I received a text message from Donk sometime yesterday that simply said that Mr. Bulteel had died. I wrote about him a while ago in an entry after I found out that he had been taken seriously ill; ill enough that the doctors gave him less than a year to live. Anyone who read that entry knows how much John Bulteel meant to me as a teacher and mentor - he not only taught me English for my first three years at secondary school, but also someone who I really respected and one of my favourite teachers. He was also the first member of staff who I ever encountered when he ran the induction days. The news is gutting. I just hope he knew how grateful I, and many others from my class, still are for his entertaining performances of Shakesperian plays and use of words most of us didn't understand at the time. OSH mourns a second member of staff, and third member of the school community in as many years.

I've been spending my time playing with my new camera - trying to get my nut around all the different settings. I think I've grasped some of the concepts, but actually picking the right options at the right time is still a bit beyond me. I've also been doing some more work for Nick - a new project called BUSN which requires some print work. After a hard day at the office (cough) I went out last night to Echos. Broomy, Sean and Mike were out along with most of Towers Fresh, and the night was a good one although extremely hot. I also bumped into Rosie, Sammi and Jim who were all out and about. I ended up walking back with a very boozed Broomy and kipping around his gaff. Feeling surprisingly fresh this morning.