Billy Summers . Stephen King

 Billy Summers is a crime novel written by American author Stephen King, published by Scribner on August 3, 2021. Wikipedia

I am a HUGE fan of Stephen King, Having scared myself reading Pan Horror stories as a 12 year old I was hooked into the horror genre and read James Herbert and Stephen King books as fast as I could get a copy from the local library.

Fortunately Stephen King does a lot more than horror and  as I have grown from a pre-teen to present day his writing style has evolved in to a broad range of styles and genres. I would not like to go so far as to say I am his number one fan as I would not like to be compared to Annie Wilkes from Misery. Indeed there are books of his that I have not read and some that I have not enjoyed. But I digress- let's get on with doing what this blog is meant to be about which is reviewing the book.

**NOTE No spoilers will be given in any reviews as I'm not a reader who flicks to the back of the book to see where it ends. I appreciate that many people do this, but for those who don't want spoilers please rest assured that you will not find any here**

Billy Summers is an assassin. An assassin with a conscience.

Now that sounds like an oxymoron. It is an oxymoron. I am the sort of reader who has to feel something for the characters in a book otherwise what's the point of the time invested. So an assassin, with a conscience. How will that work? Is it even possible?  

Billy Summers is a fast paced story that keeps you guessing right until the closing sentences. Stephen King's characters are multi dimensional and totally credible. At times Mr King can wax lyrical for pages ( even chapters ...The Stand, Under the Dome could have been A LOT shorter) but in the case of Billy Summers each word, each sentence, each chapter work together to tell a story.  The genre given is crime but that's over simplified the complexities of this work.  It is a lot more than a crime story.

I have seen reviews where the author has been accused of misogynistic opinions but I felt these were uunfounded. Some of the characters certainly had unsavoury opinions but that makes for a more realistic portrayal of a 21st century world. Some of the characters are likeable, some are not. Some are contensious, Some not. 

What was great about this work- the characters, their interactions, the journey you are taken on alongside Billy Summers. The author makes his political views known throughout the story so if you're not in agreement this book will definitely annoy you ! But I didn't mind the not-so-subtle pokes at the president of the time.

What was not great- I read this book earlier this year and there is not one thing that I could criticise There are some VERY hard parts to read where violence of a sexual nature is detailed, but it is integral to the story.

I laughed out loud, I shouted , I felt rage ( As mentioned in my previous post I mostly listen to audio books at the moment on my daily commute) I shed tears, I even dreamt about the characters. This book worked its way under my skin . For me it would sit  alongside The Green Mile, Misery, The Institute as being one of his greatest works. I'm hopeful that it would be made into a film or even a series ( as long as the story isn't changed beyond all recognition like the TV series Under the Dome) . Billy Summers tells his story through his cover story of being an author whilst he waits to be called to take action. Who better than to write about an author than a master of the craft. 

As I said at the start, I am a fan , but if you've never read a Stephen King book before make this your first one. Well written and gripping- I sat  in the car on many occasions unable to switch off and listened whilst at home and out and about as I needed to know what was coming next. Don't be put off if you're not a horror story fan- he's moved on a long way from that. If you like a book that tells a story with lots of character interaction then I'd say you would enjoy this. 

I did. It's a 10 from me.

Hello again

 Goodness it has been a LONG time since the last post - and several jobs have been and gone. 

I may, or may not write about those at some point.

In the meantime, along with my teaching I love to read and with a daily commute of 90 minutes have embraced audio books. So , this blog space will now be used to review some of the books that I have read. 

I'd love to write one of my own one day ( well I have one  in my google drive that I'm really not happy with so I will rephrase that as I would love to write a decent book of my own one day). 

The esteemed author, Stephen King, in his autobiographical book 'On Writing' repeatedly referred to his love of reading, and the copious amount that he has and still does as one of his biggest influences that I dream that my love of reading may perhaps help me to become a better writer.

In the meantime thus begins my reviews. Thanks for reading!

Holiday Science Fun

Am planning to try this out with my niece and nephews. ( 5,7,9)

I bought these tiny rainbow beads online - (you can also use the silica beads that come with trainers ) a couple of pounds for thousands of them.

All you need to do is pop them into a container of water

These have been in for a couple of hours.

Simple activities can include counting , how many different colours, holding the container up to the light.

Pop a hand in:

How many am I holding? Two?

Fabulous! The clear beads are so difficult to see when in the water. Lots of fun to try to guess how many there are and then take out one by one.

Further activities can include timing how long they take to grow, if different colours take more or less time. Can also see how long they take to return to normal size.

How about trying a salt solution? Or pop some food colouring in.

Lots of potential for measuring , weighing and if you have a torch handy see how the light is refracted by the spheres. See what happens if you hold one above some writing.

If you've tried this, let me know how it goes.

**Important** don't throw these down the drain when finished with..they can be dried and reused over and over . If they must be thrown away they'll need to go in the general household waste.

Have fun!

Things can only get better

Having recently been to a meeting of the Teacher Reference group at the DfE, I was heartened by the clear intent to actually listen to the profession.

Assessment in KS2 has been widely criticised since the hasty implementation of the 2014 curriculum. Last year's results were, let's say, mixed.

Being in Year 6 I have been right in the middle of the changes- raising standards- good. Having high expectations- obviously good.

BUT the present system was rushed in and is clearly not fit for purpose.

The consultation (due to close 22 June) is gatheing opinion right now- fill it in if you haven't already.

Quite what will happen remains to be seen, but I came away from the meeting with a lightness in my step as it really does seem that those involved in assessment at the DfE have recognised the flaws and are committed to working WITH the profession to have a system which will be fit for purpose.

Let's hope they carry through and that the present crisis in retention and recruitment will turn the corner.

KINDNESS

Having read various blogs on the subject, I thought it was pertinent to share this link to a FREE Platinum subscription to @twinklresources Twinkl

 http://bit.ly/2j4OgKh 

I run a class blog and we all sign up to our blog rules each September- they are

Keep safe – don’t reveal any personal information.

Write in good English – including grammar and punctuation.

Be polite – Don’t post anything that could hurt anyone.

Always show respect – be positive if you are going to comment.

Remember that a blog is public- anybody can read it- so be sure to make sure you always do your very best .

All posts and comments are checked before they are published.

I often talk to my class about the importance of being kind to each other- as Year 6s they are super confident being the oldest in the school, but before long they will be the little ones again in the secondary school where the friendships made at primary school are so important for those first few days in particular.

There are so many things we have to teach to our children, but in my opinion kindness is one of the most important. What a wonderful world we would live in if everyone was kind :)

Happy New Year. 2017. To blog or not to blog? To Tweet or not to Tweet?

As I scroll through my timeline I see a wealth of teachers pledging to blog more regularly, weekly or otherwise. I feel slightly in awe of them and wonder how they manage to find the time to write so regularly and look over at my own blog and berate myself for my lack of posts.

It’s easy to feel disheartened when there are so many great blogs out there (see  http://blog.feedspot.com/teacher_blogs/ for a list of top education blogs around the world) and  http://www.teachertoolkit.me/2016/04/03/101educators/ ( Teacher Toolkit’s list- the most followed education blog in the UK)

BUT , and this is the important thing, IT DOESN’T MATTER if you blog weekly, monthly, randomly (or not at all!) What matters is that you do what works for you. I have a blog to reflect upon things that I have done and it is so interesting reading past posts and looking at how I have made changes or improvements to my teaching.  Unless I have something to say that hasn’’t already been said, I don’t tend to blog. So I don’t make lists of educators to follow or influential blogs but like to think that some of what I write will strike a chord with others and perhaps give them food for thought.

When I take part in forums on twitter (my favourites are #PrimaryRocks on Mondays 8-9pm, #ASEchat Mondays 8-9 pm #uikedchat on Thursdays 8-9pm and #SLTchat on Sundays 8-8.30pm ) It’s easy to think that this is where it is all happening- and a lot does happen in them for certain. I have met some amazing people as a result of twitter and had opportunities that I may not have come across otherwise.  And lots of those people aren’t on any lists but have so much to share and I am delighted to have the privilege to have met many of them as well as to interact online with them.

However, it is worth keeping in mind that the vast majority of teachers aren’t even on twitter; and that many of those who are don’t use it regularly. I have run several workshops about the benefits of using twitter which have resulted in teachers joining, but most of the teachers I work with don’t use it at all.

Here’s my list of why you should use twitter- I’d love to know yours.

1)      Fabulous networking tool (especially if you teach in a small school)

2)      Great way to share ideas and resources

3)      A sounding board where you know people will give their opinions

4)      Fast way to hear about policy changes (saves trawling through the almost-impossible-to-navigate gov.uk website)

5)      Ability to communicate with educators across the country and beyond

6)       Quick access to some excellent blogs about education

7)      Great way to keep positive through the changes

Why do I think teachers don’t use twitter?

1)      privacy issues- accounts can be made private, but this is an understandable issue for many

2)      spam spam spam- I don’t find this too much of a problem- I just block and report

3)      time- always an issue. Twitter is so different to facebook insofar as you can’t possibly ‘catch up’ on what has happened since you last logged on- hashtags are a fab tool to search for interests and it’s a case of going with what is happening at the time.

4)      Negativity/arguments  It can be all to easy to limit one’s followers and following to those who always agree with you/have the same outlooks . it can also be easy to get drawn into some , shall we say, scratchy discussions. For me, I follow a range of tweeters and don’t generally get involved in scratchy discussions- but it is always interesting to see a range of ideas and points of view. If someone doesn’t want to follow me, or I don’t want to follow someone then so be it- I don’t waste time worrying about it. I stick to positive tweets and sharing good practice which has worked well for me so far .

HAPPY NEW YEAR .  I’m planning to keep trying to persuade colleagues to give twitter a try- that’s my first NY resolution. Bring a friend to twitter.

Who else it up for this?

Gopher science labs

Gopher : small , burrowing rodent .
Gopher

So, what's that got to do with science?  Well, the Royal society of Biology  offers small grants to support transition between secondary and primary.

Further details Here

Now, generally secondary teachers apply for this, but I wasn't letting that stop me. I drummed up support from my local schools and applied.

Hey presto, grant received. Thank you again Royal Society.

After lots of emails we managed to fix a date and our local secondary school trained up some year 9 students to deliver a series of fun activities to year six pupils from the feeder primaries.

See some pictures Here

I will shortly be leading a staff meeting to share the experience and hopefully encourage others to apply for this wonderful opportunity.

Students teaching students.
Cross phase links.
Transition opportunity.
Fun science.

I'm still not sure what it all has to do with gophers, but it was certainly a great experience.

Why don't you go for it this year?  😉

Applications close end of this month.