I remember having to visit a school refuser's house to record her GCSE oral exam with her.

Halfway through her mum switched on the washing machine. Helpful!

Cute?! It's like a suspended disembodied wolf's head of doom and despair.

10 bands/artists you have been obsessed with at some point in your life. In no particular order:

Rage against the Machine
Tracy Chapman
Rose Kemp
Abigail Lapell
Björk
MC Solaar
The Be Good Tanyas
Whale Bone Polly
This is the Kit
Kate Bush

Teaching The Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk right now.

We had maggots falling out of our light fitting once. I gentle drizzle strengthening to a persistent rain.

We put out a baking tray to catch them, then put them on the bird table.

Either of the above.

Plus reading each other's writing.

At least 5. Need to see the answers to know for sure.

You say this, but the Spanish language teacher at our school taught this one year with Year 8 students (ages 12-13). In translation obviously. I kid you not.

Sure. But this only goes so far. I remember one student's essay on Donne "The flea" that argued it was all a metaphor for depression. Er. No.

However, I love it when I have a multicultural class and realisation dawns that some metaphors don't cross cultures. Thus everyone makes their own meaning.

Sounds very old school. Kind of like Austen's "Dear Reader" or the way Leskov starts lots of his short stories. From more modern writers, I'm pretty sure there's also a sequence in Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series that addresses the reader as the subject.

Oh wow, that looks great! I read her "Wintergirls" and thought it was excellent.

Wow, that sucks. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

No. Will nag the librarian to put it on the order list for September.

Yes, really enjoyed this too.