Xmas this year.

Its Christmas Eve, and I am writing my blog.

I don't think anyone is feeling particularly Chrismassy this year, don't get me wrong, I still love it and looking forward to it, but the childlike excitement isn't really here any more.

Firstly, the last week of term is always filled with drawing Christmas cards and telling teachers there's no swear words in the film we want to put on in class, then enjoying the glorious expression on teachers' faces during the cringey parts with swearing and crude jokes.

However, lesson's have been full of revising and past exam papers, and reminders of our exams after the holidays, which we need to revise for. Oh, and to enjoy our holidays.

To my English teacher, this is the perfect example of a juxtaposition.


The world ended a few days ago. It was an anti-climax. Still, it felt weird to go to sleep on the night of the 21st, knowing how absolutely normal the day had been, just as we expected, when everyone had been talking and anticipating this normal day.

We do not have a Christmas tree this year. Nope, we have a drum kit. And as my brother has recently taken his exam, he is no longer required to practice... so... we put fairy lights over that instead.


Now for the more jolly things.
Two of my friends have given me marshmallows for Christmas.

I don't know if I have written about it, but Hannah and I have made several lists, during the really boring business lessons, when we have no work to do, about why it's a good idea to have a love affair with marshmallows.

I found a tablet thing which you can do art on the computer with, meaning I can design lots of awesome dresses. It had been my childhood dream to be a fashion designer. In fact, Bryony told me that in primary school when I was selling milk I always drew dresses. Bless, I'm so cute.

Ooh, and Bryony also gave me her memory stick to copy some music. Fair play, she has a fairly good music taste... and I pretty much copied all the albums off, even though she had made 2 playlists for me. But I love the playlists. I sing the songs she gave me, unluckily for my family.

I hope she reads this. She was saying I did not mention her enough in another post of mine.

She was a vegetarian, but not any more. She tried bacon but did not like it.
Reminds me of another vegetarian friend who ate bacon to save the economy. Logic being that eating bacon will keep pig farmers their jobs.

That is probably someone's excuse for taking cocaine.


Corinne's philosophy: If people are laughing, laugh too, so then they are laughing with you. If you don't laugh, then they are laughing at you.

London trip with the clever people P1

As I am one of the twelve 'cleverest' people in my year at school, this means I am part of the Express group (Gifted and Talented). Or as my mother likes to call it, the twelve apostles. Or disciples as she just came in to add.
 Its actually a pretty decent thing to be involved in, we gets lots of opportunity to listen to lectures and go to workshops we usually would not have the chance to. Although we did have to do a stupid numbers qualification which aside from many hours, it also involved going to a little heritage centre for a day to do maths. But I had my first subway there. Overrated. I can imagine a lot of people who would kill me for saying that, but, it's a sandwich. Anyone can make a sandwich. I would rather a burger any day.

So last weekend, as a treat for completing the maths qualification, our headteacher and assistant head took us to London, for a very intensive but also uberly fun two days.

Most of us woke up at 4 am in the morning for this trip, which none of really see, except when people stay up to 4 playing Xbox or something. There were no street-lights  and the only light was the moonlight. Which is rather cheesy. I let myself out the house with my rucksack and went to find Bryony to walk to our meeting point. And because its not everyday you get the chance to, we walked in the middle of the road.

After a 5 hour journey in the minibus, the headteacher dropped us off at a random tube station. I think it was Osterley.

'The next stop is Boston Manor, the train terminates at Cockfosters.'
And at the word 'Cockfosters' Dan burst into giggles. Which of course makes all the rest of us laugh. (They were 11 of us, plus Miss, and Mr.). The thing that made it all even more hysterical were the daily Londoners sitting on the tube, silent and still, silently scrutinising us.  This happened at every single stop, and as soon as the announcement starts, all of us immediately turn to look at Dan, which only makes him twice as vulnerable to the giggles. By the sixth station, after covering his face, and concentrating deeply, he managed not to laugh at the word 'Cockfosters'. He had a little celebration, pumping his fist in the air, which only made us laugh a little more.
Ah..... and we're supposed to be smartest of the bunch.

We arrived at Leicster square for the Gifted and Talented conference, at the Odeon theatre. The series of lectures were good. Unfortunately, in the lecture just before lunch.... I may have fell asleep. Which was a pity really, as it was about celebrity obsession, which was actually the most interesting topic there. The guy did like to make a lot of Jimmy Saville jokes though.

Some of us went for a Burger King at lunch. They have cool drinks machine, with a touch screen.

For the second half of the lectures the boys brought popcorn. Which is fine by me as they shared it with me.

After this we had a little while to go shopping in Convent Garden. I really adore the place, as it was extra special with all the Christmas decorations. The giant red baubles and the lights which filled the place. The street artists who pretended to risk their lives with a potential to drown, but we couldn't really get excited as they were too far away to see.

Our next stop was the alternative art tours around the East End London, where the infamous Jack the Ripper murders happened. Of course, we have to stop for a Costa coffee first.

Being a year 11.

Its been a long time since I've written, and this will be very school orientated. Being a schoolgirl and all.

People often say that these are the best years of our lives, and while I would not leap to agreement, I can see how with hindsight that they would say this.

This will be last year of compulsory education, and I can honestly say that I can't wait for it to finish. Putting it all into perspective, all my life so far has been pretty much learning and working and building up to this year, and I want to get good results which I will work hard for, and then relax in a way I have never been able to. (Obviously I could when I was a baby or a toddler, but I didn't appreciate nor understand much then.)

As for enjoying school, I think I do. There are pile loads of homework and controlled assessment, and by Friday I do feel absolutely drained, but there is also a sense of contentment after completing a piece of homework or getting a good mark in controlled assessments that can't be achieved in any other way.

There are many things I feel are useless and necessary, and is quite bluntly, a waste of my time. As I am being positive today (after a good night's sleep), I will allow myself a little rant at Welsh again.

It is a dying language, and like all things, humankind, living beings, technology and geography all evolve. If nothing did, and nothing died and nothing new could ever be born or created, there would be no progress. There is a reason that Welsh is a dying language, and we should let it die. (Gosh, I sound mean.) But there is a minute amount of people left that speak the language, and why should we be forced to learn meaningless phrases and sentences in order to 'salvage' the language from the inevitable end, when we should be embracing the way the world is growing, and learn languages such as French, or Mandarin? 

I appreciate Business studies, and in fact I have learnt some basics I had not known, however I do fear our teacher is not the best teacher. Neither is our art teacher. But that's ok, they aren't important subject to me personally. I might have chosen music, if I went back to choose them again, but they are both equally bad in terms of teaching. I really do enjoy music though, but I guess music grades are plenty good enough to put on personal statements etc. Besides, I won't be going into Art, nor music.

Speaking of music...... I was on youtube last night, and my new obsession is 'ThePianoGuys'...... their version of Coldplay's Paradise in Swahili - 'Peponi' is absolutely beautiful and warming.

Peponi by the PianoGuys...

Back to my subjects...

History is awfully difficult, there is so much writing, and types of analysations, and learning about history I should know and care about, but don't really. But I don't regret taking it, I'm doing better than I expected I would. I was very tired preparing my essay on Jack the Ripper. One of my sentences was 'We will never know why Jack the Ripper murdered these prostitutes in such a brutal manner.' However, due to the lack of energy running through my system, I wrote:
We will never know why Jack the Ripper married these prostitutes in such a brutal manner.

French is good. It's very logical. It makes sense. I would have a slight advantage were I to go to France on holiday. Well, if I were to write everything I wanted to say on a slit of paper, then hand it to a French person, and hope they would write a simple reply back on the paper, then I would have an advantage.

We've been studying Of Mice and Men, and Heroes in English, and I genuinely cannot be more convinced that we read waaaaaaaaaay to much into every single word. How can the simple colour co-ordination of a single room in a single house represent the mood of every single person in that room.
For example, my room is beautiful light pea-green colour. However does this not mean the greenness reflect the tranquil heart I have, nor the calm mindset which the green portrays. I like the colour green. Ok?

The maths lesson consists of me sitting doing my own work. This is because I've completed my GCSE in maths. I'm now currently at the awkward stage where I'm not quite ready to take my A level maths, but not quite sure whether an extra qualification is worth it.

And I do like Science.
Hey, I captained the Chem team to a victory in the South Wales Chemical Olympiad. And I had to with-strain my silly smile, and try not to act too happy. I've called the emotion 'geeky contentment'.  

I feel like I should put a conclusion. This is what essay writing has done to me. In history, I spend too many minutes repeating all the points I have made in slightly different constructed sentences, to remind the readers (teacher/moderators) everything I just spent hours writing about. Aren't I being nice to them? They should just read through it again, but I'm nice.

I'm tired. I'm pretty sure I could write more about extra-curricular. Or maybe a conclusion to a passage never written.

Lots of things. Busy. Tired. Annoying teachers sometimes. Good teachers sometimes. Mostly annoying. Singing when I can't sing. Playing carols on flute which makes me so frustrated I want to punch a broccoli. Debating whether to do debating. Listening to storytellers instead of telling stories. Playing the xylophone, sounding impressive to the trees who listen, then failing and stumbling when the humans listen.

Oh, I went to London with the Gifted and Talented group in school... It was amazing. Will tell. Meanwhile: this is a snippet in photos.

Concluded.