10th February 2011

Well training this week has been well and truly scuppered by the visit of OFSTED to our school. I would say the result here, but if I did I would have to kill you! In other words, it is not offical yet. However I don't think I am giving anything away if I say that it was a truly exciting few days with a well-deserved outcome for the school.
On Tuesday I went to the school orchard for a last session with a Social Skills group and we cooked marshmallows using my Vargo hexagonal stove. And we lost the pin!!!! I couldn't believe it - the first time I used it and we broke it. Andrew says he can fix it with an aluminium peg, and I'm sure he can, but I will be contacting Vargo to let them know there is a design fault. Basically, the pin needs to have some sort of 'knob' on the ends to stop it from sliding out of the holes.

I have been trying to show pupils maps to emphasize the solitary nature of my adventure. Here is part of a map. Mostly there are lots of countour lines and streams, and very little in the nature of roads, buildings, shops, and (disappointingly) pubs. There are also very few trees, which means my need for firewood and kindling to cook food on with be high on my list of priorities. I will have to collect wood as I go along, and cannot assume it will be available close to my campsite or final destination.