Having been asked to contribute a piece on Valentine’s Day, my initial reaction was: “Oh no – not another commercially driven ‘celebration’!” So I did a quick and completely unscientific poll of male and female friends of different ages and stages. The results are in. No one over the age of 21 seems to take…

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So here we are on the third day of December and already the Christmas hysteria has begun. Please do not think me a “Bah humbug!” curmudgeon: it’s good that we have something to look forward to celebrating in the dark winter months, but I do feel that expectations are so high that the reality can…

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The Scottish Government launches its national parenting strategy on 3 October 2012. I am delighted that there is to be a National Parenting Strategy and thinking about this has caused me to reflect on what children in Scotland – and indeed worldwide – actually need in order to thrive. I am a parent, I worked…

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By one of those strange quirks that occur I found out unofficially this week that I have achieved all of the Relationships Scotland course requirements and am now an Accredited Mediator with FM West. Clearly I was very pleased and relieved that all the work I have done has been worthwhile. But not having the…

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So the schools in Scotland have closed for the summer – and the rain has poured down ever since. I have to confess that this has suited me very well as it has meant that I am quite happy to be at home and getting on with completing my written assignments to gain accreditation in…

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My cousin’s wife was competing in a final tennis match last week, so he and I decided to have a coffee in the local café before going to watch her. I assumed he would pick me up. He assumed that I was meeting him in the café. Result? He sat in the café for 25…

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Image: Patsie Neilson

Having been in teaching for about 100 years, I was beginning to feel that my post as faculty head of a support for learning department in a large secondary school was taking over my life. I started looking around for something else where I could use my skills that would still impact positively on the…

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