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I’ve just come back from an extraordinary event. You can see details here. To put it briefly, P6 and 7 pupils from schools across the Borders came together to perform songs that they have been learning separately, with an orchestra (Scottish Borders Community Orchestra in which I played). The songs, about Borders culture and life, were written and composed by Lin Marsh. In addition to this massive undertaking, four 6th year pupils (my 17 year old son among them) got together over a number of weeks with composer Stephen Deazley to arrange the songs for the orchestra and write their own composition together to be performed by the orchestra. The whole thing came together tonight when about 200 primary kids sang their hearts out for just over an hour, demonstrating not only their own skill and enthusiasm, but also Stephen’s considerable charisma. I’ve participated with many groups in music making and I have never seen so many eyes constantly trained on a conductor.

The songs themselves were full of character. And though of course I am biased, each arrangement was very well suited to the tone of the song it had started with whether about horses, weaving, the Eyemouth fishing disaster or Technochild.

The only sour note was from the SBC councillor who shall remain nameless, who came forward to do the thanks at the end and all he had to say to the children was that he had noticed one or two of them fidgeting! And he had just watched 200 kids giving their all - focus, concentration and vocal quality for over an hour!

There’s another performance tomorrow, and I’ll be keeping an eye on him, to see if he manages to sit without a fidget throughout.

Or perhaps I’ll forget his stupidity and pay attention instead to the truly inspiring faces of the young people on the stage.

I haven’t been able to post for a while, but I’ve been thinking just the same.

I’ve been struck by the way in which Neil’s Bebo is used by his friends to maintain the link with each other and with Neil. They still, 3 weeks after his death, post messages to him, recounting their feelings of loss and grief and telling him about things that are happening for them in the world they shared. To me this is extraordinary and a really powerful use of social media that I could never have imagined. (Apart from the fact that the situation is almost unimagineable anyway)

Reading their posts makes me cry - with yearning for the old normality with Neil in it obviously - but also with appreciation of the very evident goodness and firm faith in the power of personal relationships that is in these young people. They have been faced with a terrible event which will affect the rest of their lives.They are using the powerful medium to share their grief, remember Neil, and to support each other.

I can’t help worrying though.This medium is so ephemeral. Like all of us, sadly it won’t last forever. I expect that posts to Neil’s Bebo will gradually reduce in quantity and frequency, though I’m sure, as with blogs, many more people read than post and will continue to do so. But if it were suddenly to disappear…

Neil, you will always be with us, your quick wit, ready smile and quizzically raised eyebrow never forgotten. It hurts unbelievably to have you taken from us when you had so much to give, and we loved you so much. The many tributes from your friends on your Bebo and the Memorial website show what a tremendous impact you had in your short life in so many areas from great academic and scouting achievement to more subtle personal support and “being there” for others. The two videos your friends have made show a bright boy, becoming a confident young man, who had an easy rapport with others, lovingly nurtured and encouraged by your family.

You brought musical skill, enthusiasm and humour to our family band, unafraid of the potential “un-coolness” of a teenager actually wanting to play traditional music with his relations. The close bond you had with your Dad was never more evident than when you played those airs and reels together.

Neil, you have been taken from us far too soon. We miss you sorely and always will.

Rest in peace.

I’ve been doing some quodlibets with my music classes at school and they are such fun! I followed a link from elsewhere (TES probably) to this video - amazing!

A bit more complicated than seagull seagull and London Bridge is falling down!

What a pleasant afternoon I’ve just had. Some of the Chartered Teachers who have access to the Chartered Teachers Reunited area of Blackboard VLE meet for lunch every 6 months or so at the Riverhouse in Stirling and it is always a most civilised and convivial occasion. The food and service are excellent and affordable, the setting is relaxing and the location means that it’s within reasonable travelling distance for those from the North East as well as the Borders.

This time, we took forward our plans to form a Chartered Teacher Association, which will be very exciting. We have planned to get together in the near future to agree how the group might serve education and Chartered Teachers themselves. More detail to follow.

Follow this link to see the photos

http://www.flickr.com/gp/17778438@N00/5WK32y

It was the lively Mick Waters who used the term “binge thinking”, and I certainly feel as if I’ve been on a bit of a bender, nothing to do with the free drinks at Teachmeet. I’m so glad I went to that - partly because I learned loads, and partly because I feared I’d be out of my depth, but I wasn’t at all. The journey home took even longer than the journey there in real time but my head was so full of stuff it didn’t seem like it at all

What did I see? Mainly people. I saw big folk on the big stage like Michael Fullan, Stephen Heppell and Mick Waters. Small folk in packs effortlessly upstaging the adults, as they so often do. Friendly folk welcoming shy but keen fellow bloggers Brave folk standing up in front of their peers to share their experience and achievements. Truly motivational folk captivating their audiences.

I think it’s the 4^th time I’ve been to this event and it was the best by far!

OK I have to come clean. I now have a police record. Well, my name’s in a policeman’s notebook anyway.

The guys had been practising in our front room this week for a gig they were doing tonight here in Peebles (they’re called V&A - funny in itself because they didn’t even know it’s the name of a museum in London haha) When you see them at Wembley, you’ll know where you heard about them first. That’s my 17-year old son, and 4 other people’s sons. 2 guitars, bass, drums and a “singer”. No it’s not my style of music. In fact I wouldn’t even call some of it music, but they are serious about it, and they put a lot of effort into producing a reasonable sound together, with some quite good original stuff as well as the usual covers.

Anyhow, at about 1.30 this afternoon, yes that’s 1.30 on a Saturday afternoon, a policeman appeared at the door saying that a neighbour had complained about the noise, and they had already responded to this same neighbour when he complained last Tuesday afternoon, a fact which my son had “forgotten” to tell me about!

Now, we live in a big detached Victorian house with pretty thick walls, but the guys had been playing with the windows open on the Tuesday and when they’d said they would shut the windows and stop after an hour, the police were apparently quite happy.

Today, the neighbour was wanting an ASBO to be considered! The nice apologetic policeman said to us that wasn’t really what ASBOs were intended to deal with, however, he wrote down my name in his book and I even had to agree to go to mediation, should it be necessary!

Our guys then went round all the houses in the street explaining that their gig was tonight, they appreciated it wasn’t to everyone’s taste but that they would be stopping at 4pm. The reactions they got varied from “Kids, kids, come and see…it’s the band!” to “What’s the problem? I like your music” to “Don’t worry guys, my son was a drummer and it doesn’t bother me at all” (our 85-year-old, admittedly deaf, next door neighbour). There was only one house where they got a talking to – guess where the complaint came from? “I can hear those drums in my basement” Well yes, and the cars going past in the street, and your own dogs barking, but presumably you’re not requesting ASBOs against them.

Now why couldn’t they have come across the road and spoken to us? What sort of community spirit is that? In my view (and that of our very musical neighbour on the other side) it’s the complaining neighbours who ought to be served with an ASBO! When you think of the stuff these young guys could be up to, and aren’t, and how responsibly they reacted to the complaint….one of them, yes the one with dreadlocks, came and apologised to me for the police having come to the door…

Looking on the bright side, the acquisition of an ASBO might even be a career advantage. The rest of my family are already asking for autographs.