Making plans is something which gives me a lot of joy - especially travel plans - even if they are for someone else. I am beginning to think about plans for a trip to Scotland taking in Skye and Lewis and revisiting Orkney and Shetland after Easter next year. There will be one less person this time (we are minus David and Philip and plus Victoria) and I hope to be able to arrange to stay WITH people more than I did last time.
Meanwhile I have finished the book about Ruth who grew up in a silent family and value, more than ever, the fact that my mother had a good education and corrected my use of language, and that I had good teachers who used English well. I was really late at getting 'into' reading but am thankful for all the excellent books I have read since I did. I'm also thankful that I've always been asking questions (even if it was only ME who was offering answers) and by means of all this that I have a good grasp of English which enables me to function optimally in this world. The deaf parents of Ruth had very limited vocabulary because there was not a fully developed system for sign-language which was accepted in 'educational' institions. The empahsis was on trying to make these deaf children TALK - and whenever they tried to use their voices with people who were not familiar with them it was incomprehensible anyway - even a bit scary.
Yesterday I had a telephone call from ANOTHER TV company who want to do a 'homeschool equivalent' to 'wife-swapping' - was I interested! When I had explained conclusively that it was unlikely that any one of my aquaintance would be willing to take part in such a fiasco I was asked to offer a reason why this 'strange' attitude should prevail. I told this dear lady (maybe they pick the sweet-sounding ones on purpose!) that most of us wouldn't want to feed the insatiable desire on the part of TV viewers for the kind of voyeurism which demonstrates how empty their OWN lives are so that they have to 'sit in' on the lives of others. I thought we would prefer that they actually GOT a life themselves. after a stunned silence, Kerry responded, gentley "oh, so you think it is PRIVACY issue?" - in weariness, not having the stamina to try and help this poor woman recognise that VIRTUAL life can (and ought to ) be the experience of all humans - and that TV goes a long way to destroy it. She wished me well! Maybe I ought to make a little note on my website just for TV producers who are hunting down a homeschool family.