woodchat shrike
• White stork
• Pallid swift
• Kentish plover
• Alpine swift
• Bee-eater
• Crested lark
• Red-rumped swallow
• Black redstart
• Black-eared wheatear
• Sardinian warbler
• Short-toed eagle
• Montagu's harrier
• Zitting cisticola
• Little bustard
• Cattle egret
• Great bustard
• Spanish imperial eagle

Work and Training



Work has continued to present "opportunities and threats". Most positively, the field teaching work I'm involved in at RSPB Fairburn Ings was judged to offer:



"a very high quality of provision with some features that are outstanding"



by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom in their recent inspection. A result we're all very pleased with. We'd all put in a great deal of work into enhancing the degree to which we apply assessment for learning.



Community sculpture at RSPB Fairburn Ings



I continued to work with Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Adventure Activities Development Unit. I produced a report on how our outdoor teaching can, and does, support learning in school, relating our adventurous activities work to the primary national curriculum. This was very well received by the Unit and leaders in the schools we work with.



I completed some work with Lupine Adventure Co-Op, leading a fantastic group of 6th form students from Furze Platt Senior School round the Yorkshire Three Peaks on their annual 3 Peaks Challenge. I hope that I can continue this sort of work in the future.



I renewed my outdoor first aid and minibus driving qualifications.



Through my work with Leeds City College I have participated in training with:

• Jason Bangbala on behaviour management. Jason delivered a dynamic day-long session which was fun, inspirational, practical and challenging. He exemplified a high energy, humourous and robust approch to classroom management and stressed the need to take personal responsibilty; individually doing whatever it takes to "get the job done". I'll certainly be applying some of his philosophy and strategies. However, he raised questions about how sustainable this approach is. He hinted at having experienced burn-out in his own teaching career. In my experience there is often work that can be done at an institutional level to support positive student behaviour which assists both teachers and students.
  
  
• Linda Jenkinson on reconnecting with nature and life-coaching. Linda (a qualified life-coach and birdwatching trainer) taught us about the origins, symptoms and consequences of our current "societal disconnect" from nature and coached us in noticing our natural environment. She then helped us to action plan, using gap analysis, to reconnect and increase the quality of our lives. I found this "time out" useful to re-establish my priorities and plan a way forward. I didn't need any convincing of the value of reconnecting with nature!
  
  

Fun and Games



I have found the time among everything else to:

• Take part in the Ravenglass Seaquest Event. A canoe orienteering event in the Mite, Irt and Esk estuaries.
  
  
• Go ringing with Andy Jowett of the Yorkshire Dales Upland Bird Study Group.

Andy with a common buzzard chick. That's my rope in the background.

• Attend a few practices with Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association. On one of these I managed to dislocate my right index finger.
• Take a couple of walks in the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District.

Brotherswater and Ullswater from Caudale Head

• Take a couple of tourist trips down Gaping Ghyll with my brother, nephew and Andy Carson. Andy took some great shots, one of which is here.
• Go on Andy Carson's stag do to Sofia. Photo again here. Andy second from the left.
• Go for some rides on my bike. I was especially enjoying evening rides with my brother until 4 weeks ago when I broke my wrist.
• Attend a couple of weddings. I DJ'd a short but nerve wracking set at Andy Carson and Julie's while everyone went off to get bacon sandwiches. Hence the empty dancefloor. Honest!

I sort out some tunes while people stand about. Note the cast on my DJing arm and that my right index finger is also suffering a dislocation!



Finally. We went to Scotland for a week's holiday visiting:

• Glen Coe
• Arisaig and Eigg
• Loch Garten

A walk near Arisaig. Probably the best 2 hours of weather the whole trip. More photos here.



Among great scenery we saw an Otter (fleetingly), Golden eagle, Red deer, Manx shearwaters, Grey and Common seals, Red squirrels, Siskins and Ospreys (at RSPB Loch Garten).



What's next?

• A week's outdoor instructing for Bradford Met on their Champion's Challenge event.
• A week's outdoor instructing for People's Award for Excellence (PAWE).
• A half day learning about falconry and handling hawks in North Yorkshire.
  
  
• Back to teaching at Leeds City College in the middle of August.