Month: March 2017

On Hiroshima

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This was written back in the 1970s
for a Hiroshima Memorial Day ceremony.
Every year people gather at the boating lake in Alexandra Park in Hastings,
listen to readings, sing peace songs,
and launch paper boats
bearing lighted night-lights onto the lake at dusk.

On Hiroshima

I have no enemies.
I do not hate the children of my neighbour’s race.

I have no wish to see their children burn,
I have no wish to hear their mothers grieve,
I have no wish to fling their ashes high
In mushroom clouds of genocide. Continue reading →

Libya Inter Alia…

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Events in 2017 led me to remember this poem, written in April 1986. 

While Wikipedia notes the event as occurring on Tuesday April 15,
I remember it as a Monday, and this is confirmed by a note in
‘On this Day’, BBC Home:

“Around 66 American jets, some of them flying from British bases
launched an attack at around 0100hrs on Monday.” 

1
The commons argued late last night;
They wrestled with their consciences
On something of immense concern
– While Reagan raided Libya…

And Thatcher gave the go-ahead;
“Oh, use your bases, take your planes
– We only keep them warm for you –
Why ask the people what they think?
Why ask the British Government?
– I am the British Government!
Besides, they’re sitting up all night
Discussing Sunday Trading…” Continue reading →

The Woman Upstairs

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Immediately above us lived a young couple called Sandra and Nige.  When they first moved in, still unmarried, I wondered how they could possibly be contemplating cementing a relationship which, judging from the frequency and volume of their arguments  (confined mainly to the small hours of the morning and the exercise of a certain adjective beginning with F) was far from idyllic.   But marry they did, and their arguments continued, thus sanctified, though admittedly with a temporary lessening of ferocity. Continue reading →

Hidden Figures – 10; La La Land – Nil

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Apart from a Hollywood mutual congratulation exercise, can anyone explain to me why La La Land got so many Oscar nominations – and awards?  OK, it was glitzy and colourful, but what was all the fuss about?

Story?  Uh uh;  Characters?  Uh uh;  Acting?  Uh uh.  Memorable songs? Uh uh

Whereas Hidden Figures was thought-provoking, shocking, gripping, moving, uplifting and life-enhancing – a story that needed to be told, and that was told brilliantly.

I rest my case!

Hastings Station at 8 o’clock on a Saturday morning…

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Written back in the 1980s,
when I was a dedicated teacher of English to Foreigners,
and loved my students, I surprised myself one day
to realise that I didn’t want to be overwhelmed by too many
on an early morning train to London…

Hastings Station at 8 o’clock on a Saturday morning.

The newly-refurbished in flame-coloured plastic
Electronically  motorised doors glide aside
On a languorous blond-headed swarm of blue denim
Strewn on all surfaces:
– surrogate sofas in
Saccharine sugar-free tangerine Perspex
Ergonomically ordered
To cling to your body and stick to your thighs;
Round the concrete containers new-crowded with cyclamen,
Trailing lobelia and silver-tongued ferns;
The Florentine flooring in marble-chip marquetry
Scorch-marked and littered and grimy with ash;
Squatting on shoulder-bags, sprouting from window-sills,
Vibrant with chatter and frenzied with youth… Continue reading →

The Gattegno Effect – my contribution

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I was delighted to be asked to contribute an article to
“The Gattegno Effect: 100 Voices on One of History’s Greatest Educators”,
which was published by Educational Solutions in 2011.

Here is the article:
gattegno-tribute-rosie-mcandrew

For those unfamiliar with Gattegno’s Silent Way of Teaching Languages,
I’ll add a couple of details here to clarify references in the article itself.

(By the way, please note that the data shown in the diagrams below 
will be easier to view on a desktop than on a small screen…)

  • The Rods – these are a set of Cuisenaire rods,
    initially designed for teaching Maths,
    which Gattegno adapted as tool to represent words, phrases, ideas,
    and elements of grammar, syntax or pronunciation.

screenshot-rods-2017-03-01-11-30-29

A series of colour charts:  Continue reading →