The Royal Albert Hall

Those of you who attend (or probably who have ever attended) Owen's, my school, will know that Tuesday night was the huge accumulation of this year's celebration of four hundred years of the school with the concert at the Royal Albert Hall. So of course, I am pondering that.

Now don't worry, I'm not going to go on and on about how amazing it was to be able to play/sing on such a famous stage in front of so many people, and how fantastic it was being in the Soul Band, who got the biggest cheer of the night by quite a long way. And fret not, for I don't plan to talk extensively about the school because it's quite boring. Except the balloons, that bit was cool.

What I really want to talk about is the amazing comradery which I felt between the old and "new" (I guess) Owenians last night and how amazing the atmostphere was backstage. Despite the enormous overheating in the Concert Band girls' dressing room and the constant feeling of being underground (sort of in a Churchill's-war-bunker-esque way), the morale backstage was kept really high throughout the day and practically everyone was amazingly nice. I have to make a special mention here of Ben, Ashely and George's impromtu marching band, who performed "Teddy Bear's Picnic" and "Tequila" on loop for about an hour. Really kept people smiling, guys. :)

The Old Owenians, in my experience at least, struck up a fantastic relationship with the current students. Leo, who had been roped in to play the bari sax alongside me all night was really great; he was evidently a much better player than I am (being a professional and all), but he still treated me like an equal and talked to me more in two days than the entire Soul Band did for the whole of last year.

As for the School Song at the end, well that was just beyond words. But you know me, I'll try anyway. Despite not having any music, I was on stage for the School Song; the excitement in the orchestra was massive and I think that everyone in the hall felt the same. When the brass section stood up with their hands on their hearts for the chorus, we were all in stitches. Only Seb could get away with leading something like that and live. Well, Seb and Peter...

Anyway, as Dr D said last night, Happy Birthday Owen's. And thanks everyone, for such a memorable evening.

SNOW!!!

(Meant to be posted last Friday, but delayed :S)

So, once again I find myslef with nothing else to do and, once again, I find myself wandering back to the internet. My final lesson of today has been cut short because of the HUGE AMOUNT OF SNOW which is currently falling.

Anyone reading this who is from a cold country which is not Britain may think "Snow, so what?" Well, apparently it is a big deal here. But not a big enough deal for our school to be closed; only a big enough deal for every other school in the county to be closed (well, near enough).

But what really gets me (and it's not even something I'm pondering, just something that's made me annoyed) isn't that the school is open, because of some level I think that shows a dedication to education. What annoys me is that the Headmaster has spent the last three hours telling children that tey are not allowed to wear their coats, even outside, when travelling between lessons.

I mean, seriously.

It has been snowing for six hours straight now and the heating in the school switches off automatically at lunch time. Therefore, in my opinion, it is completely unreasonable to ask anyone to wear only a thin shirt and blazer/jumper in this weather. Especially when the Head himself is walking around in a long coat and scarf whilst telling people they should not be wearing their coats. That cannot be considered fair on any level, surely?

OK, maybe I'm overreacting, but I'm cold and bored and in about half an hour, I may have to walk the seven miles home. So I think I have a reason to be a bit crazy right now ;)

A Conundrum

Hello Beautiful People Of The Internet (and Becky)! I am here once again to tell you about the things I think about (or stuff I ponder). See what I did there?
Clever, huh?
Well, today I have a dilemma and I am not sure what to do. But I feel I have bugged my friends too much recently. So I have decided to bug the Internet for a change. Sorry :)

I had a letter from a certain University last Friday, telling me that I have been pooled by the college I applied for; that means they're still considering my application, but that my first choice college probably can't fit me in (Not very good at making that anonymous...) This is both good and bad news. It's good, because it means they want me, it's bad because they don't want me enough to offer me a place straight away. Anyway, that's not the problem. The thing is, I haven't heard back from them yet, and every day that I don't hear is another day less likely it will be a positive response. But that's not the problem either.

You see, as much as I'd really love to go to this University (it's definitely my first choice) there are several other universities which I have applied for and would be perfectly happy at, one of which (Nottingham) has offered me a conditional place. But that's where the problem lies: As much as I love Nottingham - the university is beautiful and their course (Law with German and German Law) sounds fantastic, I just fell in love with the whole package - there's one thing that's stopping me from wanting to accept the offer. If I go to Nottingham there's a very strong possibility I'll bump into a certain idiot who can't tell the difference between the words "yes" and "no".

At this point I understand that some people will be confused. Last year I was subject to the stupidity of one individual who could not tell the difference between an affirmative and negative response to what (I thought) was a very simple question. This led to quite a lot of upset on my part (obviously, because I am a girl). Recently, I asked for clarification of this misunderstanding and I was completely ignored. To be honest, this didn't bother me. The quickest way to forget everything good about someone is to be refused help when you ask politely for it. But you see how it could be awkward for me to go to Nottingham now; I think if I were to meet this person again, I might either be (accidentally) incredibly rude, or physically ill. Or punch them.

So, Internet, what do you think I should do? Is this something I should actually be worrying about?

What I Really Do...

This basically covers my ponderings for today...

A Driving Ambition?

Welcome back, Internet Dwellers, to my cave of mystery. My name is Plato (not really) and I have many wonderful things to discuss with you. Or not. At all.
Today I am pondering driving, because I am terrified of it. And I thought I'd let y'all know.

So basically, whilst I am enjoying learning to drive and am looking forward to the day when it will be another skill I can claim I have, I am also worried that, every time I get behind the wheel of a car, I'm going to break/damage some poor, unsuspecting citizen. Or Jason.

Jason. No, sorry, that's Andre...

For those of you who don't know, Jason (Peter Andre) is my driving instructor. He is known as Peter Andre because that's who he reminds my parents of. (Sorry Jason, if you're reading this, but then again, I don't know why you would be. Actually, it's not exactly rude, so I'm not sure there's anything to apologise for apart from giving you/him a nickname that wasn't known about.)

Anyway. Driving is possibly the most scary thing I have ever done. Ever. Including Operation Saw which wasn't actually that scary, but involved beans. How can people do this on a daily basis? If you do it wrong, you die. Then you're dead. Forever.

Also, why did anyone ever invent the car? We would have no need for them if the buses and trains worked better; if we didn't have cars we'd be healthier because people would be more inclined to walk short journeys. Buses would run better because there'd be more need for them and less traffic and they'd cost less because there wouldn't be such a need to conserve petrol, lowering fuel prices.

Plus there would be far, far less pollution; cars produce more CO2 per person than any form of public transport, including planes and boats. Not having cars would reduce that, especially with things like commuting and school runs which often only have one or two people in the car anyway, whichis even worse.

Sorry, rant over. But basically, once I pass my test, I will not be driving very often if I can possibly help it.

P.S. I found out why Ashley's hair is now the colour of a banana wrapped in sunshine. If you don't know, then I'll leave the surprise for you to discover for yourselves.

Choir, Singing and the Community of Music

Hey there, random folk of the Internet! Today, because it is a huge part of my life which I could not live without, I am pondering music. For those of you who don't know me, you should know how great my need for music is; if I don't go to band or choir or something, I'm usually singing. Or singing in my head. Or singing out loud and singing something else in my head (this, as I'm sure you can guess, has lead to some fantastic mash-ups...)

So, today I was at choir and, whilst Mr Werner was prancing about like a prancy thing (he is a beautiful man), I realised how much I love being there, in choir. We have all these little in-jokes, like the altos and their sexy E-flats and how diva-y the sopranos are meant to be (from experience, they're not really). Like many things, the Chamber Choir is like a kooky, awesome family and I'm really going to miss it when I leave next year.
By the way, that's true of all the other choirs too, but you really notice it in the Chamber Choir because it's so small and tight-knit.

Then there are bands... *Sigh* Where do I begin? Well, there's Bean Band (more formally known as Concert Band) which is, much as it pains me to say it, really good fun! Mr Bean doesn't realise how funny he is, and we often end up laughing at him being amazing. Then there's everyone else. They're all fabulous too, and (even if they do have tendencies to dye their hair canary yellow) I love them dearly. Some of them, like Hannah, Emma, Joanna, Lizzie etc. (that is by no means an extensive list) are far more used to my quirks and therefore pull faces at me during band, which is good for when it gets boring, or Ben has a solo... Like the choir, it's very close, especially after Belgium and we're sort of like the most dysfunctional (extended) family that has ever graced the Earth's surface. Apart from the Splorers, of course.

Finally, we come to Soul Band. Like every other musical activity I do, this is the highlight of my week. We are so close and, although there are meant to be only a few of us, there are twenty in the horns section alone. This makes us beautiful; even Ben. Even Tom. Even Ashley's hair.

Especially Ashley's hair. It's beautiful, despite its luminescent qualities.

Plus, Miss McNally is the most inspirational person I've ever met; she's actually taught me so much about life, entirely by accident and she lets me wear hats to rehearsals and concerts, which is awesome :) The Soul Band is a mad, laugh-a-minute comedy roadshow of a family and I love it more than anything I've ever done in my life. Ever.

Except perhaps Scouts. Although, nobody in the Scouts can play "Teddy Bear's Picnic" as an impromptu duet on trombones. That's gold.

So yeah, this is what I do with my life. It's beautiful and I wouldn't change it for the world, although next year I will have to. I'm going to miss it so much! If any of you are reading this, I love you guys!

Oh, and I finally found a vegan song (sort of). It's called "Save Me Now" and it's by Jeff Lynne. Give it a listen, it's beautiful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChiKsQo534

Useful Methodising Words And Addresses

GLOSSARY:
Methodising - The word my Dad uses for "Becoming a Member of the Church"

Minister - The person in charge in a Methodist church. In the Methodist Church system, the churches are joined up in circuits of about ten or so churches within a similar locality. Within a Methodist Circuit, each church has its own Minister, who would lead the service approximately once every month. The other weeks, we are visited by other ministers from within the circuit or by Lay-Preachers, who are volunteer preachers who maybe take one or two sevices a month at one or other of the churches. If this is still confusing, I'll draw you a diagram. (P.S. This is Inez)

Responsibilities of Chruch Members - Within the Methodist Church, there are people called Stewards, who are responsible for general maintainance of the Church's wellbeing. They greet everyone as they arrive and read out the notices and say a prayer before the Minister begins the real service. Another important role of the Steward is to say a quiet prayer with the Minister before the service in the Vestry*, thanking God that they are here and asking for guidance.

Vestry - A quiet room behind the main Church hall, kept for prayers and genarl organisation (in our Church it is where the photocopier is kept, plus anything we don't want to keep on public display [like the chocolate biscuits, and extra Bibles])


USEFUL WEBSITES:

www.methodist.org - The national website for the Methodist Chruch in Britain
http://www.goffsoakmethodistchurch.org.uk/Welcome.html - The website for Goffs' Oak Methodist Church; one of the most awesome places in the world ever.
http://www.springharvest.org/ - The Spring Harvest/Jesus Camp Homepage. If you have even an inkling that religion is not totally useless, you should definitely go to this at some point; it's such an amazing experience.
http://stuffiponder.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/jesus-camp-spring-harvest-2012.html - my Jesus Camp Blog post, from April 2012.

The Royal Family

OK, like many others throughout the country, I am currently pondering the Royal Family. In the news today (as I'm sure you've heard), there is a scandal about a French newspaper/magazine printing photos of Princess Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, topless whilst on a private holiday in Provence.

Seriously, why?

Last month everyone was all excited because Prince Harry got his kit off at a party in Vegas. (Kelly says he was especially excited about this.) The papparazzi had a total field day saying things like "it's a disgrace that royals can act like this in public!" He's now back out in Afghanistan, serving for his country. Something much more noble and respectable than most journalists have ever done. Get some perspective people! That party, which you so rudely exposed (if you'll pardon the pun) was probably the last one he attended before going out to risk his life for his country. He's just a normal guy; he does deserve some down-time now and again without the fear of ridicule.

And as for this apparent stalking of Kate and Will, it's ridiculous! You saw what happened to Diana when the press followed her around (as Prince William apparently said to The Sun); just get over it already! No other royal family on the PLANET has this much underserved bad press. Not even the Scandawegians. And whether or not Prince William and Princess Catherine are having a baby or not, is it really our problem? (P.S. Chances are that they're not) The only reason we should care if Kate gets pregnant is if the baby ends up ginger. And they should totally call it Emma if it's a girl. Just saying.

So yeah, just leave off the Royals, please. They've done nothing to deserve this except be born/marry into a particular family. That's no reason to follow them around.

Passing The Time Between Sleeping

Hey, sorry it's been so long - yet again - since I last posted (not that anyone reads this anyway, unless I put a link on Facebook). Anyway, I've been all over the place recently, doing all sorts of stuff for various motives. What I thought would be an easy way to ease myself back into this would be to briefly outline everything I've been pondering (well, everything relevant) and maybe revisit them at a later time if I feel the need.

SUBJECT: University Entry
REASON FOR PONDERING (RFP): Education
EXPAND? Basically, by October 15th, I have to have decided the next apart of my future. Hazzah(!) Anyway, it's a lot of stress, because I have no idea what to think/do and, even though I know what I want to study, I'm worried I won't get into the place(s) I want to get into. And filling out the UCAS form continues to be a pain (ask my Dad...)

SUBJECT: School
RFP: Education
EXPAND? Once again, I have my nose thoughtlessly shoved up against the grindstone of the everyday system. Once again, I am having to wake up at 7.15 (yes, I know that lots of people have to wake up a lot earlier than I do, but I'm really not a morning person) and get into school, but this time I am adorned with more responsibilities and even more work, most I which I asked for (obviously not the work).

SUBJECT: EPQ
RFP: Education (again)
EXPAND: OK, for those who don't know, the EPQ (which stands for Extended Project Qualification) is exactly that. I have to do a long and interesting project on the removal of the prisoners' right to vote; it's actually really interesting (well, for me at least) and I'm really enjoying the work I'm doing, but I'm finding that I don't know what to research and I'm constantly worried that I've not done enough, even though I have done a lot of work for it. I also don't seem to have the time to get as much done as I want.

That in mind, I'm going to stop writing this now and actually get on with something useful, probably the EPQ. I'm sorry this turned into a rant about education, but that seems to be what's dominating my life at the moment. Much love xx