Winner

So 26.2 miles and 4 hours and 25 minutes after starting out from a drizzly Blackheath Mr G, my very own Flash Gordon, crossed the finish line of the 2010 Virgin London Marathon. For months James has been training, running in all weathers, for hours at a time. It wasn't even his idea!
I am so proud of him and his massive achievement.
As we waited near mile 7 to catch our first glimpse of him I started to clock watch. As the minutes neared I started running through all that could go wrong. He could fall over, or get cramp, or his knee might give way. I started to feel very nervous. The 9 minute milers ran past - he should be in there I thought. Then the 10. Then I started to think I had missed him. Suddenly Steve saw him and shouted. My heart leapt as I saw him smiling and running with Andy and Bren. We moved slowly onto Mile 17 at Mudchute DLR. The train was packed with marathon watchers and a great atmosphere. Sandwiches, cake and coffee followed courtesy of the in-laws - brilliant! He was easier to spot this time - fewer crowds on both sides of the fence!
A long DLR journey and a loo stop took us to about mile 24. PC Flash looked tired by this point but still running (he later admitted walking just after he'd seen us.)
A bus ride and a walk took us to Horse Guard's Parade to meet the amazing runners. Somehow in amongst the crowds I spotted him looking tired, sweaty but triumphant.
I have to admit I welled up on seeing him.
What a star.
And thanks to  you amazing guys and your generosity he has now exceeded his fundraising target.
By running the marathon James has done something amazing but even more than that we have gained some amazing new friends and our community has grown.
Thank you to the Heaths - Tris and Caz for their advice, humour, training runs, marathon watching schedules, lifts and fruit salad, Bren - for running too!, and George for being a brilliant spectating buddy!
Thank you to the Kings - Andy for running too, for being so welcoming and Abby for an amazing pasta party!
Thank you to Max - its been great getting to know you in homegroup and at various runs across the South of England.
Thanks to the Squires (the Yummys!) You guys are like my extended family
Thank you to Alice - for being a source of advice,encouragement and watching support (oh and for helping me draft the application all those months ago!!)
Thanks to The Gordons - Marion and James for food and admiration of your crazy son, Doug for spotting him at mile 24 and for letting him be better than you at this, Helen for being a brilliant pussy galore and generally being a great big sis, Nat (well you are nearly a Gordon) for putting up with being a twin wife.
Thanks to my rents - for their support and admiration of my hubbie.
And to anyone who saw James' feet on Sunday night - thanks for not vomitting! He has been to the chirpodist now!
So that's that chellenge over.....
What Next?

www.justgiving.com/pcflash

www.justgiving.com/pcflash 

About this time last year I started thinking that James could run the London Marathon. He had run a few 10k events easily and said he enjoyed running. Through my volunteering with Alice's former charity I had been to the London marathon a few times. I had always been struck by the commitment and sheer guts of the runners - but their stories, their determination and the amounts of money they raise for amazing causes usually reduced me to tears.
James was fairly agreeable to the idea as long as I did the admin and got him a place. We applied to the ballot but I also thought about which charities I could apply to. There are so many 'good causes' and many which we have a link to or a reason to support.The one which I chose is not a trendy charity, dealing with a high profile issue. It is a charity that deals with a socially unacceptable issue, one which is rarely spoken of in public. It is an issue that causes 2 women a week to die. It is an issue that my husband, through his work, deals with on a daily basis. It is something that should not happen, but does, behind closed doors and causes women and children great pain, suffering and self doubt. On average a woman will experience it 35 times before she calls the Police. I applied to Refuge, the UK charity that helps women and children out of Domestic Violence, and they gave James a place. I am lucky that my marriage is strong and stable, and I come from a stable family. I have never had to experience the horror of domestic violence, but I have heard stories from James who responds to 999 calls, and my dad through his work and volunteering.
Refuge need James, and all their runners, to raise at least £1800 each to make their place worthwhile. As of writing James has raised 68% of that so over 2/3rds. There are 2 weeks and 2 days to go. It would be great if James could cross the finish line on 25th April knowing that his fundraising was done. If you've been thinking about donating but haven't yet here are some facts about James' training:
He has run over 300 miles in training.
He has trained for over 40 hours.
He has been out in all weathers - snow, wind and rain - lots and lots of rain.
He has eaten more pasta than an average Italian grandmother.
He has completed 3 half marathons in under 1 hour 55 minutes.
He has dressed up as Q from James Bond.
He has reduced his alcohol intake significantly.
He has lost one toenail, and two more are black and ready to fall off.
He wants to run in under 4 and a half hours.
He has made some great new friends: Caz, Tris, Bren, Andy, Max and Mr Yummy.
His nipples have bled.
He has found new uses for Vaseline.
And finally,
He is excited but anxious and never wants to run a marathon again (but we'll see;-))
So click here: www.justgiving.com/pcflash and give what you can.
Thank you

The Curse of Technology (Guest Entry)

I will now take a slight change in direction of this blog. It will now form part of a Thesis that my husband has been working on for 27 years and entitled "The curse of Technology". The main aim of his work is to critique how hard technology makes modern life and flys in the face of the concentric hypothesis that technology makes our lives easier. He attempts to prove this via the Nike+ Sports band which he considers rather frustrating rather than the hoped liberation that he thought it would bring. Indeed the Luddites in his view were the original masters of this now re-awoken theory - the curse of technology.

New Year New ?

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown." And he replied,"Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God; that shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way!"

Minnie Louise Harkins 1875-1957

This year is the first year for ages that I am entering with a degree of certainty - if that is ever possible. This year I am not giving up a job to retrain, I am not qualifying and looking for work. I have a job, and as long as I pass my NQT year, and my school agree then I have a job. James' job is secure and certain. In a way this certainty unsettles me more than the uncertainty.

Over the last few years I have been forced to rely on God and turn to Him for options and guidance. I have trusted Him and taken the path He has guided me down. I have felt like I am really walking the path He has laid out for me. When I got my job last year it felt so God given, and right. But this year does not seem to have any such event on the horizon and that in itself brings an uncertainty!

This first term of my teaching career has been the hardest thing I have ever done. I have struggled with managing my class' behaviour, along with all the stuff they don't teach you at college about paperwork, parents, records, displays etc. Each week I force myself to think about the things I have achieved - the good points to hang my progress and success on. There have been moments when I have felt good - like I know what I am doing, like this is what I am supposed to be doing. There have also been vivid and dark moments when I have felt like giving up. Moments when the Devil has actually taunted me, telling me that I am no good, to do it for a year and then forget it. When I turn to God and talk to Him then I get reminders. I also get flashes of a memory that I did not start pursuing this career to teach mainstream forever, and whilst the idea of teaching children with Autism, or other special needs, is very alien and inconceivable right now I think God sometimes gently reminds me that He is in control.

I am sure that this year will contain many surprises and decisions. I know that when choices need to be made, or questions answered that James and I will turn to God and seek His guidance. I also know that in the times that there are none of these things to be done then God is simply asking that I rest in Him. I need to remember that God is not just a crisis manager, or some sort of celestial life compass. He is my Lord and Saviour and desires a relationship with me. I need to talk to Him, listen to Him and seek his presence every day. In doing this I hope that that His voice will become clearer and my uncertainty more comfortable to bear.

Christmas

So this is Christmas.

More and more I am challenged by what Christmas means, and how I should celebrate it. Last year our church focussed on Advent and, coupled with having most of Advent off, helped me to focus on looking forward, and thinking about teh arrival of God in our world again.

This year I spent alot of Advent being tired - teaching is exhausting. I couldn't get caught up in the hype and so, quite by mistake, I arrived at the week before Christmas ready for a rest, and ready to focus on spending time with the people I love and care for.

At our Christmas Carol Service there was a audio visual presentation and this quote struck me:

" The way you spend Christmas is far more important than how much."

I am realising that Christmas is not about presents, or food, or money. It is about giving time and love. Its about having conversations with people you only see at Christmas, listening to the people you thought you knew, but have grown and changed with the passing of the years, peeling potatoes and parsnips for Christmas lunch, chatting over glasses of champagne with your newly married friends in their lovely home, pulling on your thermals to watch a ruggby game you know your team will lose. It's about making 3.5kg of fudge, and grapefruit marmalade late at night.

I hope that I have managed to do that this year.

I know that there are many people I fail to love like I should. I know that there are people I fail to stay in touch with, things I could do but don't and things I say or think that I shouldn't.

I know that Jesus, when He stepped into the story that is my world and yours, was ready for the good and the bad. He came into a dirty difficult world, eyes open and ready to show it love. He never failed, and that allows me to get it wrong over and over again.

I hope that the way I celebrated this year will teach me more about Christ as I journey through the next 12 months. I am looking forward - as well as back.

The power of prayer

3am Sunday Morning

The Fourth Plinth - This Saturday night 3am until 4am

Right I have decided what I am going to do. Unfortunately I got the day wrong 3am on Sunday is in fact Saturday night!!
If you want to see me, During the event - or at all on Sunday go here: www.oneanother.co.uk and click on my timeslot.
In Trafalgar square!
I admire Gormley's work, especially his figure at Winchester Cathedral and I would like to emulate that on the plinth.
Art is not about entertaining or interacting with the viewer necessarily, but does give the artist a chance to express a feeling, a thought or a belief.
I am a 29 year old Christian woman.
My faith is the core of who I am, it grounds me and anchors me. It is my moral code, my joy, my desire. If my faith does not spill over into my actions, if it is not evident to others then I am getting it wrong.
So, I want to use my time on the plinth to pray for the city I live in. Sitting in the heart of the city will give me an opportunity to face each part of the city, North, South, East and West and pray for each in turn. As I do so I am going to light a candle as a symbol. If health and safety will let me.
I want to pray for peace and harmony. I want to pray for people I know in different parts of the city. I want to pray for hospitals, and the police. I want to pray for schools and the children of our city, the young people so intent on killing each other. I want to pray for God's grace, and love and mercy.
I am not going to pray out loud. Only God needs to hear my prayers.
And, like an hour in a prayer room, I am sure it will whizz by.
So yes. That's me, my hour.
Entertaining - no
Important - you decide
Art - well yes!

The Fourth Pinth - One & Other

One & Other
Next Sunday night at 3am I will be taking part in a public art project in Trafalgar Square. Anthony Gormley, the sculptor, came up with a project to fill the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square with the people of Britain. To quote the website
"They will become an image of themselves, and a representation of the whole of humanity. "
I applied, not expecting that out of the 28821 applicants I would be one of the 2400 people selected for an hour. The places are distributed around the UK to give a true picture rather than just a load of Londoners.
Anyway I have a slot. It's in the middle of the night but it is still a slot.
When I applied I originally thought I would just sit silently and pray. However at 3 in the morning this is just going to look like I am asleep.
So what should I do?
I have thought about reading a book of the Bible out loud - Maybe a gospel, or Phillipians? Or maybe even starting at the beginning with Genesis.
Friends last night said I should bake - I need to be able to carry all my stuff up there but with a camping stove some sort of food might not be out of the question.
I want my hour on the plinth - whether it is seen by many or few - to be a witness to who I am the what I believe. I don't have a talent - I can't sing, or dance, or play an instrument.
How can I share my qualities, and make the few people who might see me think?
Answers please....!
Hannah x

NQT

I did it!
I am now officially an Newly Qualified Teacher!
I cannot quite comprehend all that I have learnt, experienced or achieved in the last 10 months, going from User Involvement Worker to Primary School teacher. This week I have been exhausted. I haven't even considered September and all the new challenges that will bring. I am off on hols and then I am going into school when I get back. I need to rest, to restore, to renew.
Everyone tells you a PGCE is hard work, stressful, intense. And yes at times it has been all of those things.
However all along, no matter how tough times were, I have carried the overwhelming sense that I am on the right path.
I have never been sure of why God is leading me this way but have tried to trust Him and follow.
And that's what I continue to do. It is only with Him that I will succeed.
As well as a new career as a teacher I have gained something more; friends! Which at the age of nearly 30 is something really special.
It has been a great 10 months. I find it both amazing and terrifying to be given the privilege of educating children but its a challenge I'm willing to try.
Hannah

T minus 25

On July 3rd after a day of relaxation I will officially graduate from Wandsworth SCITT as a NQT with a PGCE and QTS. In short I will be a primary school teacher!
I am TERRIFIED!
The last few months have been quite surreal - hence the lack of blogging. All my mental energy has gone into assignment writing, lesson planning, evaluating and job interviews.
I have written two 5000 word masters level essays. They were tough - and I seemed to be living under their weight for a long time. Handing the final assignment in I felt like I was emerging from a long hibernation. There was light at the end of the tunnel and I felt lighter and happier. I now know that I have passed both these papers although I don't have results yet.
On May 18th I had an interview for a teaching job at a Junior School nearby to me. I have felt an enormous sense of calm about job hunting. I firmly believe that God led me into this PGCE and future career and that He would find me a school where I can continue to serve and glorify him. Earlier in the year I attended a panel interview for the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education NQT Pool. I went to the interview not expecting anything spectacular - whilst Church Schools are reasonably common I had not previously considered working in one. Anyway the interview went well and a couple of weeks later one of the heads from my panel called me to tell me she had two vacancies at her school and would I apply. The school was larger than I had anticipated joining but I gave it to God. After a great but unsuccessful interview elsewhere I attended the interview on May 18th already knowing in my heart that God wanted me at the school. It was an odd feeling- and it sounds really boastful in print - but I did my best and waited for the call. In short I got the job! It is a great relief to have a post for September and reduces the pressure in the last few weeks of teaching.
As of Monday morning I have two and half weeks of teaching practice left. The other trainees in my school were talking about final grading the other day. All of my observations have been good so far - with some elements of very good. So I started thinking is 'good' good enough? And how can I be 'very good?' I am tired, and whilst these weeks will fly by I know they are going to be pressured and busy and I need to summon energy from somewhere to make it through. I know that I have got the foundations of teaching solid and now I need to take risks, build and expand my style - all at a time when my tank is nearly empty and my soul is aching for the week getaway on the Isle of Wight that James and I have booked in July.
I also find myself in a position where I cannot look back yet and appreciate all that I have achieved since the start of September. I am stuck in fast forward, and yes scared by the future. Learning to teach is a fairly safe environment but in September I will have my own class of 30 children with all their wonderful differences, strengths and weaknesses. I will find myself faced with 30 faces all seeing me as the expert. I have no idea how to start a year, how to introduce myself etc etc. I know that, like this year, iIwill learn. I will learn the ways of the school, I will learn about the children, I will build relationships with them, their parents, other teachers, staff and management. I know that God has led me there and He will not abandon me but I am still scared.
But for now, at t minus 25 days I need to focus on finishing my placement - being the best I can be.
H x