Have been doing backstage crowd control and theatre make up for the junior school musical at the school where I teach. It is part of the 'co-curricular obligation' of staff at the school and sounds like something John Howard invented. It has been very intense - it means that I am at school from 8am to 9pm working for three days in a row - but it has been an amazing experience. Kids in grades 5-7 are can be just so cute when they are all excited about getting on stage. You can see the kids who are kind and reassure their friends, and you see the kids who are prone already to be drama queens - which is also kinda funny when they're an 11 year old boy! You do their make up and then they rush over the the dance mirror, amazed at their transformation into a bearded pirate, or a mean wife. The unexpected places teaching takes you ...

Speaking of which, I saw the inside of the Royal Eye and Ear hospital for much longer than anyone would have wished last week. I was on an excursion program where the year 9s work in the city for two weeks. A girl threw a pen cartridge at a boy's face and the end went into his eye. The poor boy was terrified he would lose his vision in that eye, which fortunately he won't. Ended up taking him through triage and to two doctors for testing while the father was on his way. When the law says that the teacher is in loca parentis it really means that.

As for the hospital itself - ever wondered where you could get an image that would demonstrate the greying of Australia? Look no further than the waiting rooms in a hospital dealing with diseases that mainly strike those over 50. The school kid and I were about the only ones there apart from the staff who were under or of working age.