Awesome

Flying out of Brisbane about 6 weeks ago, on a day flight, we 'passed' Papua New Guinea after a few hours. Amazing sight - always thought it was much bigger but we passed it in no time...

Flying out of Brisbane

Papua New Guinea 1

Papua New Guinea 2

Ride

One of the first things we did when we got back is go for a ride on Emu and Duchess. The clouds were promising some rain, and they fulfilled the promise by the end of the lovely ride across Peter's fields, the cemetery (cows) at the back, the creek (Duchess loves splashing, and so does Niki!). Curiously, and neither of us had experienced this every before, as we riding (at walking gait) against the rain, suddenly the horses became fidgety. After a minute or so, we realised (and then saw it happen) that all they wanted to do was to turn around and put their bums against the rain, rather than their faces. Good thing we weren't cantering ... Anyway, we felt we'd better be safe than sorry, dismounted and walked the horses back to their paddock...

Shadow had only one thing to say - "Really...? Did you really have to wake me up for that story?"

Back

After a five-week trip, we're back on the farm. We had a great time in Europe (although for me it started with a week-long jetlag: I knew I should have listened to the cabin attendants when they told me to go to sleep on the 20-odd-hour journey ...). I did so on the way back, and it's way better - normally I am zombified when I get back to Australia, but not this time.

We saw many of our family, friends and colleagues during these weeks which always makes the trip worthwhile. As always, we also worked, went to and presented at a conference, and met with publishers. The fact that Niki and I weren't together after the Harrogate conference for about 3.5 weeks was unusual but we both appreciated being able to see our family and friends and do our respective business in our respective birth countries (with brief side-steps by Niki to both Portugal and France): and now that we are together again, it is all the more pleasant.

The weather has been so wet that now the valley is lush and green. It's as if the crickets have found a new lease of life and enthusiasm because they are chirping away again. Our home-grown veggies are one of their kind and our house-sitters, Helen and Ian, have even planted some new ones (potatoes and beans, I believe). 

No rest for the wicked, so after a few (very) reluctant days (in awe of the mountain of  work we have created ahead of us) both Niki and I have dived back into doing what we do. I am set to go overseas again in a few weeks (only for a few days, though), just ahead of my birthday, to either Thailand (Bangkok) or Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) - to co-deliver a training programme for the British Council as part of a project I'm involved in.

Bollenvelden in the North of Holland

My friends Jacomien, Bertie and Cees, on a bracing beach walk

Jon, Anjes, Oma and me in Roosendaal

Jon, me and Anjes

Arrogate

Niki and Hans in action at the Harrogate IATEFL conference, doing their talk First English Words - what can pre-schoolers do?  It was basically the launch of our First English Words series (Collins). We had a full house, about 90 people in the room and everybody (including us) enjoyed it muchly.

What we were up to in Harrogate

Just to give you an idea of what we were up to in Harrogate! Follow this link: http://youtu.be/fyyMAK9Wd4I.

Just easier

Martin Eayrs 10:14am Apr 8 NEW EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE FOR THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH Having chosen English as the preferred language in the EC, the European Parliament has commissioned a feasibility study in ways of improving efficiency in communications between Government departments. European officials have often pointed out that English spelling is unnecessarily difficult; for example: ‘cough’, ‘plough’, ‘rough’, ‘through’ and ‘thorough’. What is clearly needed is a phased programme of changes to iron out these anomalies. The programme would, of course, be administered by a committee staffed at top level by participating nations. In the first year, for example, the committee would suggest using ‘s’ instead of the soft ‘c’. Sertainly, sivil servants in all sities would resieve this news with joy. Then the hard ‘c’ could be replaced by ‘k’ sinse both letters are pronounsed alike. Not only would this klear up konfusion in the minds of klerikal workers, but typewriters kould be made with one less letter. There would be growing enthusiasm when in the sekond year, it was announsed that the troublesome ‘ph’ would henseforth be written ‘f’. This would make words like ‘fotograf’ twenty persent shorter in print. In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reash the stage where more komplikated shanges are possible. Governments would enkourage the removal of double leters whish have always been a deterent to akurate speling. We would al agre that the horible mes of silent ‘e’s in the languag is disgrasful. Therefor we kould drop them and kontinu to read and writ as though nothing had hapend. By this tim it would be four years sins the skem began and peopl would be reseptive to steps sutsh as replasing ‘th’ by ‘z’. Perhaps zen ze funktion of ‘w’ kould be taken on by ‘v’, vitsh is, after al, half a ‘w’. Shortly after zis, ze unesesary ‘o’ kuld be dropd from vords kontaining ‘ou’. Similar arguments vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. Kontinuing zis proses yer after yer, ve vud eventuli hav a reli sensibl riten styl. After tventi yers zer vud be no mor trubls, difikultis and evrivun vud find it ezi tu understand ech ozer. Ze drems of the Guvermnt vud finali hav kum tru.