PROMOTION
The English Department introduced ‘ Bright Writes ’ - a writing exercise that was open to everyone and required participants to submit a short story based on that week ’ s theme . The exercise was launched with the theme ‘ My New Skill ’.
Overall we feel the relationships we have built within Highlands College , and with the students , their families , our other colleagues and the wider community , have been enhanced during this difficult time , enabling us to offer more students than ever a chance to study and aspire .
llikS weN yM
My twins are zooming up through the single figures now . Already their jaws have breached the midway marker of my beer gut , and – given the amount of food they ’ re shovelling down these days – show no sign of slowing their ascent .
Sure , I hear you : at ground level sound travels too fast for the naked ear to tell the difference . But trust me ; things change after seven weeks of home schooling . Physics starts to wilt . Your eardrums are … raw . You start looking for solutions . A zeptosecond of silence here , a Planck length of peace there can make all the difference .
And it has ! Okay so the blood-rush to the head is discomforting at times , and hand-standing to the door to gaze up at the socially distant postman takes some doing ( pro tip – roller-skate on each hand , padded facemask strapped to the crown of your head ), but in the main I ’ m happy . My children ’ s mouths ( and all accompanying arguments , wails or whinges ) are now just that little bit further from my lugs than they were before , and receding by the week . My new blog , Headstand for Happiness , is gaining readers by the day . I ’ m saving on shoes . Life ’ s good .
Paul Bisson
ALWAYS
The new skill I have developed during lockdown is the ability to recognise that I am always right . Not that I know when I ’ m right , but really that I am , quite simply , always right . This has delighted not only me , but also my wife and children . How reassuring it is for them to know that they don ’ t need to question any opinions I state or facts I draw their attention to !
If , for example , one of them says , “ It ’ s 5 o ’ clock ” and I correct them by saying , “ Actually , it ’ s 3 minutes past 5 ”, they can feel a glow of reassurance in getting the data 100 % accurately . Or if I express an opinion on a burning political issue , none of them needs to question or doubt either the opinion or the strength of feeling I adopt in expressing it ! The flat has become very calm , even silent over the last few weeks ; even though it is quite a small flat , surprisingly , I don ’ t often meet members of my family during the day .
But I am now happy in the knowledge that my wife can be so reassured : that having married Mr . Right , it is now clear his first name is Always .
Andrew Wilson
THE ENFORCER
Arriving in Jersey just hours before lockdown , I immediately grasped that here lay enormous scope for my existing talents , and ample opportunities for developing new ones .
First , the daily two hours of exercise lacked structure and it was left to my ingenuity and organisational skills to ensure that walks were more interesting . I felt that spontaneous games of hide-and-seek , when I vanished unexpectedly into the undergrowth , added a delightful unpredictability , although my family seemed less enthusiastic and I never managed to persuade them to join me in chase-the-rabbit .
However , even rabbits pall eventually , so one morning I decided it was time to conquer the large expanse of blue water I had noticed over the wall . Accustomed as I was to a sluggish English river , this seemed daunting but I am always ready to learn a new skill . Imagine my fright when an enormous wall of water reared up at me just as I was retrieving my ball , completely engulfing me . Sea and sky somersaulted , but I struggled ashore and looking around noticed a huddle of people on the beach . My duty was clear . I bounded amongst them and with a thorough shake found my vocation : an enforcer of social distancing .
Jane Martin
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