End of a chapter ....

It is amazing how time races past when you are having fun!

By the time I had unpacked from the Cider festival, I had just one more week in the country before I returned to Singapore to be with Lisa and co as they welcomed their second child into the world.

I built a dragon out of shredded paper up at the workshop.

Who I then took to a leaving dinner party up at Sophia and Scott's bus!

I did a grand clean of the CAT bar,

...... restocking it to bursting point ready for the new intake and as the last five days counted down I organised the chaos of Freshers week!

Unfortunately there were no mature students to teach the new intake about our tradition of dressing up on the Friday for the FRIDAY PARTY!!

...... a tradition that didn't really exist until I started working there but one that had soon caught on .....

.......there were no mature students at all because someone had decided, in their infinite wisdom, to hold a two week freshers week, separating the new intake from my mature and well trained students who had already been led astray for the past year!

With only me to lead them down the road of alcoholic indulgence and role play, I rose to the challenge

Luckily CAT had chosen that week to clear out all the old bedding and being one who just loves to recycle and reuse I had already relocated three bags of fabric to Lady Sage! 

As Friday drew near and my new students still hadn't organised them selves from a bunch of strangers meeting for the first time into a close knit group of friends ready to dress up and be stupid, I took it upon myself to theme their Friday night as a .........

'Wear your bed night!!'

Standing on the table to grab their attention, I pointed to the huge pile of sheets and quilt covers at my feet and in a loud voice I explained what was expected of them if they were to become true CAT students!

I picked up a large white sheet, while wearing a 'dress' I had prepared earlier and informed them that this was to be their challenge. They could cut holes in it, rib bits off to make belts, there was no limit to what could be achieved with a white sheet with holes in.

To say I was unprepared for what came next is the biggest understatement of the year. One of my students standing well over 6 foot with the blackest of black skin stepped forward and declared, 

“Lady you really want us to rip holes in a sheet and wear it!”

The place fell silent and even I stopped dead, then a huge smile spread across his face as we made eye contact.

It took me a full five seconds to recover but by the end of the night most of the quilts had gone!

My Freshers did me proud Friday night, with no older students to guide them and only having met five days previous they bonded like jelly and ice-cream!

Dresses were made and worn proudly for a group photo, 

Even the pillowcases were worn!!

Students, who had at first decided this was way too strange a way to spend an evening, began to look out of place as more and more of their fellow course workers rose to the challenge and even the 'die hard's' were 'borrowing' bits of fabric by the end of the night.

The evening had started as a few people dressed up and the rest of the crowd acting and dressed as 'normal', but once the 'normal' people saw how much fun could be had with a sheet with holes in it, everyone dressed up and we had no 'normal' people left!!

Someone made a waistcoat and tie and we even had an Andy Pandy style jumpsuit!!!

(Far left of the photo!!!)

Their first till roll story was also amazing and they sat in rapture as it was read out.

My Students were now a team!!!

With the promise to see them all again in a few months ......

............. I walked out of CAT that night technically unemployed again.

*********

48 hours later I boarded a plane to Singapore, my five months at home complete. 

I had done all the things I had set out to do and more plus this was possibly my last year of winter travels alone.

Two days after our return from France, while I was at the wedding, one of our drivers regretfully announced he had had to leave us.

Then a second driver said he had met the love of his life and was moving away!

When a third driver said she would be finishing soon after her husband retired in January Peter at last decided to call it quits with the school runs.

The contract finished on March 20^th, I was due back in the country on March 18^th.......

….yet another new chapter of life was about to begin!

But first I had to help out with a soon to arrive baby!!

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

The Students of September 2017 first Till Roll Story if anyone want to read it ...

...... the idea is that you only see what was written one person before you. The paper is then folded and passed on until everyone who want to, has had a go, then it is passed back to me.

Only I get to read the entire thing and as long as it is legal and decent, it gets printed out and read out loud.........

Till Roll Story September 2017

It was September in CAT and the new students had arrived. Together they gathered in the bar to plan their first great adventure – Would it be skinny dipping in the reservoir or would it be building a new zip line from the windmill to the canteen? Suddenly one of them said …....

….... “it's bloody freezing out there, lets forget the naked swimming and dig a tunnel from the Eco Cabins to the bar!” Everyone agreed this was a much better idea. Spades, shovels and picks were distributed and they began to dig. A few feet underground they discovered …...

…............. a bar of GOLD!! But no hippy has ever had nor spent money before so what were they to do with it? Down at Mach's Market (held every Wednesday 8am - 4pm ) they exchanged it for a smile and …......

… 3 camels, a pack of Regal and a jewel of the finest quality. Combining these essential ingredients they formed …......

…......... the meaning of life! They turned in unison to the tree next to them and said ….......

…....... Maybe we should step back and let Gita speak! “Let us communise our child care” she said “How do we know the shopkeeper and farmer and architect and local councillor (but probably not the banker) aren't single parents too!! We need co-operative child care plus wages for housework!!!” …....

…........ She had a point. The gusto with which she spoke made me think of Elves dancing in the moonlight. As gentle and endearing as it was, it was still punch in the face! Never back down in the face of stillness lest you fumble the blocks of unease! How did you come to be here dear child? Are you pure of Spirit or noble of birth …. Please answer me …...

.. the purest spirit I know of was an Oak cast aged malt left half buried in the nearby bog I was running through that night. “Which night?” Some one called “If you would let me continue “ I countered, “But then we could be here all night” The voice lamented. I bravely continued my tale … “I was on the boggy marsh when I tripped over the whisky” “I didn't know you could trip on whiskey” my heckler called …...

P.S.D. = Peat in the Sky with Diamonds! Of course you can trip on Whiskey. The Whiskey trail leads you beside the Talisker via Skye and the Caillira to where the Whiskey Galore ship lies on the sea bed off lonely Eriskay. The wind blows in from across the Atlantic fetching stories from the US and waves crashing into the Mallaig........

….......... surfing these amazing waves was an otter sitting upon the back of a huge Leather back turtle. “Oh isn't life great!” called the otter “Surfing in whiskey laden waters is better than frolicking naked on the sand!” The huge Leather back turtle shook his head to disagree but the otter had dived into the water to chase a psychedelic fish. The huge Leather back turtle swam to the shore where he met …............

….......... the otters friend. A beautiful mermaid combing out her long hair while she waited for the fish to come back so she could carry on telling them her story about days gone by when mythical creatures existed, that had two legs instead of a beautiful shiny tale – the fishes didn't believe her and thought she was a bit batty and not to be taken seriously, but she knew and she hoped her fascinating fairy tales would help them look beyond the beautiful blue ocean, to the distant green land she secretly longed to move on – if only she didn't have a tail, the mermaid …......

... remembered the time that her shell comb had broken and her mother had taken her to the shore to find a suitable shell replacment. It had both scared her and filled her with wonder, but being unable to leave the sea she filled her life with adventure instead.... like the time she stole the piece of paper with a big 'X 'on it from a ship full of immoral beings. If only she'd known ….....

…....... that they were pirates on their way from selling pearls and shells and robbing evil looking salesmen never thinking about marine life at all, she would have run. But the 'X' fascinated her so she followed its directions all through the northern parts of the Atlantic sea. She missed her Mom but something in her did not let her go back. She simply had to find out... so she continued …...

…...........across many lands sailing for many, many seas, leaving the evil looking salesman in the darkness behind her. Where was this path leading her. Her curiosity for the 'X' nibbling at her nimble breasts. Many moons flew over the sky above her. She looked on ….the 'X', the dream, the mystery shrouded behind mist …. until one day, lightness began to appear and through the smoke, through the mirrors, she landed on the stage … Who will hold the X Factor!!! …...........

On a rainy Tuesday evening, feeling a little bored, he decided to shave his duck! Having not previously undertaken the task, he was amazed quite how difficult it was. The following Wednesday he had a visit from a good friend of his called Sally. After a bottle of wine and some pleasantries he decided to show Sally his duck ….......

….. but it turned out that the duck had liberated itself and so he had to bare his soul instead. Intimacy has its levels and Sally learnt a lot more from the chats about personal formative experiences and motivations than one would have at seeing his saved duck. A lesson she decided to store for future solid interactions …....

…. but sadly, despite learning many valuable things from him and about life, Sally found that all she still really craved was a shaved duck!

…. The End of Freshers FIRST Till Roll Story 12 September 2017