Where has the time gone?

I was looking back at things and it appears as if I have only managed to keep you all up to date on the happenings in my life up until the End of January…and all of a sudden its Valentine’s day and mid-February. Where does the time go?

So, on the school front, I’ve done 2 placement days at my nursery school and have enjoyed the experience immensely. I’m not convinced I would want to spend my entire career working with the wee ones, but it’s been enjoyable and I have learned a lot. I was worried that the little children would be afraid of me, but the opposite seems to be true. They rather like having me around because they don’t usually have a man come to teach at the nursery school. One little boy decided that he liked having me around that he walked around holding my hand all day. He showed me almost every single toy in the entire nursery. It was really cute. I think I’m going to enjoy the placement.

On the down side of things, the work just keeps on piling up. We have a task due on the 19th of March based on things to do with Scottish Educational policy, but they have already started talking about our third and final assignment that is due in April. Nice. Just super. We have loads of work to do, so I’ll be a busy boy in the next couple of weeks.

The hockey season is starting to wind down over here. I can see by the websites back home that playoffs have started in and around Ottawa, but we have a few more weeks over here before the playoffs hit. I’ve had a blast over in Edinburgh at the pro games and have enjoyed lining games all over Scotland. However, as anyone who knows can tell you, I prefer to be the man calling the penalties. So, I asked if I could get a shot and sure enough, a week later I got to ref my first Scottish National League game. The game was between the Edinburgh Capitals SNL and the North Ayr Bruins. Neither team is super, nor are they terrible, so it was a relatively evenly matched game. I thought that I faired ok for my first SNL game considering I have only reffed one game since last June, am using a new rule book, and was working in among the worst rinks ever. I was a little rusty, I admit, and made a few mistakes, but overall it was fun. Both teams were relatively pleased and felt that I called a good game. I’ll take the praise. Hopefully I’ll get a few more games before the end of the season.

This past weekend, however, I was back on the lines for the big home opener of the Paisley Pirates. Now, Paisley is a suburb of Glasgow and the local rink in Paisley suffered significant damage to the floor under the ice when the sand floor heaved. So far this season Paisley hasn’t had a single home game because the city of Paisley has been unwilling to find the money to fix it(does it sound familiar?). So, they negotiated a deal with Braehead arena, home of the local pro-basketball team, to put down ice and let the club use the ice there for games and practices. This past weekend was the home opener and I had the distinct privilege of being assigned to the game. Paisley was expecting a big crowd because they gave away over 4000 tickets to try and draw fans. When the big night game 2500 fans showed up…not too bad if you ask me…and the place was full. The facility is really nice. It’s just a shame that the game was ugly. Paisley was playing the worst team in the league, the Aberdeen Lynx, and were up 4-1 after 1 period. By mid way through the second the gap was 10-1 and then the ugliness started. First, a Paisley guy blinded sided an Aberdeen guy late and when the Aberdeen guy hit the ice he was bleeding all over the place. The ref asked me what happened. I reported the penalty, and fully expected the 5+GM…and the Paisley guy got a 2 minute penalty. Don’t ask why…I’m not all that sure. Then, a Paisley guy charged the Aberdeen goalie. I still can’t figure out why because it wasn’t like Paisley couldn’t score at will…but the goalie still got charged. Now, in Canada this starts a brawl. Every single time. Not in Scotland because in Scotland Aberdeen shows up with 10 guys and 2 goalies. So, Aberdeen is already tired and can’t spare the bodies to start a fight…so they have to accept the 5+gm that is called by the ref instead of beating up the guy guilty of the charge. For the rest of the game Paisley went out of its way to hammer and punish any Aberdeen guy who even thought about the puck…it was pretty ugly. With 2 minutes to play in the 3rd the score is a robust 15-2 and a Paisley guy sticks out a knee at an Aberdeen guy. The ref calls the penalty and the Paisley guy is shocked…so what does he do…he challenges the guy he just tried to knee to a fight. The Aberdeen guy just looked at him and then just let me cart the guy off…it was just one of those nights…a dumb night.

In other news, I’ve made arrangements to go and do a little travelling in April when I get a break from classes. I’m going to head to Dublin and then off to Paris before returning to Glasgow to work on my lesson plans and essays. Ed, one of the guys in my flat is going with me so it should be a good trip. I also changed my flight home in June…so if any of you aren’t busy on the 16th of June feel free to come down to Pearson airport in Toronto and meet me…or not…because let’s be honest that’s a long way to travel. However, I’m kind of excited.

Anyway…that’s all the news from this neck of the woods. I’ll keep you posted on how my placements progress…and whether or not we pass our flat inspection tomorrow.

Take care and that's all from Scotland.

Bruce