Author: Zeenat Ahmed-Peto

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Elton John at The Royal Opera House!

Waiting for Elton John

Elton’s piano, on stage at The Royal Opera House

I was extremely lucky last month to attend a one-off concert by Elton John at The Royal Opera House. This was the second of two concerts he played to raise money for a new organ for The Royal Academy of Music, where Elton studied as a young man.

The Royal Opera House, London

Like many others, I have always been aware of Elton John and his hits, (spanning 4 decades!), but I didn’t realise how prolific and legendary he actually is. Seeing him in this context was a real treat – just the man and his music. He was on stage with his piano, with no song lists or lyric sheets. Elton was joined half way through by his long-time collaborator, percussionist Ray Cooper. The first 6 or so rows of the audience were made up of his die-hard fans, and what was lovely was that he spoke directly to them several times during the show.

 

 My favourite song of the night was ‘Rocket Man’ which was sung with such pathos, it made me cry! The lyrics ‘I’m not the an they think I am at home’ made me so sad. There must be millions of people around the world pretending to be something or someone they are not.

Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Me, doing a pretty good impression of The Queen

 Earlier in the day, I had been to visit the Sir John Soan Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. It is the former home of the architect whose most famous works include the exterior of The Bank of England, the Holy Trinity Church in Marylebone and the Royal Hospital in Chelsea.

His house, no. 12 Lincoln’s Inn Fields is now a museum which he donated to the nation. He stated in his will that everything in the house should remain the same as when he died and that it should be free for the public to view. 

There is a one-in-one-out policy due to the limited space inside and the huge number of historic treasures contained within the rooms. Photography is also not permitted, which is why I could not share more pictures here.

This tiny museum is well worth a visit, if you are in the area and have an hour to spare. The best time to visit is in the morning, (when there are no queues) and Holborn is the nearest tube.

Just as the show began, designer Valentino sat in the middle most seat to watch, flanked by body guards

The atmospheric lighting creates a warm glow inside Looking at my programme before the show

Back inside the Opera House – these photos were taken before the show began and the non-celebrities had taken their seats!

Amongst the famous people I spotted was Lulu, who seemed to be having a grand time singing along and Joely Richardson who stood next to me in the loos! The most famous person I saw was designer Valentino who had the centre most seat in the place.

Thankfully there were many many music fans in the audience too, otherwise it could have been a bit of a dry affair!

As I always say when I watch live music, it was a privilege to watch a complete virtuoso at work, doing what he loves and does best.

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Time management, and completing tasks, one step at a time…

I don’t know about you, but one of the things that sometimes holds me back from getting on with things that I want to achieve is the enormity of the task. To help me with this,  I break things down into little steps and tick them off a I go. Seems really simple but it works!

I also notice that by listing and ticking off what I have achieved that day, I feel as though I am moving towards my goal, instead of away from it. Each tiny step has been recognised and even though I am sometimes puzzling over something for days, it comes to me eventually. I just have to trust that the knots in my wooly mind will untangle, if I give them enough time!

One of the best bits of advice that has helped me, is spending 30 minutes on a project every day. That adds up over the week and means that  saying ‘I haven’t got enough time’ doesn’t excuse me from working towards my goals.

Time Management

Being self-employed has taught me to become much more ruthless about my work-time. I found it very difficult at first to discipline myself, and tended to put off the boring bits (which inevitably needed to be done) and just focused on the creative parts that I enjoyed the most. I am now at the stage where I plan my time much better, so I allocate time-slots to different types of work or different areas. I also block out whole days for bigger projects – for example if I am planning some training for a school. 

One of the best things I learnt as a teacher was how to manage my time. In a fifteen minute tea break, I would make a cup of tea, visit the loo, talk to someone, use the photo copier and meet with a child to discuss a problem! I must have managed to say the minimum amount of words to ensure the key points were shared and then got back to teach the next lesson. 

I know that for me time is elastic – some forms of thinking require a lot more time and mental space, with limited distractions. If I am planning, studying or working on something new, my phone is on silent and I ensure that I have a clear diary. I leave tasks that involve going out, being on the phone or internet for a while for other times. I am also very efficient at completing household chores as I know that I have to have a clean and tidy environment in which to work.

I also take lots of breaks. That is another wonderful thing about working from home! I can make a cup of tea whenever I want to and can have as many loo breaks as I like (which you can’t do as a teacher)!

What have you learnt about time management from your job? When do you work best – in the mornings, afternoons or evenings? And what sorts of strategies have you come up with to help you make the most of your time?

I would love to hear what you think about this or any other post, so leave me a comment or drop me a line via the contact form 🙂

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What do I really want?

In my capacity as a teacher, and more specifically as a Literacy specialist, I have been thinking a lot about doing some training in the area of dyslexia. I am sure that there are many pupils who I could help even more, with some background knowledge in this area.

Despite searching on various web-sites and speaking to people who might know, I still haven’t managed to find the right course for me. I know that I am looking for a course with direct teaching, which means it needs to be in an accessible place, and one which gives me an overview and some skills which I can use to assess and support pupils.

I signed up to a course today and almost as soon as I had filled in the online application form, I felt I had made a mistake. The feeling continued all day, until the evening, when on further consideration, I realised that this particular course goes far deeper than I want to go. It leads to a Masters in Special and Inclusive Education, which at this stage would lead me off on a tangent from where I am going in my career. 

As soon as I made the decision that I am not going to take up the place, I felt much better, as I was beginning to feel quite stressed! I realise now how far I have come in terms of listening to my heart and recognising my internal incongruence signals.

I have learnt today more about what I do want, because now I am sure about what I don’t want!

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Secret gardens

I discovered this tiny garden a few months ago, attached to the back of a churchyard. The plaque on the wall and the little iron gate caught my attention as I was passing.

 

I was pleased to see that the gate was unlocked and I walked down the hedged path to find a beautiful secret garden! Right in the middle the lawn was a magnificent giant oak, circled by a bench. 

The Minchenden Oak

I later did some research on it and found out that the tree is said to be some 800 years old; a survivor of the ancient Forest of Middlesex. 

The garden used to be part of the Minchenden Estate, one of the great estates in the area, built in the 1800’s. It has been in its current guise since 1934, as a garden of remembrance.

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Networking Meeting and Biscuits!

I attended my monthly business network meeting this Sunday, which as always left my head buzzing with ideas. We are a group of self employed women who meet every month to share our experiences, knowledge and expertise about going it alone. Our meetings are interspersed with online communication through a forum. The topic of this weekend’s meeting was copyright and trademarking, including intellectual property. As the film The Social Network has just been awarded 8 Oscar nominations, intellectual property is all the rage! Some of the women had first hand experience of other people stealing content from their sites or blatantly copying their ideas or designs, so this was a good way to learn about how to protect ourselves.

These were some of the biscuits I baked with my 12-year-old niece and took to the meeting with me

At the end of each meeting, we make a list of goals we aim to achieve this month and share them around the group. The next meeting starts with a review of how we faired. I find that it’s a great way to keep motivated and to celebrate how I’ve got on as I have a group of well-wishers on hand, who have lots of ideas and words of encouragement. Between us we know so many people and have many different areas of expertise, so this way, we can pool our resources and support one another.

Wonderful Women: Minding Our Own Business

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Living life to the full… (and living with an illness)

I recently wrote a guest post for my networking group on the subject of making the most of life, whilst living with an illness. You can read it here in its original context or you can read the whole post, below.

 The beach at Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh

As someone who loves to be creative and keep my brain busy, I have realised after many years that for me, working part time and being self employed the rest of the time is a winning combination.

I have had an auto-immune type of arthritis for almost 20 years now, and I have to say, it has not been easy. The symptoms have ranged from chronic pain to fatigue, but most of the time it felt like I was coming down with the ‘flu. Among many other challenges like being diagnosed and treated in the first place, was the fact that (fortunately) other people could not tell that I was unwell. This although a blessing in many ways, made it difficult to ask other people from help when I was very run-down or simply did not have the strength to do what others would regard as easy.

During the time when the illness was at its worst, I was working full-time as a teacher. Although I had loved my job, I came to loathe it, as it was just knackering all of the time. I slept for most of the weekends and basically had no life. When I tried to do anything other than my day job, I got sick. At one point I was chomping 14 tablets a day (and still in pain).

One day I had just had enough and told the head teacher that I was going to end the school year and resign. She arranged for me to have a job out of the classroom and also gave me flexible working hours which meant I could work from home from time to time. This was the first time I had ever asked for help and I realised that my employers liked me and had a legal obligation to make it possible for me to do my job as well as I could. This new role gave me the mental flexibility and confidence to imagine doing something new.

Years later here I am, nurturing my fledgling coaching business, and doing a teaching consultancy job part time. This gives me two days to work on my business and I have a day off on a Wednesday which is my ‘relaxation day’. I go to my T’ai Chi class, go shopping, meet a friend for coffee, have a swim, whatever I like to relax on my special day. I take on lots of free lance work now, which gives me the flexibility in both my working hours and in what else I do. Planning is of critical importance because living with an illness means I need to plan in rest days. If I have worked 3 days at a stretch, I have a (planned) day off. If I go out in the evening I plan to start my morning later the next day. One of the hardest things for me is accepting that I need more rest than other people, so I write my days off into my diary weeks in advance. That way I ensure that I have time to be at home. I may well be working, but at least I can take it at my own pace.

My new working arrangements have lots of positives, but obviously there are downsides too. I earn a fraction of what I used to, I don’t have the same benefits that I did before, like sick pay and the same level of pensions contributions. What I do have though, far out weighs these factors – the sense of being free and being able to choose to look after my own health and well-being; being creative with my ideas and time; enjoying my work time, business time and leisure time, means I am actually living life much more to the full.

My Ten Top Tips 

1. Work out when your energy is the highest and do things you need to do then. You’ll get more done that way.

2. Plan time for rest. This does not necessarily mean bed-rest, although if that’s what you need, take it.

3. Learn to listen to your body. Pain and fatigue are indicators. Your body is trying to tell you something. Listen and acknowledge this communication.

4. Find some form of exercise that you enjoy. It does not have to be the gym! Walk in the park or dance in your living room- whatever makes you feel good.

5. Talk to other people who have the same issues or look online for support groups. It makes it much easier when you realise you’re not alone.

6. This one is hard: Accept the limitations of your illness. It is an illness, but it does not define you. If you accept it and make peace with it, you will be more able to get over it.

7. Get over it. It’s not the worst thing in the world, you are not the only one and there are many others out there suffering more than you. It took me ages to stop feeling sorry for myself, but when I did, I felt much better.

8. Make goals for yourself – e.g. today I will walk further than yesterday. Even a few extra minutes will build your strength and stamina. 

9. Get out and about. Use your leisure time to discover new things- your brain loves stimulation and helps place your attention elsewhere.

10. Get sociable. Hang out with positive fun people and you will feel better about yourself. Laughter is the best medicine.

My cat Puffin brings me great joy

Please drop me a line if you found this blog post useful or you have anything to share on the subject. I always welcome your comments!

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Learning: Increasing my ‘distinctions’

I have just returned from a two day coaching training event run by a charity I support called Youth at Risk. It is only the second such training that I have attended, and this time the concepts have left a far deeper impression on me. The philosophies used are very different from any methods I have previously encountered or studied – more provocative mostly, but I can see how these methods could (and do) help youngsters from challenging backgrounds.

The main philosophy is based on ‘Distinction Based Learning’ by George Spencer-Brown. It could be described as one of many paradigms (like looking through a different lens) to view a situation.

During the training, I could almost feel the connections forming between my brain cells where I was thinking… ‘ in NLP terms, this would be called…’. Interestingly, I noticed the same patterns in people that I often notice on courses- those who were new to this way of thinking, absorbed the information like sponges (or certainly did not protest much). Those who were experienced in a different (or several different) disciplines, found it harder to look at the situations through this ‘paradigm’. I suppose if you have nothing to compare a method to, you accept what you accept and use logic to argue any points you may not readily accept. I was listening and then translating the new learning into my own way of understanding, by attaching  it to ‘hooks’ in my brain. I also ran the information through my system with NLP as my paradigm of choice and picked up any similarities and differences.

What amazes me more  and more these day is how we learn. On a recent meeting to visit my cousin who is an overseas student studying for an MSc; we discussed how she best studies. She said she is struggling to revise because she is used to studying in groups, and as she doesn’t live in halls, she is somewhat distanced from her peers. Her goal for this week is to hang around with people more after class and make some connections. I have limited experience of studying in groups but when I have worked on projects with others, I have always found it more generative than thinking on my own.

Working in pairs during a recent INSET day  Working out a problem in pairs

 

 


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Family birthdays

We also celebrated two other birthday this month, one of which was a biggie. It was celebrated in style and there were some very thoughtful gifts exchanged. I feel blessed today, to be part of such a loving family. Thank you.

Edible glitter fairy cake

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Somerset House – My birthday celebrations

Although for some people, January is dreary, sluggish and a time to stay indoors, it’s not like that for me as I celebrate my birthday on the 9th. As a child this time of year was like one long party. The Christmas holidays rolled into January and before I had had a chance to play with all of my toys it was my birthday! Well, yesterday was a wonderful day and as such, I thought I would share some elements of it with you. 

 

After a hearty breakfast (which was cooked for me) I went to visit my mum, who after all, gave me my birthday. Having filled up with tea and receiving my gifts I went on my way to Somerset House. I always think of it as a place where the records of births, deaths and marriages are kept, but in fact, the public records which used to be held here were dispersed to different offices to the 1970’s. Somerset House is now a cultural and arts centre, open to the public with lots for everyone to enjoy. 

View of The Thames from Somerset House

 

I didn’t go and see the Dior exhibition, although it looked very good through the window. 

 

 Through the entrance hall which is beautifully grand, is the Michelin-starred restaurant Tom’s Kitchen. I had a look around inside and it was exquisitely decorated with old maps of The Thames on the walls. It didn’t look stuffy or overly formal either. I walked through to the ice-rink which has been a winter feature since 2000.

 

Hidden down a corridor was the famous staircase ‘The Nelson Stair’ which was rebuilt in the 1950’s after suffering war damage.

Messing about

View of the ceiling from the stairs

A photo of my ticket to The Courtauld Gallery – Lucas Cranach’s Adam and Eve (detail)

The main part of my trip was to visit the Courtauld Gallery. Although I enjoy exhibitions I think I get sensory overload and end up with a headache if I try to see too much on one day. I much prefer smaller galleries or to visit them more than once and just see them a bit at a time if possible. So for me the size of this gallery is perfect. It contains many personal collections and the paintings and exhibits are displayed in themed galleries. I didn’t take any photos inside, so I have shown you a picture of my ticket, featuring Cranach’s Adam and Eve(painted 1526).

I can’t explain the feelings I had when I was standing so close to such masterpieces that I have poured over for years in books. I could see ever crack in the oil and imagined how many owners had had possession of such a painting over the years. I particularly loved the Creation and Fall of Man by Mariotto Albertinelli in the Renaissance Gallery and spent half an hour looking at the paintings in that first room. Maybe that’s why I usually feel so tired after I visit an art gallery!

The Ice Rink in full romantic evening splendour

Later in the evening I had a delicious dinner in Soho’s Lexington Street. What a a fabulous birthday! Here’s to a happy and healthy 2011 🙂

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Christmas celebrations

Happy New year to you all and welcome to my first blog post of 2011! I had a wonderfully relaxing Christmas: a well deserved rest to end a very busy and productive year. I enjoyed the company of loved ones, was treated to gourmet meals and had some lovely days and evenings out.

Out on Christmas morning

The owl at the top of the tree