Tuesday Ten

Ten Useful Pieces of Advice
(These aren't all my tips: I have picked up lots of them from other people or things I have read.)

1. When you feel like you're getting a cold, overdose on vitamin C. Since your body can't store it, it doesn't do you any harm, but it really works. Witness: last week I was getting a cough and I jacked my Berocca intake up to 3 a day. Cough gone by Friday, in spite of it being the hardest work week this year.

2. Get over jet lag by having a little nap. Set an alarm for 15 minutes' time and lie down. If you need to sleep, 15 minutes will allow you to function without ruining your sleep patterns. If you don't need to sleep, you won't.

3. If you've been partaking of gin in quantity, drink loads of water before going to bed (this is old advice but bears repeating)

4. White vinegar is a wonder product and should be kept in all houses at all times. It is particularly effective when used instead of softener in a laundry load. No, the clothes don't smell afterwards. Yes, limescale is removed. Result.

5. Spit splicing yarn helps it go a bit further if you're worried about yardage.

6. Round nosed scissors measuring less than 4 inches from the bezel - ie, classic school scissors - are allowed on most aircraft (but check your airline regs before you quote me).

7. Never forget the low tech version of Freecycle: the local items wanted/for sale noticeboard, often to be found in the Post Office or supermarket.

8. Hard work without a goal is prison. Nobody wants to be in prison. Always decide what your end goal is before you get started with something.

9. You should never worry about the time that something is going to take, because that time's going to pass anyway, whether you're doing the thing or not. Best to just get started, if it's worth doing.

10. Dream on - but don't imagine they'll all come true (with thanks to Billy Joel).


I had a great classroom moment today. Having lectured my year 7s for five minutes on the importance of rising to the challenge, after they'd complained the starter was difficult, I set them an even more difficult task: organising a 14 part card sort representing somebody's thought process. I pitched them girls against boys and wandered over after five minutes to see how they were getting on. When I tried to give some light-touch assistance by telling the boys to listen to one member of their group who had correctly identified the last card, the girls shouted at me, "GO AND SIT DOWN OVER THERE, RIGHT NOW! You shouldn't be helping us!"

roflcoptor. I believe my work here is done.