All posts by Mr Olyott

Zambia

And travel I did… have spent the last 3 weeks in Zambia – not on holiday but rather on a youth exchange… helping lead it with my mate neil. one of the most awesome yet difficult experiences i have ever had…
so different than being a tourist; so different than being part of a student team like i was in the dominican republic.
still trying to get to grips with what to make of it. primarily it wasn’t for me anyway! i was there to facilitate and support the group of scottish young people as they met a group of zambian young people, and discussed / compared / evaluated their respective cultures – similarities and differences… covering topics such as youth poverty, youth boredom, education, sex – hiv/aids…

but we did manage a small excursion to livingstone – managing to see the awesome victoria falls, and fit in safari and a sunset cruise on the zambezi. wow.

Catching Up…


Wow. It has been a while since I last posted… here’s some catch up…

Batman Begins… saw this in Edinburgh with Gareth. It is quality. It is how all the Batman films should have been…

Have been reading Longway Round by Ewan MacGregor and Charley Boorman… it’s a half decent read… wish i had made time to see the TV series now… although the book obviously will cover some of the nastier stuff… the rows etc… been good to have seen some of the more random places, notably Mongolia and Kazhakstan…

I want to travel…

Back from the Valley

Valley Boy has returned from being a boy in a valley. Spent the weekend at the wedding of Matt and Beth. The wedding was wonderful. It took place at the family home of Beth, taking on a relaxed, chilled atmosphere. As an usher, I moved a PA system 4 times, 260 chairs 3 times, many tables, boxes and other random things…
I’m off to Zambia on Tuesday… hopefully will have some online access out there… so watch this space…

Today I Am Sad

The PDGE course offers great opportunities and challenges. It also offers great friendships. After 10 months, my best friend Jenn is returning to Canadia (along with many other great Canadians) . This makes me sad. I am happy that she has so much to go back to and look forward to. Sometimes people just connect. In the film Garden State Largeman gets off the plane… sometimes you just have to stay on the plane…

Off to Cardiff for a wedding via Edinburgh and Gareth! Then Zambia on Tuesday… hopefully will be able to post more before then.

Been a while…

It’s been a while since my last post. Since then, I have finished my PGDE course, and had a closing ceremony, followed closely by a summer ball. Will try and post some photo’s of this on the website and maybe here too – soon.

Also I spent a week touring North Wales with Jenn. Might try and post a tour diary! But we did manage to visit… Wrexham, Liverpool, Llangollen, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Betws Y Coed, Conwy, Caernarfon, Llanfyllin, Lake Vyrnwy, Aberystwyth, Borth, Ynylas, Cwm Rheidol, Devils Bridge, Nant Y Moch, Harlech and Porthmadog… plus various places en route… now that’s not bad!

A long time ago…

was thinking a bit more about the whole Star Wars saga… having read the view of Gareth. It seems there was an outcry against the first two films, how they were not as good as the “originals”. But was this partly to do with film culture moving on – in terms of technology; what’s being released; what’s being requested… the original trilogy was unique, groundbreaking, nothing like it in its era… but now, we have sci-fi overload…
surely the new films are trying to appeal to a new audience, as the old fans are so in love that they will go watch them no matter what…
well? we do don’t we…

The Sith Star Wars Film

well… it’s actually the third, but you know the story. So, Revenge of the Sith. I went to see this with Jenn and Scott n Helen. We’d chatted about the film ages ago and had set no expectations as we didn’t want it to be a let down. It was dark (the cinema usually is). Obviously, it was the dark side coming into play. The way the character of Anakin was manipulated and exploited was intriguing… a web of betrayal, mistrust, deceit and lies was woven around him, and he fell for it, and got stuck in it more likely if it was a web… think i’d like to see it again, and enjoy it some more.