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... a lot of miles in Europe and a lot of years in America, as they say.
Being guided around beautiful and compact Stockholm by ex-Aussie Swede friend Ian he led me into this private and little room left over from the original cathedral. The painting on the ceiling is 13th century but the room is much older. "The Lutheran Church in Sweden started here" says Ian breezing through a millennium or two of history.
Sometimes we take all this for granted don't we? Last time I visited Stepping Stones school I gave all the students a (real!) Roman coin. There aren't many times you get to own something from 500ad are there?. . . Ian uses the old room for choir practice by the way!
In Stockholm today to open an international conference Real Learning in Virtual Worlds.
But it opened with a stunning performance by a student violin ensemble, all playing with obvious enjoyment and indeed fun. Music in education is usually mixed age, project based (the "School Production"), in large time blocks (very large if it isn't going too well!), where students are often teachers too. And do you know what? - it works SO well that you can't help but wonder why so much else in schools is NOT like this as well. There is so little evidence that same-age, time-limited, closed, unambitious, task-orientated learning works is there?.
this week, I'm down on the Med in Puerto Banas - a break but with broadband (surely that is an oxymoron?) only to find a LOT of boats and a HUGE number of designer shops: Versace Chanel D&G and so on.
But this is not sailing gear as I know it - the style is heavy on bling, leopard prints, Lycra and flimsy chiffon. No GoreTex at all! I'm not sure how this "look" will go down on the UK East Coast in November. I'll ask the team. . .
. . . Is a HUGE export for the Cayman Isles and the simple reason for that is because Caymanian Rum Cake is truly yummy, as indeed anything would be that had been soaked in rum for so long!
Here Cracker's sail controls' supremo Cali models an (almost!) new cake (that starboard grinder Jonathan brought back from his recent visit) for our post race feast. It went pretty quick, like Cracker really!
Kentish Town has the longest escalator on the London Underground (in fact, in Western Europe apparently!) and it IS whopping although a mere babe compared to Hong Kong's mile long one (yes! MILE long) that starts at Queen's Road Central. By the way, I like the way when you travel on the HK one you can swipe your Octopus card on the way and it CREDITS your for not using the underground at busy time periods!!
But while we are on Underground trivia which tube station/s use all 5 vowels aeiou?
See comments to this posting for the (two) possible answers.
...so we will be swapping our team shirts for gillets and layers of Thinsulate fleece and GoreTex cloth. We do have a few more autumn races left to enjoy though, and them it's off to park at the St Katherine Docks, by the Tower of London for winter - and a few parties too no doubt.
It's been a fun and fab year and Cracker has got quicker and quicker. As you see, we are quite a team, even with baby Amelie on board (can you spot her here?)!
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