Time & Relativity...

I made a remark to a friend recently about how I felt that time was speeding up. It was pointed out that this is, in fact, perfectly reasonable. When you are a toddler, a year is a huge proportion of your life - perhaps a third of it... and, by the time you are ten, that same year is only a a tenth of your time on earth. In your thirties and forties, that year is a much smaller proportion of the life you have experienced, and so it seems to be shorter... therefore, as you get older, the years pass more rapidly... so time speeds up!

I was reminded of the child's view of time earlier in the week...

Questioned in class by a Year 7 (First year of Secondary School - about 11 years old) "How old are you, Miss?"
My standard reply - "I'm very old... very, very old!"
First child turns to another and remarks as an aside: "Hmmm... very old... so she must be 37."

That child has a future in the diplomatic service if I'm not mistaken...

A Little Diversion...

Occasionally, something hits the news at just the right time to support one's teaching, and suddenly Science seems to be "relevant."

No, my students would not be interested in the annual meteor shower which is visible in the UK at the moment - they're not terribly interested in those sorts of stars.

I was discussing the use of electricity and defibrillators in the treatment of heart attacks. As a slight aside, I was able to mention the British Heart Foundation's latest campaign (which hit the radio news this morning) - hands-only CPR - instead of the more traditionally recognised "mouth-to-mouth" resuscitation. Yes, I know that this involves neither electricity nor defibrillators, but in the classroom one works with whatever comes up on the teenage radar...

Girls Don't Understand The Offside Rule...

Six months to go, and already I'm tired of hearing about the 2012 Olympic Games.

Yes, bah, humbug and all that.

Having said that, I was rather amused to note that the Royal Mint has produced a commemorative set of 50p coins for the occasion. I'm only really interested in one of them - the one designed for girls...

It made me chuckle, and reminded me of this TV advert made a while back for Yorkie chocolate bars.

The chocolate itself was pretty ghastly, actually, being more like the stuff which makes up cheap chocolate coins and Christmas tree decorations. The marketing ploy was brilliant, as was the limited edition "pink" wrapper which followed...

Veni, Creator...

...and, as a companion to my last post of 2011, here is my first post of 2012.

(Yes, I know that technically that was my first post for 2012 and this is therefore my second post, but it felt like the last post...)

We sang the Veni Creator before the Missa Cantata...

Te Deum Laudamus...

I just thought I'd share the last moments of 2011 as seen in Blackfen...

The crib at the Lady Altar. Obviously we're waiting for the Wise Men to arrive...

...and then a little closer...

The Te Deum chanted to see out the old year with a Plenary Indulgence...

...and Benediction given, to the accompaniment of fireworks outside...

So, here's to 2012... Happy New Year to all my blogging buddies - readers, writers and commenters!

(I shall do my best to get a few photos of the Veni Creator to see in the start of 2012 later today!)