I’m leaving today. I’ll miss it here very much! I’ve been here for 3 years now! September 2007- July 2010. Last night, We had our leavers party. I’d like to share these photos from the partywith you:

Me and my best friend Charlotte Charlotte, Me & Nick (My link worker)

Hope you like them, I do. Charlotte started at the same time as me. She’s also leaving today.  Good Luck Charlotte! Thankyou Nick!

What do you think of the photos? Charlotte’s pretty isn’t she?

Craig XXX     

This is my last ever blog!  On Wednesday 7th July, 2010, I do my last ever work placement at the Youth Offending Service. That evening, I’m going out for a ferewell meal with my Stan Bell flatmates.  The following day, Thursday 8th July, it’s my last ever day at RNIB College Loughborough. That day, college are having a Boccia tournament. I stay at The Stan Bell Centre (the college’s accommodation),  the Thursday night and then go home for good on Friday 9th July.  I live in Kettering, Northamptonshire. In the Summer, I’m in the Drama at Holiday Club at my church, St Botolph’s Church, Barton Seagrave, Kettering. Holiday Club starts Monday 26th July and ends on Friday 30th July. I don’t know who I’m playing yet. This year, Holiday Club is called Go Bananas.

I once went to Holiday Club  as a member. Way back 13 years ago in 1997, when I was 9 years old, they did another Holiday club called Go Bananas. I was a member of that club. I remember it well.

  In the summer, some time after Holiday Club, I’m going to Luxembourg with Mum to visit Esme, as a late birthday present.

Also in the Summer I’d like to go and see Toy Story 3, which comes out soon. Woody, Buzz and the other toys are worried about what’s going to happen to them, when their now 17-year-old owner, Andy Davis leaves home to attend college.

What’s in store for them?

Will they get thrown away?

Will they get stored in the attic? 

 Will they go to a new home?

 In Toy story 1 Buzz almost got blown up by Sid, a  boy who likes to dismantle toys. In Toy Story 2, Woody got kidnapped and nearly sold to a toy museum by the greedy toy collector, Al Mcwiggen. What’s going to happen in Toy Story 3? SID IS BACK! Has he changed or is he still being nasty to toys?

 In September, I hope to go to Tresham college in Kettering to study administration. It’ll be strange living at home 24/7 after being educated away from home for 10 years!  September 2000-July 2010.

Last, but not least, to  everyone who has read my blog, a huge THANKYOU for supporting me  for these past two years. September 2008-July 2010. It’s been a pleasure to write it for you. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it! (You’ll still be able to read my blog when I’ve left!)

Wish me luck in the future!

Lots of love Craig xxx

As you know last Saturday 26th June was RNIB College Celebration Day. It went really well. Esme came. She throulghry enjoyed it. We performed the song The Climb really well. However there was a big surprise in store for me…I WON THE SKILLS FOR WORK AWARD!  My friend Charlotte won one as well, so it had two winners this year. These awards are for best work placement. These awards are little wooden sheilds with the RNIB logo on and a brass plate with our name engraved on. Me & Charlotte got one each to keep.  Here is one similar to what I won.

 My employers at work, Jill & Linda were very proud of me. Yesterday I took it in to show them. They took a photocopy of it, to show at a meeting today.

My family were also very proud of me. My Gran & Grandad gave my £50 as a reward. With some of that money, I brought an old hand-operated sewing machine. I wanted to buy one of these, because I used one in Art & Craft last year, to sew a cushion together.

 Sadly tomorrow our librarian Susan Sutton leaves us! She’s going to be missed a lot. She’s been her for 13 years! 1997-2010 I don’t think our library will be the same without her! Because she’s leaving, I’m glad to also be leaving in a week! I don’t think I could cope for long without her! Goodbye Susan!!! XXX

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On Sunday, Me, Mum & Dad and Esme went to see Katherine Jenkins in concert. It was wonderful. Katherine asked the audiance if they had any questions for her, to write them down and give them to the people at the side of the stage, and she’d read them out. I wrote a statement for her to read, but she never had time to read it out. So at the end of the show, a lady who’d been working backstage came up to me and said ” This is for you from Katherine.” She gave me a peice of paper with Katherine’s photo on signed by Katherine! My 4th autograph from her! Here is the photo she signed for me:

 As the concert was two days away from Katherine’s 30th birthday, we all sang Happy Birthday to her.

Enjoy this reading, last ever blog next week! Craig XXX 

Calling all Katherine Jenkins fans. Today is Katherine’s 30th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHERINE! YOU WERE GREAT IN CONCERT ON SUNDAY!

Craig xxx

Yesterday I picked up my suit for tonight. I also bought the American rapper Eminem’s new album entitled Recovery. It was released in the UK on 21st June 2010, the longest day of the year.

I’ve been a fan of Eminem for years. My favourite Eminem album is The Eminem Show. I’ve got it. That was released 8 years ago, back in 2002, when I was 14.

The Eminem Show was the best-selling album of 2002. It has sold over 8 million copies  in the states ,and over 19 million albums worldwide. My favourite song from this album is My Dad’s gone crazy. Are you an Eminem fan?   Craig xxx

Recovery (the new Eminem album)

I had a good morning at work yesterday. I’ve only got two more mornings at work to do before I leave here now! I met the producer of the short animated anti social behaviour film: Cheeky Monkeys. His name is Damion Nickerson.  I asked him to sign my copy of Cheeky Monkeys, which he did with the inscription To Craig from Damion. He said to me “No one’s ever asked me for my autograph before!” I also asked him to sign a copy of Cheeky Monkeys for this college, which he also did. The inscription read To RNIB college from Damion. I gave it to Catherine Robinson, who teaches PSHE (Personal Social Health Education.)  If you are a student and are thinking about coming to this college, you may veiw Cheeky Monkeys as part of a PSHE lesson.

As you can see the 3 monkeys in this image are being very cheeky indeed. The film is also about 3 monkeys! But those monkeys are much more cheeky. They live in a zoo. They break the ABC  rules and commit vandalism, arson, spreding germs etc.  The ABC rules are:

A.  Accept other people

B  Behave Yourself

C  Care for the community

 Damion told me the film was set in a zoo because it was aimed at small people and a zoo is a community place, better then the outside world for young people. They used moneys in the film because they thought it was better then people. Damion thourght that if small people saw other people misbehaving on DVD, they might start misbehaving themselves. That’s not the point of the film. The point of the film is teach children what Anti Social Behavouir is, and that it’s unacceptable. Monkeys can’t commit anti social behavouir in real life can they? That’s why they used monkeys and not people in the film. Chidren will know that the monkeys aren’t real, and therefore won’t try and copy them. 

Next week Damion is going to give me either the origonal  drawings which were used to animate the film, or some photocopies of them. That’s amazing isn’t it?! Cheeky Monkeys took a whole year to make. All the voices were done by one Jamaican actor! I understand Cheeky Monkeys has been shown in about 400 schools.

My exam went well on Tuesday. My teacher, Sarah Jane Smith was very impressed with me. She thourght it was the best she’d seen me do. I used everything I said I was going to use in the exam, as well as a little bit extra.

Last of all it’s Celebration Day on Saturday. I’m looking forward to it. Esme is now in the UK. Every student gets an award on celebration day for the work they’ve done this year. My music group, along with a small band are performing a song called  The Climb  by Joe Mcelderry. It’s about life. It’s a good song.

Enjoy this weeks reading! Craig xxx

This coming Saturday is End of Term Celebration. Yesterday I took my suit in to be dry cleaned. I’m wearing it for the event. Here is a picture of a suit, quite a lot like mine. My suit has a white shirt to go with it though, not a blue one.

I’ve just come back from the park, where I read my book and had an ice cream. It’s quite hot today. When I got back, I had a bottle of water to cool down.  The book I’m reading at the momont is called  Run, Baby Run. It’s about Nicky Cruz, the leader of a hororable  gang called The Mau Maus. It’s written by Nicky himself. It’s a true story. It’s very gory though, but it’s interesting!

Enjoy this reading! Craig xxx

The end of term will soon be here. Three weeks on Friday we finish. Yesterday was the Work Experiance employer Award ceromony. Both my employers,  Linda & Jill, from the Youth Offeneding Service attended. Also my ex employer from Charnwood Bourogh Council, Di Meakin attended. It was great to see her again! From next Wednesday I’ll have 3 more days to go of Work Experience. They’ll be sorry to see me leave. My last day at the Youth Offending Service is: Wednesday 7th July 2010, just two days before I lave RNIB College Loughborough.

On Tuesday 22nd June I have my English Speaking Board exam. In it I’m talking about the time I met Katherine Jenkins and also talking about Luxembourg and meeting Jang. I’m using my signed copy of Olio Galanti (which was signed by Jang)  and my signed copy of Sacred Arias (which was signed by Katherine Jenkins) as well as photos from my blog to show during the exam.

Thetee is the one with glasses on

Me, Jang & Esme in Jang's recording studio. (January 2010)

This Tuesday just gone, a week before the actual exam, I did a practice verson of the exam. This is known as a mock exam. The real exam is called a live exam.  The mock exam went really well. Let’s hope the real one goes well too!

Also on Tuesday 22nd June, it’s Mum’s 50th birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!!!

Esme’s coming to UK , the day before Mum’s birthday.

Next Saturday 26th June is our college celebration day. On Monday this week, my college group Entry 3 went to Skegness for the day. We went on the beach and then for a walk round. I had a ice cream and a coke. We stopped for chips on the way home. We had a nice day out!

Enjoy this reading! Craig xxx

I thourght I’d let you know that my French godmother, Esme is coming to the end of term celebration. That’s something to look forward to. She’s coming for Mum’s 50th birthday which is on 22nd June. Esme has paid for Me, Mum, herself and Dad to see Katherine Jenkins in concert the weekend she’s over here.

Thourght I’d let you know about this! Craig xxx

Although the holiday in Blackpool was cut short, I still had a lovley time. Beauty & the Beast was spectacular. It was the disney version adapted into a play. It feaured these songs from the film:

• Belle
• Gaston
• Be Our Guest
• Beauty & the Beast
• Kill the Beast

There were also one two song in the play that aren’t in the film.

Me and Grandad went at for a drink in the pub. We also went to a shop called Bonbons for Ice cream. We went and had chips on the piar as well.

I also went to an antique place. I bought a 1950s radio. It’s made of wood with a speaker and four knobs, two on the side, two on the front.  Here is a picture of a radio, very close to the one  like mine:

 In the 1950′s every Saturday morning at 9 o’ clock, there was a radio song request programme for Children. It was called Children’s Favourites. My radio is the kind of radio that children would have listened to it on. Also in those days, when you switched them on, radios and televisions took a few seconds to warm up. My radio takes a few seconds to warm up. 

Children’s Favourites was extremly popular. It was broadcast on the BBC Light Programme. (This station no longer exsists.) It was presented by Derek McCulloch. Eveyone called him Uncle Mac.

 At the start of the programme he’d play the signautre tune  Puffin’ Billy.  Then he  would say “Hello Children… Everywhere!” This is Uncle Mac Good morning to you all!”  Then he would announce the first request,  say who it from from and play it. And so on.  Sometimes children send a request intio Uncle Mac just so they’d get a mention on the radio. The programme lasted about an hour. Uncle Mac’s closing words were “Goodnight Children… Everywhere!” Children’s Favourites is no longer broadcast.

One of the techers at my last school, Alderwasly, Carol Barrett, used to listen to Children’s Favourites. One of the songs often played on Children’s Favourites was I know an old lady who swallowed a fly. It was sung by Burl Ives.

Burl Ives is one of my idols.  I know an old lady who swallowed a fly was one of the first songs I learned when I was little. The last line “I know an old lady who swallowed a horse…She’s dead of course!” always made children laugh.

Enjoy this reading! Craig xxx