I was out for an early run this morning (a record-for-me 9.3k, thanks for asking) when I was struck by the colour of the sunrise. Layers of pink, grey and yellow streaked the sky. I took some photos, planning to...
“I can never remember how to spell that word!” Do you find yourself thinking – or saying – this frequently? We all have words that we struggle to spell and the good news is that there ARE ways you can...
At the end of every Sentence Works course, we have a little section on spelling. Although most people groan, it’s actually one of the most entertaining parts of the day. It’s also the time I get the doughnuts out, which...
I was training a group from a local law firm last month and we were discussing spelling. We weren’t scheduled to cover spelling but it’s amazing how it always comes up. One of the delegates said she could never remember...
I’ve been doing lots of work on spelling with my 11 year old son ahead of the dreaded SATS. It’s actually been really interesting as I’ve tried to come up with strategies to help him remember how to spell tricky...
It’s my wedding anniversary today and, feeling nostalgic, I decided to look at the website of the hotel where we got married all those years ago. Did my eyes light on the photos of the glorious gardens, the beautifully decorated...
One of my favourite sessions during Sentence Works masterclasses is where we look at commonly misused words. Everyone gets a big tick and cross to wave in the air when they think a word is being used correctly or incorrectly,...
Let me be clear about this (as politicians like to say). I’m not talking about politics here – I’m talking about spelling. I teach journalism as well as writing skills, and I find that about 95% of my students who...
It’s just over a week until the kids put on their skeleton costumes, grab their swagbags and frighten the life out the locals at Halloween. Or is it Hallowe’en? The event was originally known as All Hallows Even, later simply...
My older son Kit, who’s nine, bears the brunt of my obsession with the English language. “It’s brought, not brung”, I correct him (several times a week). “We say written, not writ.” Most of the time, he puts up with...