Today has been one of those days that most teachers only dream of. My class one, a bunch of little munchkins aged 6 who I worked with last year while they were in nursery were as always, amazing. I love them to bits. In fact I have almost run out of gold stars.

After class one, I move to class two, a class with some ‘interesting’ children in the mix. I have to admit in the past I have been rather big headed I have uttered the phrase “I enjoy a naughty child in my class… it is easy to teach good kids, but a real teacher, inspires and teaches the children who have problems” Well that came back to bite me didn’t it.

For a number of reasons, this weekend has been a difficult one, but on Sunday I found time to sit down with a glass of whisky and consider the past and the future…. Including life’s little problems. I have decided to make a number of changes to my life, and I have also decided to try something different with my disruptive student in Class two.

Fortunately, it worked, we had a fabulous lesson. You teachers out there know there isn’t one solution to a problem . At the end of the lesson I asked him for his diary / school planner, he looked mortified! Why? Because most teachers in the schools I work in, only send messages home that include words and phrases such as naughty, wont do as he/ she is told etc.

I decided to write, your son worked incredibly hard in my class, his behaviour was fantastic. The boy and I translated it into Italian. The hug he gave me was worth all the crap days I have had to deal with in this particular lesson. To celebrate I went to one… yes one of my favourite restaurants for lunch / afternoon.

They have a new waitress, she said, and I quote “ vuoiuninsalatamistaconiltuoroastbeef? I decided she had offered me mixed vegetables and so I said yes….

What arrived with my roast beef was a plate of mixed salad! Uffa! I decided it was obviously my fault, and was already trying to decided if it would block the toilet if I decided to dispose of them. High five to all you salad dodgers.

Pina, the owner arrived to say hi. Hi Peter. Wow che bravo, insalata!

Pina, it was a mistake, I thought she said vegetables not salad.

Pina laughed and said, she would change them for me, Bless her, I am fortunate to have some really good friends, and hopefully the child who I know has problems at home, will also come to see me as a friend.

Happy Monday to all my friends in bloggo land, I hope you Monday was as good as mine.

This blog is not known for being political or religious, although I am sure I could have a bit of fun with both. However I do try to be a good boy, sometimes.

While I am driving to school, I usually listen to the Today program on the good ole BBC radio 4. I especially love listening to the weather forecast as I put on my sunglasses ‘there will be scattered showers over most of the UK, especially Wales and later there may be some sunshine with some cloud cover’. It always brightens my day.

At the moment, the main topic in the news (I nearly mentioned Boris and Trump) is Chat GPT. I had no idea what it was, First thoughts were it is a new motor racing circuit. But it is nothing as interesting as that. It is one of those bots that you talk to when you telephone your bank or utility company normally when you have a problem and they don’t want to talk to you.. Maybe not your bank, but I am sure I am talking to one at my bank.

Anyway, Italy has officially banned their use in Bella Italia, Whoop Whoop Hooray. I am trying to find out who decided to ban them and why. I owe the person a drink. After a lot of research, my understanding is, they are liable to spread misinformation and lets be honest. Living in Italy is complicated enough, without misinformation to make it worse. Erm, my information probably came from….. a bot.

I think the final straw came when one bot, who shall remain nameless suggested Pineapple and Ham as a topping on Pizza is perfectly acceptable in Italy. Or Heinz canned Spag Bog is the staple diet of most Italian teenagers. I have to admit, I ate a lot of Heinz Spag Bog on toast in my youth. I even keep a couple of cans to prove to my students that Spag Bog in a can does exist. My students still don’t believe you can get freshly made pasta with a scrummy meaty sauce out of a can!!

I have enough trouble using my poor grasp of the Italian language with a real person, let alone a bot. Do they understand hand signals. Please tell me.

And a brief shout out to all you teachers who have been praying for Easter to arrive. I have never needed a holiday as bad as I need this one.

Happy Easter