Working - for fun

Well, it was. Every now and again I get the chance to revisit some aspect of my days in teaching, and a workshop on writing and delivering public intercessions was just such a chance. It did mean another day away from home and another early start, however - and it's actually that early start that's the aspect of work that age has affected: I find it much harder to get out in the morning than I did fifteen years ago.

And there's a new horror: the headache that seizes the back of my neck when I'm having fun. Really. There I am, enthusing about the power of poetic language, and suddenly there's an iron hand round my neck. I can't start rolling my head till my neck cracks, not in mid-flow: I carry on and pretend it's not there. And that works, actually - I can keep going, stay focussed ... as long as the adrenaline flows. It's when I sit down that I'm burrowing for the paracetamol, junkie that I am, and reflect that this was never a component of my teaching life.

I suppose, in fact, that that's what's missing these days. I enjoy much that I do, but the buzz of communication with a group is no longer a daily occurrence. Life is much more even - and much less stimulating. Maybe that's how it has to be. 

Anyway, this photo was taken in the little church dedicated to St Paul, on the main street of Rothesay on the island of Bute. By this stage we were working on delivery using a sound system. We were pointing out that some people drop their voices immediately they see a microphone, and that if it's primarily a loop system this is not the thing to do. People who'd not done this before were having a shot. There was a great deal of laughter. It was a good day.

But it fair takes it out of you ...