July 18, 2011

Last Day in Oxford...Last Day of Fund for Teachers Trip! Biking, The Bate Collection

This is an early clarinet.
The next time Cristi or Esther (my sweet clarinetists) lose their ligatures,
 I'm handing them lots of string.  

Andrew and I have been looking forward to seeing the Bate Instrument Collection all trip, so today was an exciting and kind of sad day all wrapped into one.  After some amazing experiences this was our official last day with the Fund For Teachers portion of our trip.  Tomorrow we are headed to Edinburgh and later on Dublin, but the official grant portion of the trip came to an excellent end viewing the most amazing collection of instruments I have ever seen in one building.  It was so amazing, in fact, that we're going to do a separate post on it in a few days because the amount of information we have is just too much for one sitting.  We took lots of video of the different instruments, some ranging back as far as the 16th century!  We can't wait to show our band kids the pictures of the origins of their instruments!

Before viewing the Bate collection though, we rented bikes and literally spent the entire day biking (Andrew's Note: Read: "nearly dying") through the town of Oxford.  Oxford is known as a biker's city, every single street has well marked bike lanes (that are occasionally shared with the bus lane) which make it easy to speed through town.   Took as many pictures as we could when it wasn't raining, and in true British fashion, we rode in the rain.  Here are a few things I learned from the experience:

1.  Buses always have the right of way.  (Translation: Buses don't look where they're going)
2.  Yellow lights come on BEFORE green lights AND before red lights.
3.  Understanding #2 is vital to avoiding angry Brits
4.  Umbrellas are useless while biking.
5.  Andrew bikes as slowly as he walks.  (In my defense, your legs are twice as long as mine...)
6.  Due to #4, a rain jacket makes an excellent purchase.
7.  Rain jackets do not allow any range of head movement.
8.  Which means you need to keep reminding yourself of #1.  Often.

I look like I'm 12 in this picture....
just need pink streamers coming from my handlebars

See the Yellow light?  This is before we realized that meant GO.
I believe these are 'punting' boats!  Evidently a quintessential thing to do in Oxford.  

Saw these houses that back up to the river that runs through Oxford.  

Here is a sneak peak of a few gems in the Bate Instrument Collection!  Don't worry, we have WAY more information about this collection coming in a few days!

Early timpani, also called Kettle Drums (with real calf skin heads!)

Harpsichord
A Serpentine...like a cross between a tuba, a clarinet, and a didgeridoo

Viols
 We couldn't play on any of the historical instruments of course, but they did have reproductions of a crumhorn and a cornetto (both used in the medieval and renaissance eras) that I got to play on!!  So fun!  We have a video that we'll post later, but the crumhorn sounded very much like a bagpipe practice chanter and the cornetto sounded a little like a wooden trumpet.  Like Allison said, there was so much to this museum that we'll give it a page all it's own when we get back and make a video for our kids to see.  We think they'll like seeing all of the old, weird, and bizarre instruments!

Last dinner before Edinburgh.  Thanks Fund for Teachers!!
By the way, we are not going to stop blogging.  Our daily trip posts from Edinburgh and Dublin will be available at our normal personal blog site that has been feeling very neglected recently!  http://keepingthetime.blogspot.com

We aren't quite finished with this site though, so check both!  We want to be sure and say "thank you" again to Fund for Teachers - this trip has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we've seen so much that we can take back home and use in our teaching.  One of the biggest things that has been reinforced during the trip is that there is no substitute for hearing music performed live by great performers.  It has an impact that little else can match.  If you are a classroom teacher and have at least 3 years of teaching experience, APPLY FOR THIS!!  Being able to tailor your professional development to what will help you the most is one of the strongest aspects of what FFT does.  We would be glad to help you with the process as we were helped by other Fellows, so please feel free to contact us below with any questions.  Hooray Fund for Teachers!  Thanks!!


www.fundforteachers.org
aredmon@graceschool.org (Andrew)
aredmon@houstonchristianhs.org (Allison)    

18 comments:

  1. Anonymous2/10/2013

    I know this if off toρic but I'm looking into starting my own weblog and was curious what all is required to get setup? I'm assuming having а blοg liκe yours would cоst а
    pгetty pеnny? I'm not very internet smart so I'm not 100% positive. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers
    My web page ... DiamondLinks.net

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous2/10/2013

    Howdy! I know thiѕ is kinda off toрic but I was ωondering
    which blog plаtfoгm are you uѕіng fοr thіs site?

    I'm getting tired of Wordpress because I'ѵe haԁ prοblеms
    wіth hacκеrs and I'm looking at options for another platform. I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
    Here is my weblog : payday loans uk

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous4/29/2013

    Hi there mates, how is everything, and what you would like to say concerning this piece of writing, in my view its in fact amazing in
    favor of me.

    Here is my web-site Seo services

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous4/29/2013

    Superb blog! Do you have any suggestions for aspiring
    writers? I'm planning to start my own blog soon but I'm a little lost on everything.
    Would you propose starting with a free platform like Wordpress or go for a paid option?
    There are so many options out there that I'm completely confused .. Any recommendations? Kudos!

    Feel free to visit my site ... men's watches

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5/01/2013

    Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren't loading properly. I'm not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
    I've tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same outcome.

    My website: ray ban glasses

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous5/03/2013

    This site was... how do I say it? Relevant!!
    Finally I've found something that helped me. Thanks!

    my web page: armitron watches for women

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous5/03/2013

    Hello there! Quick question that's totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My weblog looks weird when viewing from my iphone4. I'm trying to find a template
    or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem. If you have any recommendations,
    please share. With thanks!

    my webpage; akribos watches

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous5/05/2013

    As the admin of this site is working, no
    uncertainty very quickly it will be well-known, due to its feature contents.


    Also visit my web blog; http://wiki.lexisnexis.com/zimmerman/index.php?title=User:Dong48C

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous5/07/2013

    It's a pity you don't have a donate button! I'd definitely donate to this excellent blog! I guess for now i'll
    settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
    I look forward to fresh updates and will talk about this blog with my Facebook group.
    Talk soon!

    Look at my web site; mens Stuhrling watches

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous5/07/2013

    Fantastic site. Plenty of helpful info here.
    I'm sending it to several pals ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thank you for your effort!

    My web blog - otakucom.altervista.org

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous5/09/2013

    Very nice post. I simply stumbled upon your blog
    and wanted to say that I have really loved browsing
    your weblog posts. After all I'll be subscribing in your feed and I hope you write once more very soon!

    Take a look at my web page seo article

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous5/15/2013

    I enjoy reading through an article that will make people think.
    Also, thank you for allowing for me to comment!

    Look at my web site: wikimedia.cet.ac.il

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous5/15/2013

    It's going to be end of mine day, but before ending I am reading this wonderful piece of writing to increase my experience.

    Visit my page: cinexs.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous5/16/2013

    Also, I was able to reach him in the baby bassinet quickly
    when he awoke making it less of a distraction to my husbands sleep as he unfortunately
    had to be up by 4:30 am. Go for baby bassinets
    that have an easy setup feature to avoid going through the
    hassle of a difficult setup. Once you invest some time before you shop, you will end up way more satisfied with your
    bassinet.

    My site: kids bedding

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous5/23/2013

    Wе're a bunch of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community. Your website offered us with helpful information to work on. You have performed an impressive activity and our entire neighborhood will probably be thankful to you.

    Here is my blog :: diamondlinks review

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous5/24/2013

    This saves you a lot of time if you're a frequent traveler, as it prevents you from having to remove your backpack every time you go through security. The CFM measure is useful for determining the vacuuming ability. When a heavier weight than this is placed on the shoulders, it will cause imbalance and pull the person backwards.

    Also visit my homepage :: Internetsensation.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous5/27/2013

    All it takes is really a simple gesture to make him feel loved.
    Go-cart tracks are also an option that might be less of a strain about
    the hip pocket yet still present an exhilarating experience.
    If you produce a collage, you can do so using either a computer
    photo editing software program or even a piece of poster board, adhesive
    along with a scanner.

    my web-site: http://nathanaelf.blogspot.com/2006/04/quebec-car-insurance.html

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous6/09/2013

    Timex Ironman watches suffice the innumerable needs of athletes, cyclists, skiers, mountaineers,
    kayaks, etc. Even the most discerning eye would often
    be unable to tell the difference. Keep in mind, that there are certain watch makers, who demand top dollar, for their watches.


    My blog post longines :: ::

    ReplyDelete