staying away from school

I had a great day “at school” today. Pete, the Head of the Geography Faculty, had asked me if I’d be prepared to accompany him and a group Year 13s on a tour of Bristol. They were looking at the city from the perspective of challenges and issues affecting the decline and development of cities - with me offering my architectural/urban design experience. It proved to be a fascinating and enjoyable day. Hopefully, I was able to offer an insight into the changing face of the city – particularly in the redevelopment of the harbourside area. Pete - who is just an amazing teacher with a wonderful rapport with his students - amused me by insisting that we started off by walking into Southville (where we live) as an example of “gentrification”! Thanks to Pete, I learnt a lot new things about “my” city – including what a CBD is (Central Business District!) - and thoroughly enjoyed my day.
PS: an added bonus for me was that Pete thought it would be “silly” for me to drive into school first – so we met up in the SS Great Britain car park instead (I tried to persuade him otherwise, but….).