Isn't that the most amazing tree?

It sits in the grounds of Missenden where I am teaching this week and I get to look at it at least twice a day. I don't think I have ever seen a tree so big and impressive. It is so wide at the bottom it's hard to believe it's one tree. Each coffee break I am mesmerised by it.

A less productive day today as I am tired and my brain is so full of all I have talked about, taught and learnt myself this week. There is no time to sit and bead in between demonstrations, wandering the room, assisting with beading emergencies and working out what each student means when they call out "What bead do I go through next?". There are 13 students in this class, most of whom by now are working on different projects, and of course are all at different stages of each one. The constant challenge is knowing what they mean and being able to answer instantly. It can be hard work at first but soon you get into the flow and know where each one is is on their piece and what they mean, as of course we all use different words and language to mean the same things. So I can usually call back straight away something like "It's the blue one sticking out on the next corner", "You need a red then blue, red, blue, red, blue" or, as is most common as we're mainly using circular forms of peyote stitch, "I think you're at your step up".

As my brain is so busy constantly keeping up with them all and then unleashing a new project or idea onto them when they're least expecting it, there's not much time for anything else.

When they all saw my recent beadwork and rivoli creation they asked to know how it was made and the challenge was on for me to 1-remember how to make it and 2- how to explain it with no diagrams. I think I got the basic idea across but need to get on with drawing diagrams and also working out quite what I'm going to do with it.

My class very kindly today give me a thank you card and also some money. Both of which are very unexpected and the money will be spent on beads which I'll use to come up with something new to teach them when I return next year. Of course I wasn't expecting anything and was so touched I didn't really know what to say. I love teaching and have got so much pleasure from spending time with them all. Hope they don't realise that too much or they'll be charging me!

Also one of my students gave me some Zulu beadwork which is lovely and educational. I plan to wear it and also to take it to classes so people can see different ways of using the same stitches.

Yesterday whilst in town someone pointed out to me that almost all the buildings had special contraptions on their fronts (the right words fail me this evening) for putting up flags. I hadn't noticed them until then and have never seen them anywhere before in such quantity. A bit of Googling tells me that they put up flags along the high street for St George's day. That must be quite a sight and I'll have to try and come back to see it.