11+ Preparation

I made a number of runs to the `dump’ today. The recycling effort of the council is to be commended. The team of men in smart clean looking yellow coats were helpful and pleasant. Every thing had to go in the right bin. It was a pleasure to be part of such a concerted effort.

Nearly every other car had parents and their ten year olds unloading well used furniture and throwing away boxes of accumulated `treasures’.

This is the weekend where the ten year old changes from being a child into a student. The eleven plus examinations are now reality. They are no longer a dream – but are just around the corner. Different cultures al over the world employ a wide variety of initiation practices, In England the initiation is marked by transformation of the bedroom.

Old beds, desks and book cases were thrown away.

The packaging of the replacement furniture was also being off loaded. Wood went into one bin, mattresses into another and carpets into a third. Cardboard went into a fourth container and plastic into a fifth. Every one worked happily through the rain.

So those families who have not quite finished the job still have one day of the holiday to go. Good luck. Happy recycling. Sweep out the old and bring in the new.