Some days I think it's all a dream (Elton John)

Wie geht's?

Music is one of the best prompts for linking back to memories and people from our past. 

As I've mentioned before, the three amigos are currently doing that Spotify playlist of things our loved ones like/liked (four of the nine are alive and well). 

It's proving to be quite an emotional experience for us, especially as we consider our parents musical tastes, because we are tapping into some precious memories from our youth.

For me, it's a nice convergence of the past into the present. I suspect they would have loved the Spotify playlist idea and the technology around it. And I'm sure they would be touched at our on-going effort to honour them all via our musical memories.

It can be a tad overwhelming, if I close my eyes and think about those moments. Must be the clouds in my eyes.

Love and peace - Woz

P.S. I'm into the third week with the beard for Movember. Remember, you can support me and men's mental health via this link. Thanks in advance.

My infatuation with the study of animate nature grew rapidly into a fully-fledged love affair (Farley Mowat)

Wie geht's?

Just got back from my daily walk into Hastings, which included a browse at The Little Red Bookshop, where I picked up a copy of Farley Mowat's Never Cry Wolf.

The story and the images from the film have had a powerful effect on me over the years (I can remember teaching this film in the 1980s).

The film is on YouTube if you are interested, and you should be, because it is brilliant!

While teaching it, I did see the film a few times, but that was over 30 years ago. So, it's pretty incredible that I can close my eyes and see images of Charles Martin Smith alone on the ice, hear the wolves and feel the chills and thrills he experienced.

I don't recall teaching the book that the film is based on, so I'm really looking forward to reading it and seeing how it differs from the film.

Life on the edge in Wozza's World.

Love and peace - Wozza

I'm bringing you the weather from the satellite jigsaw (DD Smash)

Senior students are on exam leave, with only Year 9 and 10 students still at school, so we've entered that vaguely twilight zone/ false dawn period for a month. Until the Christmas break starts in early December.

It feels a little unsettling having all of this preparation time suddenly, and staff are commenting on how slow the days/weeks are going. We're all used to a high-pressure environment with very little time available each day/week to mark and prepare, and now we have a low-pressure system coming in from the Tasman Sea and hovering over Hawke's Bay.

The upside to all this is having time to go for a daily walk.

Normally, I struggle to get time each day to refresh/ meditate via a walk but lately I have been able to walk into Hastings' CBD to do errands - things like stationery supplies, books, check out the library and get a coffee.

This is quality time and has many benefits for me personally and professionally. I have good ideas while out walking which often translate into better lesson ideas and outcomes for my students.

I'll make the most of this while it lasts.

It's a wonderful wonderful life (Black)

Photo by Elijah Macleod on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

As I pointed out in a recent post - the three amigos (some good sorts I've known for around 50 years - they're growing on me - we might end up being friends at some point in the future - these things take time you know) have another Spotify playlist on the go and this time you may actually be interested in following it! Shock horror probe!

The premise, you'll recall, is that each week we focus on one of our loved ones (our spouses and parents) and choose songs we think (or know) they might like. 

First up was a Jacky week (the first 15 songs) and then GK's mum - Joan (who is incidentally the only one of our parents still around). 

Jacky's week made for a challenging start. She is a tough audience. Joan is up this week and I really hope she likes our choices.

You can find the playlist here. Happy listening!

Love and peace - Wozza

She had a kind heart, though that is not of much use when it comes to the matter of self-preservation (Penelope Fitzgerald)

Wie geht's?

Discovering a new favourite author is one of the great joys in life!

Before heading to Brave (a Hastings' wine-bar for an end-of-week drink with colleagues), I waltzed into The Little Red Bookstore and soon spotted a book called The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald.

Everything about the book appealed to me - the setting (a seaside town in Britain), a fascinating cast of characters, the cover, and the heft of the book - light and airy but with a 'short-listed for the Booker prize' tagline on the cover.

The first thing I skipped to at random was a lovely description of the town:

The town itself was an island between sea and river, muttering and drawing into itself as soon as it felt the cold.

And the main character, Florence Green, is perfectly described:

She was in appearance small, wispy, and wiry, somewhat insignificant from the front view, and totally so from the back.

It's the kind of book that rewards repeat looks (I am finding I am skipping back to reread passages because the writing is so good and I've glossed over things).

Penelope Fitzgerald is a new one on me and I'm kind of wondering how I've continued to miss her until now (she passed away in 2000 aged 84). 

She appears to have lived a fascinating life (Hermione Lee has written her biography), and I love the fact that she was still a teacher, aged 70.

She wrote nine novels (The Bookshop was her second, published in 1978) and I'll be tracking them all down, post haste!!

I think it's fair to say that I am smitten!

Love and peace - Wozza

You can go ooh-wakka-doo-wakka-day (Gilbert O'Sullivan)

Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

The three amigos (me, Greg and Kevy) are preparing for our latest Spotify playlist by researching the musical preferences of our immediate loved ones (spouses and parents).

Luckily, the three of us have a spouse each and two parents each. Greg is luckiest of all because he still has his mother, Joan, around.

The idea is that we each supply clues about what each loved one enjoys/enjoyed. From those clues we each choose 5 songs we think they will/would have liked.

No easy thing!

By no means are each of our targets compulsive/obsessed music fans like us. Only one of them is/was an actual musician - that honour goes to Kevy's dad.

So, the research is taking me WAY out of my musical comfort zone. And so far that only includes our first two loved ones: Jacky and Joan. BTW, this is a good thing!

Finding 5 songs for Jacky was straightforward for me (less so for GK and KS), but Joan is a dilly of a pickle.

As Greg tells us - Joan finds a lot of our rock'n'roll collections appalling! For her, artists like The Seekers, Nana Mouskouri, Roger Whittaker, Trini Lopez, Harry Belafonte, Engelbert Humperdinck, Ray Conniff, Herb Alpert, Peter Posa, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Mike Curb Congregation and The Carpenters had some appeal. 

I suspect the trick is going to be finding the intersection points between the loved one and me as I navigate my way through those Spotify best of lists.

I'll post the link when we kick into it!

Love and peace - Wozza

Blue is the colour, football is the game

Auckland F.C.

Wie geht's?

In praise of Auckland F.C.

Apart from being my birthplace (my mountain is Maungakiekie), Auckland is also the place I played a lot of football (I represented Auckland in youth grade football teams while playing for Eden F.C. and Mt Albert Grammar).

Auckland City is also home to Nu Zild's largest population and some of our teams like The NZ Breakers, The Warriors, and the Auckland Blues.

Sadly, an A-League football team hasn't managed to sustain itself in Auckland.

The Football Kingz (1999-2004), morphing into the New Zealand Knights (2005 - 2007), were both based in Auckland and both failed to establish themselves.

Now we have Auckland F.C. and my hopes are high. I have never been able to embrace the Wellington Phoenix (which grew out of the failed Knights), so I felt a dose of pride when Auckland F.C. kicked off their season with a home win at Mt Smart, recently.

I even decided I needed a replica shirt!* Go Auckland F.C.!

Love and peace - Wozza

It's eerily similar to Rochdale F.C.'s kit.