Putting the Phyzz into Physics

I want to try to communicate my excitement about physics to the girls I teach.

I have decided to try and add something each week that makes them think outside the current curriculum - maybe a 'wow' moment, maybe a 'why does it do that' moment, maybe an image ......

So this week I did the marshmallows (thanks to Neal for this)

It drew suitable oohs and has - so that by Friday older sisters were asking when they were going to see it as their younger sisters had already seen it.

I now have to collect many more so that there is a different one every week for 5 years!

Next week the colour change ducks I bought in Sainsbury's in the post-Christmas sale.

Forum friends

Its been a forum friend weekend.
On Friday night a group of us met up to welcome a good friend who was passing through. We had a good evening of curry and chat - I wonder where I would be finding friends if were not for the forums. I don't have many friends locally, having never worked locally I did not build up that network and the children were born before we came, so that all-having-babies-together bonding between mums never happened - though I am still in touch with folk elsewhere from that time.
The few times I have begun to make friends locally with someone in a similar situation with children, they have moved away:<( It must be something I do because now I reflect that has happened at least three or four times over the last 6 years.

This morning I have been to see June, Eddy's widow. We had a good chat, a look at her garden and talked to the cats. As I was leaving we said it was such a shame we had all not got together more while Eddy was alive.

On the not-running front, I have sen the physio again and she has impressed upon me the need to do the strength stuff - my right quads have lost a lot of tone and are giving me grief when I drive. She says my knee is good enough to begin a little running once my quads are not a problem. My ITB is also tight. This makes sleeping on my side difficult. So stretch and strength it is.

Muzzy

It was a good funeral and I made it to the wake and was able to spend a little time with June and her family.
Muzzy was there - he was the first forumite to say he would be at the funeral nad he had a haircut specially! He is a stalwart of the East Midlands RW forum meets and although he is camera-shy I have managed to catch a few pics over the years.
In order: High Peak Relay 2004; High Peak Relay 2005; [Maybe we should make a big effort to do HPR in 2008 for Eddy]
Christmas 2007 (before the haircut) and last Thursday in a sharp suit. (Katie-Jane is behind).

Eddy - RIP

Eddy was a stalwart member of the East Midlands Runners World brigade. Much has been written elsewhere about him and people's memories of him. He was a bone marrow donor and also donated blood platelets. He was a runner, a policeman and most of all a good man.

Eddy was struck down by septicemia. After a nine day battle with liver and kidney failure on intensive care he died on 28/12/07.

It is difficult to believe he is no longer with us, but we will have fond memories of him.

To celebrate his life June (LFV) asked that donations be made to Kidney Research, rather than flowers. Donations can be made through BZ's justgiving page. It is fantastic the amount donated by forumites - a real community - not just a virtual one.

Here are some pictures I have dug out of my hard drive.

MrBeanz, Eddy and teenbeanz before the Sinfin 10k in 2005


















Eddy and LFV at the Christmas social in 2006 - Eddy had organised it





















And he organised it again in 2007, only a couple of weeks before he died.

New Year - targets - pah! Reflections on the year past.

A year on and I have not achieved either of my running targets for the year.

Nor lost weight - in fact I am probably heavier than a year ago.

I have not completed a race this year.

What have I achieved?

• completed a year and a term back in teaching
• .........
• .........

I am not sure what I could put in the blanks. I am still here and have a healthy family - so anything else would be bonus I guess.

We have to go on, so yet again I shall start the year trying to eat healthily. I can't have any running targets until I am fit to run. I see the phyzz tomorrow and will talk to her about what is the most sensible way to get back to running (in addition to the obvious of losing weight).