School Music Camp

Well last weekend saw me, 9 other teachers and 40 odd kids off to Music Camp at an outdoor education centre near Tunbridge Wells, Kent.  The centre has to remain unnamed because one of the students googled it and came up with this blog...

First of all I would like to say that it was a real success, the kids totally enjoyed themselves and made some good progress musically. The staff were top quality, and I absolutely could not have done without them - particularly as I myself was still not well.

In fact, two days before the camp was due to start, I was out carolling with Sutton Salvos in Wimbledon for the turning on of the lights for St Raphael's Hospice. It was pretty cold, and there were only 4 of us there, battling the elements - and I was the only tuba. You try playing tuba with a cold! I could only manage a breath span of 2 or 3 notes - made for real legato playing, I'll tell you - NOT! Anyway, as we get to the end of the last carol, I'm still hacking up a lung, and I start to feel a bit of a stitch developing in my side.

The next morning (the day before the camp) the stitch was absolutely UNBEARABLE! Complete and utter agony. I made it into school but realised pretty quick that I just could not stay - and in fact needed to go to Accident and Emergency at King's College Hospital. So the school called a cab for me and off I went - only to discover that I have sprained my intercostal muscles from coughing. Sprained ribs! Seriously... you wouldn't read about it...

So the doctor signs me off for the next few days - no camp for me. But I'm the lead teacher on the camp - not very likely that I'll be able to take the time off....

Thursday (the day of the camp) came, and I dutifully phone into school to explain my situation, and both the deputy head and my line manager put the hard word on me! No, you need to go to the camp.... I tried to explain that I would go down on Friday (thinking maybe I would go Friday afternoon / evening) but they reckoned that I wouldn't be able to drive down (I would be in too much pain), that I wouldn't be able to manage my luggage on the train (yeah right) and that if I go down today with the kids I could just go straight to bed. Yeah, as if. Like I'm going to get quality sleep in a room off a corridor full of excited kids on their first night of camp! But they kept it up, put the hard word on - pressure pressure pressure - seriously, what planet are these people from? So of course I felt obligated to go and went.

What a stupid move that was. I tried to go straight to bed but the kids made such a racket, who could sleep? And also, the weather was sooo cold - so everytime I went out into that good, clean, cold, country air, I would have a coughing fit of the highest proportions - just what sprained ribs need!

For the next few days I tried to take every opportunity I could do get some rest, but I was having to conduct the concert band, and help supervise kids, yada yada - and all the while, really they didn't need me there anyway. There were enough music teachers there that they would've covered the band if I'd asked, and to be fair, the staff were really supportive and tried to make sure I really didn't have to do too much anyway. I would love to say I had a great time but to be honest, I was in excruciating pain pretty much the whole time - and I'm afraid I took it out on my poor colleague Erik, who had done such an amazing job organising the whole thing. He really was amazing, and I am deeply indebted to him for the success of the camp.

Anyway, I survived, the camp was enjoyed by the kids, the concert was ok... but I've spent the last 3 days paying for it! I went into school on Monday in excruciating pain and so many people came up and asked me what on earth I was doing at school! Finally the Deputy Head saw me and told me to go home and stay there until I get better (should've let me do that last weekend, eh?) so I went home and went promptly to the doctor. This time I begged him to give me antibiotics, or something other than ibuprofen (like ibuprofen actually works! As if...) and finally he gave me Amoxicillin - although as he was writing out the script he told me actually not to take it! (Why write the script then?). This is because he says that my infection is viral, not bacterial. Anyway, I've now been off school for 3 days, unable to do anything other than lie still in bed... (although I still had to go to school tonight for a concert - it never ends here at CEBS). I still don't really feel like I'm getting better and my ribs are seriously killing me! And I have to move out this weekend - when (and how?) am I going to get the chance to pack? When am I actually going to be well enough to pack? I seriously can't lift anything...

So I feel pretty low at the moment, and pretty sick of being SICK!