Toronto

1. CN Tower. Impressive structure and an exceptional views but lacks in other key identifiable buildings. Can you name any of these buildings.

2. The Ice Hockey Hall of Fame where you can see things such as the goal where Wayne Gretsky scored his 802nd career goal. Yes I was under whelmed as well.

3. Baseball. Last year I got to see Manny Ramirez in his last game before being traded from Boston to Los Angeles (I also got to see him in one of his first games for LA as well). This year all the trade rumours surround Roy Holliday (1 of the premier pitchers) and the home fans are desperate for him to stay so the atmosphere was amazing as there was a constant barrage of noise. It was rainy at the start but must have cleared up as halfway through the games they opened the retractable roof to display the view.

Welcome from Holland

One thing people overlook when I do these adventures is that it can often involved waiting and as I choose to fly via Amsterdam (cheaper and "less get to the airport" hassle) I have an hour before the second check in so I am taking advantage of the free wi-fi. Weather in Amsterdam is not promising and the flight over was pretty empty so I a row of seats to myself. Also 1 of my ex students was operating the check in desk which is good top see she has gainful employment as she was not that well behaved.

Most hair raising incident - opened overhead locker to find that my hand luggae and all improtant document etc had vanished. As there were so few other people it had slid right to the front of the plane but did give me a bit of a scare

Best moment so far - Red Arrows coming into land at the airport will I looked out of the window, taxied, refueled and then took off again. Some reason they were iffy with cameras in departure lounge.

Best fact. People who wore old fashioned and out of date square ended shoes were often called squares. Pointed shoes were more expensive and a sign of social standing. Know that I know this it makes me a square and know you know it you are a square as well.
Next stop Toronto. Toodle pip.

Tomorrow is the big day

1. Voting

I recently became aware that the two main candidates are both less than 30 and this made me wonder and question if there was a inbuilt prejudice to my MP being younger than me. I have kind of accepted never playing professional sport for England but how about an MP. If I would not consider that I have enough life experience to be an MP and vote on the impacts of economic policy on the future how about someone younger. The more I thought the more questions I ask

• Are the major parties being disrespectful by selecting young candidates?
• Are younger candidates likely to be more or less likely to by led easily by party bigwigs than other first time MP's? (are they just yes men/women)
• Is there experience of education/ health etc. going to impact positively or negatively on their work as an MP?

Other things to note about the campaign

• all the parties are on a major leaflet blitz - sometimes two or three a day. The DVD presentation however was a waste of time as very few were watched.
• using a loudspeaker on a car to raise awareness is not welcome as it scares next doors dog
• the absence of door to door campaigners of anyone other than low level minions is disappointing
• if I am in a car park and you are a candidate come over and try to win my vote (I actually didn't notice and A told me)

The choice is between Labour and Lib Dem because Chloe Smith (Conservative) has spent a lot of time on how she will re-invent Parliament expenses which vastly overstates the kind of power she will have and secondly as the vote was last night shows woeful knowledge of the political timetable.

Oh and I am coming away.

How can it cost the same amount to insure a 10 year old car worth £750 at the most and a 3 year old car with more than 10 times the amount? Maybe need to shop around a bit

Another year done

1. Term is now finished (thank heavens as it seemed to go on for ever and every lesson seemed to take about three hours). Hopefully now have 7 weeks of not thinking about work. Next Thurs heading off on the Third Great North American Adventure starting in Toronto and taking in , Niagara Falls, New York, Washington DC, Richmond, Kitty Hawk, Durham, Charleston, Savannah and Miami

2. Have 120 exams left to mark. Started with 710 so nearly done. A productive weekend could get that done

3. Have almost bought a new car. The green Hyundai has reached the end of the road and is destined for Wymondham car auction courtesy of the dealer. This is what the next one will look like

4. Have been to see the new Harry Potter film. Very good film on its own but not a great adaptation of the book. The first two films were okay and helped set the scene but they did manage to pick out three excellent actors to be the leads although Daniel Radcliffe is a bit short compared to the other two especially Emma Watson. Check it out here

5. Well Done to England saving the first test. We can't lose 5-0 anymore.

Falconry

Medieval Day today. Had a falconry display. Was persuaded not to take my camera as Yr12 photography students would be taking pictures and making them available to all. Dismayed was I to find them doing it with a camera on a phone. Pictures rubbish. Lesson learnt

Education and by-elections

Labour have decided a five year teaching licence is a good idea.
Anything that takes planning time is a waste of time in school and lets face it who needs more paper work. If you are rubbish should take 5 years to get rid of you. Current incompetence procedures take a lot less than that.

Conservatives have decided to get rid of Quangos (Quasi autonomous non-government agency) and one of the ones in the firing line is the Qualification and Curriculum Authority (QCA). QCA meet with relevant agencies, teachers and government before deciding what should be taught in GCSE, making sure they are equally easy/ hard and ensuring that the writing and marking process are fair. This according to the government is a waste of money and needs to be democratised. Why we need to vote for people this to fill this role is beyond me. Should this be decided by a minister or by someone who works in the field of education. It took 6 years to introduce the new GCSE's as it was a major change (bye bye coursework) longer than a government is elected for.