Loch Lomond Living

By Yon Bonnie Banks

By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond,
Where me and my true love were ever wont tae gae
On the bonnie bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.

Chorus
O you’ll tak the high road and I’ll tak the low road
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.

****************

Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side o’Ben Lomond,
Where in purple hue, the highlan’ hills we view,
And the moon coming out in the gloamin.

(Chorus)

The wee birdies sing, and the wild flowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleepin’,
But the broken heart it kens, nae second spring again

Tho’ the waefu’ may cease frae their greetin’

(Chorus)

http://www.loch-lomond.net/

I come from a country rich in oral tradition and I am a 'Son of the Rock'; a Dumbarton Man raised where the River Leven flows down through Dumbarton to The Clyde.

I grew up in the Ancient Capital of Strathclyde in the shadow of the once strategically important Dumbarton Castle which marked the Gateway to the Highlands along the River Leven and into Loch Lomond.

Since the Industrial Revolution and the ending of Clan Warfare the Castle has majestically watched over the output of Glasgow and its shipyards as the men of the Second City of The Empire built the shipping on which sailed Britain's fortunes.

Men have traditionally sung ditties of their lives and times and the mighty River Clyde has been immortalised in many a song...none greater than

The Song of the Clyde

I sing of a river I’m happy beside,
The song that I sing is the song of the Clyde,
Of all Scottish rivers it’s dearest to me,
It flows from Leadhills all the way to the sea.
It borders the orchards of Lanark so fair,
Meanders through meadows with sheep grazing there,
But from Glasgow to Greenock in towns on each side,

The hammer’s Ding-Dong is the song o’ the Clyde.

(Chorus)

Oh the river Clyde, the wonderful Clyde,
The name o’ it thrills me and fills me wae pride,
And I’m satisfied whate’er may betide,
The sweetest o’ songs is the song o’ the Clyde.

***************

Imagine we’ve left Craigendoran behind
And wind happy yachts by Kilcreggan we find.
At Kirn and Dunoon and Inellan we stay,
Then Scotland’s Madeira, that’s Rothesay they say.
Or maybe by Fairlie and Largs we will go
Or over to Millport that thrills people so,
Maybe journey to Arran, it can’t be denied
Those scenes all belong to the song o’ the Clyde.

(Chorus)

There’s Paw and Maw at Glasgow’s Broomielaw
They’re goin "doon the water" for "the Fair".
There’s Bob and Mary on the Govan Ferry
Wishing jet propulsion could be there.
There’s steamers cruisin’ and there’s buddies snoozin’
And there’s laddies fishin’ frae the pier,
And Paw’s perspirin, very near expirin’
As he rows a boat frae there to here.
With eyes a flashin’ it is voted smashin’
To be walking daily on the prom,
And May and Evelyn are in seventh heaven
As the stroll along wae Dick and Tom,
And Dumbarton Rock to every Jean and Jock
Extends a welcome that is high and wide,
Seems to know that they are on their homeward way
To hear the song of the Clyde.

(Chorus)

Seventh Heaven...July 13th 2006

BIRMINGHAM UNIVERSITY, England...JULY 13TH 2006

Today I graduate with my seventh degree, the culmination of nine years of research into the National Writing Project in the United States. This work has been conducted here at the Birmingham University School of Education and in the English department at Western Kentucky University USA.

The inspiration for this work and the one consistent tutor throughout my study is Mary Dillingham, my language arts professor when I was a student in New York.

Mary is the most gifted educator I have ever had the privilege to meet and a woman who inspires simply by her love for her subject and her natural talent as a teacher.

Today also marks my 'hat-trick' of degrees from Birmingham University, where I first began studying in 1997.

Graduation is more than a milestone, it is a new beginning...and an opportunity for you to look afresh at the world and all the many things you still have to encounter.

Without the gift of Mary Dillingham's teaching I would never have taken the journey that has led to today's achievement and for that I am eternally grateful.

Surrey Life

Beare Green, Surrey. England. July 7th 2006

This evening I held a Garden Party for my colleagues from School to celebrate the beginning of Summer and to say farewell as I begin my travels and leave my home in Surrey for pastures new.

A special thank you must be extended to my dear friends Ann and Tom Worrall who have made my Surrey Life a joy, it is my privilege to call Ann and Tom my friends!!

A special memory for all our friends and colleagues...The words of Ann and Will's duet.

Westering Home

Chorus
Westering home with a song in the air,
Light in the eye and it’s goodbye to care;
Laughter o’love and a welcoming there,
Isle of my heart, my own one!

********
Tell me o’lands o’the Orient gay!
Speak o’ the riches and joys o’ Cathay!
Eh, but it’s grand to be wakin’ ilk day
To find yourself nearer to Isla.

And it’s (Chorus)

Where are the folk like the folk o’ the west?
Canty and couthy and kindly, the best;
There I would hie me, and there I would rest
At hame wi’ my ain folk in Isla.

And it’s (Chorus)

Barcelona. July 2006

BARCELONA, SPAIN. July 3rd- July 6th 2006

My time in Barcelona has been much more than a test run for my forthcoming project, it has been a genuinely wonderful way in which to end my five years as a teacher and Housemaster in a Surrey boarding school.

I will miss the many friends I have made during this time and I will particularly miss my students, all of whom I wish the very greatest of success for the future!

It has been deeply moving that so many students have said their heartfelt goodbyes, not only at my current school; but from all my previous teaching experiences...already the e-mails are pouring in and I have not yet left Europe.

The cultural highlight of our time in Barcelona has been the Temple de la Sagrada Familia, the unique and ongoing construction project of Antoni Gaudi.

What few people realise however is that Gaudi was appointed to this construction project a year after work began in 1882, working as project director for the next 44 years until he died in 1926.
The Parc Guell must be one of the most psychedelic experiences one can have in a park...at least legally!!!! Go sit on the worlds' longest bench and just chill out amongst a Master's creations.

If you are planning a trip to Barcelona then I can recommend to you the Mare de Deu de Montserrat Youth Hostel on the Passeig Mare de Deu del Coll. This is one of the best quality youth hostels I have ever stayed in and once you negotiate the steep drive, you will arrive at a traditional Spanish Villa concealing the most amasing entrance hall of Moorish style tiles and decoration...well worth the climb!

If you are travelling with children, a must is El Poble Espanyol. This reconstruction of Spain's villages was created for the 1929 Barcelona World's Fair and contains a total of 116 buildings set around traditional streets and squares. Fully enclosed and with a security staff your children can roam free amongst an authentic representation of Spain's regions. Visit the arts and crafts workshops, or simply sit awhile and watch the street life.

Friends

'Your friend is your needs answered

He is your field which you sow with love

and reap with thanksgiving.

And he is your board and your fireside

for you to come to him with your hunger

and you seek him for peace'

Kahlil Gibran

'The Prophet'

As a good friend put it recently...Enjoy this unique experience and 'Que te vaya bonito' (good luck)

Home

Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.

Anthony Brandt

New Beginnings

We all have options in life. You can choose to sit in your kitchen drinking your organic free trade coffee and bemoaning the ‘state of the world’ or you can create an education programme that offers the opportunity to connect young people with their global environment in the hope that they grow in understanding of each other and the world around them.

My dream is quite simple that our youth don’t make the same mistakes we have repeated generation after generation. Idealistic yes, but if anything is to change, education must be active and engaging. Quite simply this is my philosophy and the bedrock of my motivation in this project.

Brighton College Goodbyes

Personally, I am fascinated by education, the great leveller in society.

I have this meritocratic idea that education allows everyman to be all that he can be. In fact, I adopted this very slogan for my House five years ago when I undertook the redevelopment of a somewhat ramshackle boy’s Day House in a Home Counties school.

Somehow I have travelled from a bright career to making a decision on a cold Sunday morning in March at the end of Brighton pier that I should go out and see the world differently.