Well good morning Sunday. I have finally dragged myself out of bed and now sit at my computer drinking my green vanilla tea in a most civilised manner while I contemplate my sinus-aching face, headache and all round general snottiness. I have also begun to cough. I believe this to be a good sign because all of the highly authoritative material on the “common cold” that I have read on the internet tells me that this is one of the final stages of said cold.

Enough of my whining. What else has been happening in Spiralling Shape land? Well, the teaching term ended on Friday. I spent the week helping my beautiful students with their final piece of assessment which was a researched essay on a topic of their choice. It had to be a contemporary Australian issue. As a result, I know now quite a lot about the human impact on the Great Barrier Reef, childhood obesity, eating disorders, substance abuse, drought, problem gambling, ADHD, smoking and a number of other topics. I am sad to see this class leave us for they have been delightful to teach, hard working and dedicated to changing their lives for the better. As always, they have taught me a great deal in the process of me teaching them. If you’re not sure exactly what I do, here’s a link to a story that aired ABC Wide Bay which describes it beautifully. The student voice is strong.

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/05/25/3226544.htm?site=widebay

So we had a little farewell party for them on Friday afternoon. They bought the food. I bought the congratulatory certificates and small gifts for those of them who had managed twelve weeks, five days a week without missing a class. Impressive!

On Friday evening I then went to a lovely concert at the church in town that has the most uncomfortable pews in the whole wide world. Still, the music made up for it, particularly the performance of the Bach Double Concerto for Oboe and Violin which is one of my many favourite things. The soloists were Barry Davis and Kirsten Kerr. Barry has “retired” to Bundaberg from years of professional oboeing around the world. Never mind that he works like a trouper and is involved in all sorts of music making in town. We are fortunate to have him here indeed. Kirsten is a stunning violinist who grew up in Bundaberg and then went on to bigger and brighter things before settling in Rockhampton with her family. She is famous for teaching me the violin when I was a girl. Actually, she’s not really famous for that at all. The other professional achievements on her resume far outweigh that glory. The Bach was beautifully stylish, cleanly articulated and the second movement soared clearly through the church. For those of you who don’t know it go directly to youtube, do not pass go and do not collect 200 dollars and look it up. I will finish with a little taste of it here. This is something to savour on a Sunday morning.