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March 31 The English Surgon昨晚看了此纪录片，非常震撼。
一是惊悚于乌克兰的贫穷，医院设备之困乏与病人之无助 二是开始赞同英美这些富裕国家确实应该停止从贫困的第三世界国家招医护人员，不能让挣扎在贫困线上的人继续雪上加霜 三是Henry Marsh的个人经历，在从医之前是在牛津读政经哲学，典型英式精英 From The Sunday Times
March 16, 2008
Handy Henry Marsh: brain doctor uses DIY drillHenry Marsh spends his holidays working 18 hour days for free in a Kiev, using the household drill
The young man lies back on the hospital trolley and waits patiently as his head is secured in place with a vice. Marian Dolishny’s nervous smile and worried, flicking eyes, betray the certain knowledge that what he is about to undergo will be anything but pleasant. But he also knows that time is short: if the enormous tumour inside his head is not removed, it will soon kill him. Minutes later the team of doctors, including one of Britain’s most eminent brain surgeons, begins to break into the skull of their fully conscious patient – with a £30 Bosch PSR960 handy-man’s cordless drill. Amazingly, and despite the low-voltage tool running out of power halfway through the process, Dolishny’s operation is a success, with his tumour skilfully excavated at the hands of Henry Marsh. The procedure, captured as part of a documentary to be screened on BBC2 later this month, was a routine triumph for Marsh, who regularly takes time off as a consultant at St George’s hospital in south London to travel to Ukraine and save lives despite having access only to primitive tools. In Britain, the same operation would only be undertaken with the benefit of a £30,000 compressed air medical drill. Speaking about the trials of his visits to Ukraine, Marsh said: “I’m not recommending that we should all use Bosch do-it-yourself drills in England, but it shows how with improvisation you can achieve a lot.” Marsh’s life-saving exploits in Ukraine began 15 years ago when he visited a state hospital in the former Soviet republic to give a series of lectures. Little could have prepared him for the conditions endured by both doctors and patients. “It was like being in a horror film,” he said. “It was so awful it didn’t seem real.” Patients with benign tumours, which would have been diagnosed early and quickly dealt with in Britain, were only treated once they had caused blindness or were bulging grotesquely off the sides of patients’ heads. In Ukraine so little money is invested in the state health system that Marsh has to drill through the skulls of patients under local anaesthetic because no one is sufficiently trained to fully sedate them. Marsh said he had watched aghast as patients died while doctors were locked in bureaucratic meetings. “I couldn’t bear to stand by and do nothing,” said Marsh, 58. “A Ukrainian doctor told me I couldn’t do anything to help but I wasn’t prepared to accept that.” Then he met Igor Petrovich, a Ukrainian neurosurgeon who wanted to fight against his country’s bankrupt medical system. Impressed by his willingness to speak honestly about the atrocious conditions in a climate where no one criticised the state, Marsh championed Petrovich and organised for him to come to Britain to learn more. Since meeting Petrovich, Marsh has been making at least two private trips a year to work voluntarily with him at his neurology clinic in Kiev. On each visit, he takes a raft of disused equipment that has been thrown out by the NHS, and helps Petrovich make diagnoses and perform operations. “I’ve taught him everything I know,” said Marsh, who has given Petrovich an advanced compressed air drill to replace his Bosch. “He’s now able to do things that I can’t.” For all its failings, some aspects of the Ukrainian health service compare favourably with the NHS, Marsh said. At the time of their first meeting, Marsh was a senior surgeon at the specialist Atkinson Morley hospital in Wimbledon, operating on 10-15 patients a week. “I was completely free; I made clinical judgments and was trusted to treat patients to the best of my ability.” Today, though, their roles have more or less reversed, he said. “Igor is now doing a huge amount of operating, far more than me, while I, as with all senior doctors on the NHS, am struggling under a tsunami of regulation and bureaucracy.” Working in Ukraine has also brought the wastefulness of the NHS into focus for Marsh. Drill bits used in brain surgery that cost the NHS £80 a piece are thrown away after a single use to help prevent the spread of prion-related diseases such as CJD. In Petrovich’s practice, a drill bit will be used for up to 10 years, perfectly safely. “We never used to throw them away in the UK,” says Marsh. “They would be sterilised and reused. Now they just end up as landfill, and Igor’s rates of infection are no worse then ours. It’s insane. “I am one of the government advisers on prion disease. In the case of the skull perforators, skull and scalp is not an at-risk tissue for surgical treatments. So that argument does not apply.” The English Surgeon will be shown on BBC2 on March 30 March 29 电话那头
早晨大雨裤子湿了大半，很恼，恰好和爸来电话，就诉苦，那头，和爸突然说－－给我一分钟找个角落，我给你唱首歌，然后他低低唱起，唱得和妈束手无策俯首就擒。 就像和和睡前一定要听故事，和妈有时也想起在漫长的青年时代里的那些小儿女两情相悦方式，比如那些夹红豆的信，比如那些短短长长的诗，比如夏夜明亮星空下的暴走，比如雪夜爬山采腊梅，甚至比如男生给女生打开水。 当校园民谣刚刚开始时，狂幻想，如果如果有人这么面对自己唱上一首，一定会以为是爱而且一定愿意为爱走天涯。 恋爱最美之处大概就是两人愿意互相取悦，而每个人记忆深处关于从前也许还是那些被取悦的片断。 婚姻在很大程度上谋杀了两人互相取悦的可能，代之的是约定俗成的formality,你当然知道什么要做怎样去做但却不是那种傻傻的驱使。 多少中年夫妻都是浑身疲惫，如果有外遇，其实，很可能是突然欣喜于被取悦，同时发现自己还没有丧失取悦别人的能力，且不论人品性格怎样。 云里雾里听完和爸低低的歌声，和妈用残存的理智立即定下了和爸爱慕很久的芬兰产音箱。
P.S., 特别恭喜小竹子加入准妈行列，期待你的宝宝。 祝福孕期平安顺利。
March 27 Parents's Evening ReportChild's Name: Juliette XXX Class XXX Date 24.03.08
Work Ethic (Including personal organisation)
Juliette has an excellent imagination and enjoys small world and dressing up activities.
Her fine motor skills are good and she is able to thread confidently and independently.
Juliette shows good spacial awareness and can differentiates sizes when using compare bears.
She enjoys stroy time and is able to recite most of the story back to an adult.
When using a digital camera Juliette showed good understanding and was able to position and focus when taking a picture.
Juliette enjoys construction toys building vertically and horizontally.
Social Interaction
Juliette is independent in choosing whether to interact with her peers. If an activity engages her she will often play independently. In recent weeks she has interacted with her peers and firm freindship are developing.
Behaviour
Juliette is a pleasure to have in the class and we have engaging conversations.
She is working hard on her sharing within the classroom and in recent weeks this is improving immensely.
Juliette occasionally will need adult eye contact to follow adult direction when she is involved in play.
一个学期转眼结束，和和爹娘出席了平生以来第一次家长会，都特别衣着整齐。 老师的评价与和妈对和和的了解基本吻合，比如和和语言表达能力非常强，想象力丰富，喜欢做手工，重视友谊，有独立性。 和和日渐English,进学校大门前，她会很正式对和妈说mummy,thank you for taking me to school，每次听到这一句，和妈都是喜忧参半，喜的是她的成长，忧的是成长意味着一去永不返。 总体说，和和是个好养活的孩子，很多事情在她那里就自然而然，比如夜尿，睡得再沉牛奶喝得再多，她也能连滚带爬下床解决；比如早起，比如正式的幼儿园生活，比如主动吃蔬菜水果，每天三次刷牙。 私立学校的好处只有一个，就是老师们极有耐心，而且人员流动性相对小很多，开门的是哪位太太，lunch lady又是哪位太太，芭蕾舞是哪位太太，游泳是哪位小姐，和和清清楚楚，不用担心孩子一周五天见不同的人。 相信在儿童早期，稳定意味着安全感。 其实工作的初衷就是挣女儿的学费生活费，这样就是和爸大方养老婆，和妈精细养女儿。
March 23 蔡明亮之I Don't Want To Sleep Alone蔡明亮是中式文人的样子,笑起来很迷人,说起话来也是李安式的soft-spoken.
可是这部作品却强烈挑战了和妈的承受能力,静夜里如坐针毡.
怎么讲,先要问自己,自己是个怎样的人?
比如,1996年,如果要自己去中国的国家机关,一定不屑外加感觉生不如死,2008年,却在英国的小机关里自得其乐,其实不都是一样的官僚机构一样的文牍主义
12年,把锋芒都打落,把棱角都磨平,不是生活所逼,而是自觉自愿,欢天喜地进入温水中
所以,自己的世界只能是体制内温室里
认识了自己的局限,就坦然自若对于此片的极度不适应
不适应到不能理解片中的每一个人,每一个都在纯粹为性,既然纯粹为性,那应该单纯,可是换一念,绝非这么单纯,能否认为一个正常人在一无所有之时,性才是所有,是因性而来的'相濡以沫'.
蔡导演说他从前很讨厌马来西亚,与很多人一样,讨厌自己生长的地方,却在某一天,发现那个地方在心中盘根错结;他说他本来想表达一个金融风暴后外来工人的走投无路,却最后成了一种状态,如他喜欢用来作为象征的'水',的确,片中的水是烂尾楼里的一潭绿水,绿得生疑,当然如果烂尾楼重新开工,水也就会消失.
片中所有的身体与性看起来都灰秃秃的,了无生气,当然,又要问自己的阶级立场,美感? 哪个阶级的美感?快快解构!
这部片看得费劲,却应该是写论文的好题材,可以把各种主义加进去一一讨论
和爸问什么片子看得你垂头丧气,和妈突然搞笑,双性恋嘛,是人看双性恋都会沮丧吧
和爸却说,那也比Springtime In a Small Town好看吧,慕名了很久拉着和爸与妈妈同看,看得他们二人强忍磕睡,一个问怎么这么久还没亲上,一个说这女的就会扭来扭去抛媚眼,和妈只好请二神回避让她清静看完,相隔五十年的版本不可比,就像黑白默片,每一部电影也是有气场的,可以怀旧可以复古,却少了气场.
两部闷片色彩湮暗,却有某些神似之处,都是荒城弃地和在希望绝望之间盘恒的人,没有善恶的人性,只有因为荒芜而发的性,区别可能只有所谓情礼之分,也可以一笑说哈哈热带地区身体自由程度高些而内陆小城是乍暖还寒.
95年来最冷的复活节这个复活节真冷.
周四一过两点归心似箭,三点半人已在家,和和在学校捡了蛋意由未尽,又在家自娱自乐藏蛋找蛋,在大人看来,复活节绝对是孩子牙齿的灾难节,到处都是巧克力,前三年被勇敢堵住了,今年是再也堵不住了,最多是把大蛋换成小蛋,而且是换成黑巧克力蛋,苦得小同志吃一个就犹豫是不是还要第二个.
周五黄昏时和妈突然浑身发冷,烧很快起来,不得不躺下,昏昏沉沉见看到和和悄悄进来,先是摸摸妈妈的额头,然后说妈妈病了我给你念故事好不好?接着她努力拖着椅子,站上去开了灯,又去拿了妈妈的书,翻到有书签的那一页,哼了几句,放弃说妈妈我读不了这书,边说边取来她的宝贝故事书,开念那些公主的故事.
这大概是极其幸福的时刻,这么小的孩子已经知道以她的方式照顾妈妈,虽然她不明白她是在照顾,更多是模仿,即使这样,已经让母亲feels rewarding,虽然浑身酸痛,但小人甜蜜的一举一动就像天然的paracetemol.
念了书,她又向外婆讨苹果讨西瓜端到床上送进嘴里,还问妈妈你感觉好点吗?你要听话吃药.和爸静默得看着女儿不忍打破她自然亲情的流露,而和妈则早已泪流满面,和爸搂住太太的肩,轻声道我们有个好女儿
我们已经知道照顾父母,却刚刚知道被孩子关心的滋味,这一次,很甜蜜很动人很强大.
那一晚和妈静静听他们吃饭他们洗澡他们睡觉,听到和爸说宝宝妈妈病了我们要安静,也听到小人回答是的我知道.
夜半烧退,起来看见和和躺在父亲的臂弯里熟睡,于是安心昏睡,再醒来小人已经站在床前问妈妈你好些吗你要喝水吗?和妈说谢谢宝宝妈妈再躺会就可以起来了,小人立即欣喜大嚷妈妈说可以起来了,刹那间,和妈确实震撼作为父母,自身健康是给孩子的最大保证,想来,如果一个小朋友,面对病塌之上的父母,一定是害怕的无助的.
有时也想,大概是因为和和给了父母太多的满足,所以理智上知道她需要弟弟妹妹,但情感上却不忍心让她做小老大,同样是长子,和爸就是被三个妹妹宠爱的小哥哥,而和和舅舅就是典型照顾家人的大哥,爱有时也矛盾,是不是?
March 19 小病一场和和自上周三开始生病,打破了一年半不病的记录,也终于在进学校后生了病,这倒让父母安心了,孩子老不生病也是够担心的.
首先是微烧,然后眼睛流水无数眼屎,接着是青鼻涕,烧是夜里来白天走,还吐了一次牛奶.
小同志看自己眼睛红红鼻子红红,却非常开心,大声疾呼我是复活节的兔子了!
周日和妈不能忍受和和的眼屎,而和爸还在坚持不能给眼药水,虽然他早早准备了,就是不用,和妈电话招来和爸同事,一看,她说你这个人真固执,都这样了还不用,立即给和和点上了眼药水,和爸也乘机下台,自我解嘲需要second opinion.
周日一夜无烧,但周一和爸开始有点担心,下午带姑娘看GP,有朋友就是方便,没有时间午饭时间检查和和,当然什么都没有,就笑说小姑娘的症状太符合临床范例了,周二和和开始全面恢复,到了今天,已经吵着去上学,老司机爷爷几日接不到小姑娘,告诉和爸我好想她.
和妈最近都是在家照顾女儿,真感谢公立机构的flexible working time.
和爸则说因为有了这个孩子才特别感谢生活,尤其他居然有两岁的糖尿病患者,搞得他柔肠丛生.
March 16 像你这样的人记得与和爸约会那些日子,周末早晨总是对着一堆报纸与面包咖啡,也总是差不多看完时,他哼呲哼呲赶到,一屁股坐下就开始捡剩下的报纸看,几次后他就烦了卫报,自带泰晤士报或者电讯报.
所以至今还是各读各的,实在只有一份,和爸抽走他的部分,和妈就读读书评和家庭/菜谱;和妈经常嘲笑全荷兰都是小报,尤其受不了和爸全家上下只读电讯报,从纸质排版到印刷内容无一不是小报典范,当然,小报都很右很黄很暴力,所以到了荷兰村里,和爸就要一早起来给太太买报纸,自嘲是超龄报童.
和爸说第一次看到你,你戴着眼镜在看书,后来你总挺着肚子抱本书,那时好担心你读儿童不宜吓了宝宝,果然还是被先吓破了水,你呀,最好的品质就是第一不curse第二爱阅读虽然脾气很厉害.
前段时间和和奶奶寄本书来给和妈看,作者叫lulu Wang,照片非常假冒旧时烟花女子状,再看是是而非的个人简介,胃口全无,无非还是关于文革,而且是胡写,和爸身先士卒读了几页,报告说她的荷兰文很奇怪,我实在读不动了,看在婆婆面子上和妈就着字典苦苦看过,半懂不懂,读得很生气,立刻大骂荷兰人品位低下,这么烂的书居然还能出居然还有人捧,和爸委屈道,你们这一代人所经历的中国与她们大不同,但正因为你们谨慎你们对文化差异不屑所以你们沉默.
和妈点头,是,最讨厌把自己弄成'他者',最讨厌那些写西方人想象中的中国,中西文化依然是不对等的交流,关于中国还是两极,或者是极权下的黑暗人性全无但是完全基于个人经验,或者是所谓新人类的西化,那么,有没有平常的'中国',在民主缺失的背景下却相对正常的人生,控诉揭露都过于意识形态或者自我神化,可能还是一个心态问题,在海外五六十年代的人写来写去都是文革与专制,因为那一代人被政治奴役了大半人生,那是唯一的题材,七十年代的人基本还在谋生,谋生意味着必须朝前看,也许希望在于八十年代人,他们相对物质丰富身心平衡,肤浅是暂时的,有一天能沉淀,当他们写完了他们这一代青春故事后,也许,也许,可以写点别的.
March 14 My Favourite Wife by Tony Parsons这可能是目前唯一一本以完全英国人或者西方人的视角写正在变化中的上海的小说，半个月前看到书评，立即订来前天到了，一翻开就再也放不下，非常引人入胜，虽然很多借题发挥的话非常尖锐，比如：China is an easy place to live because everything is on a clear financial basis,it's only complicated if you choose to make it so。作者Tony Parsons以娴熟的记者功底,写实冷静的讲述了一个老套的故事，一位有家有女的外派伦敦律师与上海年青"二奶"的外遇，而故事从著名的古北新区开始。 Tony Parsons这个人应该还是很亲近中国的，从他在镜报的专栏看他应该经常来往于英中之间,对当代中国有一定的认识。书好看到和妈上班都坐过了站，和爸准备作为去南京之前的教科书一读，这本书也可以当英国人上海生活指南，非常详细贴心。 看到一半，这本书给了和妈很奇怪的感觉，第一次站在｀它者｀的立场上看上海，似乎无论上海怎样的团花簇锦夜生活如何的诱惑糜烂，都不防碍她的鲜活. http://books.guardian.co.uk/digestedread/story/0,,2259970,00.html http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/fiction/article3371186.ece P.S.,小米：找个书商来把这本书翻了出版吧，我志愿翻译：） 妈妈们：magic mushroom 是迷幻药,含有天然致幻成分，人在吃下后，中枢神经系统会受到影响，对时间和空间产生错觉，直至出现自我歪曲、妄想和思维分裂等症状。早在1971年，联合国就通过了禁止使用致幻剂的决议，但有关国际条约并没有对致幻蘑菇做出规定。医学专家说，虽然致幻蘑菇既没有毒，也不会令人上瘾，但如果在吃致幻蘑菇的同时再喝酒或吸雪茄，又或者吃的人本身存在精神问题，那么，危险就大了。为此，美国、丹麦、日本、英国和爱尔兰先后宣布这种蘑菇非法。但在荷兰，只要这种蘑菇新鲜，就可以合法销售。
March 10 family censorship和爸的幽默感是dry sense of humour,明白了还是蛮搞笑的，不明白的就觉得言语无趣，他对和和讲话也是继续发扬他自诩的幽默，但经常被太太叫停。 一次两人看８卦杂志，看到漂亮女的，和和说她们是公主，和爸说不是就是漂亮女的，但是papa likes women,和和就重复，oh, my daddy likes women,和妈赶紧拽老公耳朵，和和要是在学校这么宣称如何是好？ 又一次吃饭，有炒蘑菇，和和说yummy yummy,I like mushroom,和爸赶紧跟上，鬼笑说yummy yummy, we like magic mushroom,和和不知就里－yeah, we like magic mushroom.和妈一听又急了，如果被什么social worker听到了，我们就完蛋了。 和和到了这个年纪，父母讲话就需要非常小心了，要彻头彻尾的政治正确，不能提儿童不宜的词，no strong language,不能curse,也不能随便评论别人，特别是她知道的那些人，有些讽刺与幽默只能属于成年人，而现在，只有眼观鼻鼻观口口观心得严格执行censorship March 06 Morning School Run6.30 am:闹钟响，起床，洗澡热柠檬水麦片水果 7 am:请和和起床，她通常在床上喝下一杯温牛奶，然后穿好衣服 7:30am:与和和共同完成洗脸刷牙梳头,接着是早饭，因为学校９点半就是点心时间，所以和和通常就是一片面包和大半杯果汁，或者一根香蕉 8 am:校车准时到，8.20 am: 到校 8.45 am:火车 9.30 am:办公室 每天的morning school run正在变得有趣，首先和和一叫就起，她现在的人生第一大事是上学不迟到，因为有好朋友等着她，和爸总是亲手系好和和的安全带，目送母女离开；而一路上不停有小朋友加入，坐在第一排的和和远远看着就开始挥手招呼，大孩子们下车前都会跑来拍她一下，老司机爷爷更会提醒小姑娘明天不要迟到啊，和和会欣然许诺。 老司机同志很８卦，向和妈报告这一车的大小孩子，其中哪几位父母是医生做生意的，哪几位是祖父母照顾，我们这条街上就是一对很特别的俄罗斯奶奶和十岁的孙子，爸爸在莫斯科任职妈妈在德国，据说孩子爹有两米，小男生伊万长得非常英俊，另外一条街上是一位斯里兰卡奶奶，孙子七岁，儿子媳妇都在伦敦挣钱，另外一位是英国外婆，每次都要摸摸和和的小脸，还有一位和妈见不到，因为在咱家之前，而进出学校也常看到祖父母送孙儿女，所以说，天下的祖父母也是差不多的。 快一个学期了，和妈总算与班上其他四位小朋友的爹娘互相看过了一遍，最佩服的地方是拖大抱小的妈妈们怎么还能保持妆容整齐，也发现肯送孩子的爹们绝对是招妈妈们的好感，所以也格外孔雀开屏；传说曾经有个爹就这样送了孩子后约妈妈们喝咖啡啊探讨教育问题啊，结果全勾搭上，和爸听后非常神往，问，下学期是不是他送送？和妈说那你要先把肌肉练出点来，或者试试著名的１０１生发精？ 和和的语言能力是突飞猛进，故事讲得有头有尾有高潮有铺垫有声有色，然后还结结巴巴用中文再给奶奶讲一遍，发现她中文不流畅的原因在于词汇量太少，所以她必须边说边想，而英文则是脱口而出，最近她喜欢上了干妈送的《皮皮的故事》，放学回来就学习动画里抑扬顿错的舞台腔，结果是她poo后会突然冒出一句字腔正圆的－舒服啊，非常的新中国儿童。 棒棒糖的热情似乎有点下降，要还要但浅尝辄止，吃前会说我吃了会刷牙，舔几口后会一定央着大人给她刷牙，然后自我满足的说：我刷牙，我牙不疼，和爸忍不住搞笑，说她对吃糖与刷牙的态度就和安全套与乱睡的观念是一致的，以为刷了牙用了安全套就万事大吉，但糖还是糖，乱睡也还是乱睡。
March 04 About Age年度报告已经上交，所以顿时轻松起来，扫尾总是简单的。过去的两个月，每天争分夺秒在火车上看畅销书，一口气扫完了所有的Shopaholic系列，Sophie Kinsella把这个傻大姐写得可爱又搞笑，语言俏皮无数自我讽刺，还有点无赖，总之是上班旅途中的良伴，进了办公室就开始听郁闷中产节目｀妇女时间｀。 三月开翻新书，Times专栏作家Fiona Neil的The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy,一开场的名言出现： I think I am suffering from a combination of premuture menopause and delayed adolescence,令人喷饭。 女人什么年龄最好？这是个困难的问题，年少免不了轻狂，免不了鄙视中年妇女，但是，人人都要成为中年人。３０岁生日时，长喘了一口气，觉得终于可以告别磕磕碰碰的二十多岁了。整个二十多岁就是一个逃跑的过程，从不喜欢的地方不再喜欢的人那里逃跑，虽然每次都成功出逃，却免不了狼狈与辜负，３４岁了，可以肯定自己不用四处逃跑了，可以略微有些从容，家庭的意义在于帮助人正视现状改变现状，而不是一看不妙就仓皇出逃。 坦白说，有些向往四十岁，那时候孩子十岁左右，自己可以相对自由，而且也完成了主流社会所需要的那些任务，可以考虑做点自己喜欢的事情，所以很羡慕三位小姑，她们都已经进入了女性的另一个阶段，自信而包容。
March 02 二月节太多今天是英国母亲节，已经没有力气热闹了，但和和还是与老爹兴高采烈捧回了花和蛋糕，不给和妈，给和妈的妈。 过去的二月真是特殊，先是春节然后是情人节，接踵而来的又是和和爹娘连在一起的生日，吃饭买卡买蛋糕买礼物休假，过了这个母亲节，该歇歇了。 和爸生日那天，他发言－如果生命嘎然而止，从我的个人角度，我会说我自己的生命是没有遗憾了。同样，如果我的母亲离开，我也会很安心，因为她最开心是看到了我有了家有了你有了女儿。 新闻报道中国有可能取消一胎政策，和爸用podcast录下给太太岳母听，外婆听了第一反应是－－那你哥嫂还有可能再生个孩子！ 而和爸却请太太保证一定还要个孩子，无论怎么辛苦。 这次出门，强烈感到和和需要弟弟妹妹，她总很羡慕得看着别人家兄弟姐妹的互相玩耍打闹，这让和爸心疼得晚上辗转反侧 和妈请先生再让她自由个大半年，孩子一定会要，在３６岁之前，而今年是３４岁。
March 01 Ian McEwan-"most beautiful baby 1948"
知道这位英国当代文坛大帅时还是１９９９年，无意混进美国文学系的一个讲座，说起来，我对学校最深的怀念居然是听过了那些外系的讲座。那时，他的Amsterdam正被热评热买，并问鼎布克奖，作为学校的老毕业生，自然被年青学生与讲师们热烈关注，可惜自己那时读个卫报都要读半天，自然不能领会他那种很英式文人的言语。 但是系里有位很法国的女老师很喜欢他，因为是当年的同窗，经常嘲笑他是１９４８年英国出生的最好看的婴儿之一，近朱者赤，也就关心起他，如果报纸上有他的评论消息，还是会读一读，直到他的Atonement问世，小说早已读过现在都忘了细节，那时就想，拍成电影一定好看，阶级／爱情／嫉妒／战争／死亡／绝望／分裂／忏悔－人性的善恶应有尽有。果然２００８年情人节，和爸带回这张DVD作为礼物，精致的完全的东南英格兰风格，小城如画的白崖与邻镇的海边小屋还有春天漫山的虞美人都被收入镜头；有趣的是，最近几年布克奖得主小说的背景大都在Sussex的大镇小村，比如Kazuo Ishiguro的 Never Let Me Go也是选择了Hailsham作为故事的开始。 Ian McEwan本人很有故事，不仅是他长相英俊，而且家事颇具戏剧性，比如，２００２年，他发现了他其实还有一位自幼被人收养的哥哥， 而且Atonement涉及剽窃Lucilla Andrews的No Time for Romance ，第一任太太为孩子上法庭，总之，他是个有内容的人，以后肯定读他的传记。
Private Education-Is it worth it?Private education Is it worth it?Feb 28th 2008 As the cost of private schools soars, we look at what parents get for their moneyGetty Images
 FEE-PAYING schools have long played a giant part in public life in Britain, though they teach only 7% of its children. State-educated prime ministers (such as the current one) are a rarity; a third of all MPs, more than half the appointed peers in the House of Lords, a similar proportion of the country's best-known journalists and 70% of its leading barristers were educated privately. There is no sign that the elevator from independent schools to professional prominence is slowing: nearly half of the undergraduates at Oxford and Cambridge were privately schooled too.  Many ambitious parents would like to set their children off on this gilded path. But there is a problem: the soaring cost. Fees at private day schools have more than doubled in the past 20 years, in real terms; those at boarding schools have risen even faster (see chart). Since 2000 fees have risen by at least 6% every year, according to Horwath Clark Whitehill, a consultancy—double retail-price inflation and half as much again as the growth in wages. If this continues, a four-year-old embarking on a career in private day schools this autumn will have cost his parents around £170,000 ($335,000) in today's money by the time he completes secondary school. So even though more Britons than ever before describe themselves as comfortably off, the share of children being educated privately is barely higher than it was two decades ago. Yet as the cost grows, so do the incentives. It is increasingly hard to be sure of securing an acceptable alternative. State-financed schools for the gifted are now scarce. Other time-honoured routes, such as finding God (and a place in a religious school packed with the offspring of similarly provident parents) or buying a house next to a good state school (the price will be hefty, but can be recouped by selling once the children have grown), are becoming harder. Ed Balls, the schools secretary, has signalled a shift away from increasing state-funded religious education, and many schools are thinking of choosing students by lottery rather than proximity. On March 3rd parents all over England will get letters telling them which schools their 11-year-olds are to go to—and many will be watching with interest to see what happens in Brighton, on the south coast. For the first time, places in its eight secondary schools will have been allocated randomly within each catchment area. Already the benefits are being felt by local private schools. Brighton College, in the town centre, has seen the number of 11-year-olds taking its entrance test rise by almost half. Its head teacher, Richard Cairns, says he is thinking of expanding. Just what will these refugees from randomness be getting for their money? Researchers at the Centre for the Economics of Education have used data on earnings, social class and education to distinguish the effects of private schooling from other advantages that students at such schools may enjoy (such as having richer, better-educated parents). Those who left private schools in the 1980s and early 1990s can expect to earn 35% more in life than the average product of a state school, they found, around half of which can be attributed to education, not background. That, they calculated, means parents achieved an average 7% return on their investment in fees. If that were the entire benefit their children received, it would not be bad—but there is more, says Francis Green, one of the researchers. “Private education is a consumption good, not just an investment. Long gone are the days of spartan dormitories and cold showers—kids in the private sector now have fabulous science labs and sports facilities, and access to a huge range of subjects and activities.” The researchers also managed to pinpoint the way private schools work their magic: through better exam results, rather than through networking opportunities or better teaching of soft skills, such as etiquette or leadership. Once they compared state- and private-school leavers with identical qualifications, the earnings premium disappeared. “In the past few decades, private schools have transformed themselves into highly effective exam-passing machines,” says Mr Green. They hire better-qualified teachers, and more of them, offering higher salaries to lure those with qualifications in difficult subjects such as physics, mathematics and foreign languages, and now have twice as many teachers per pupil as state schools do. Whether today's parents can expect similar returns on their investment depends partly on whether fees continue to grow at a similar pace. One insider thinks this unlikely: many parents have remortgaged to pay fees, and with house prices shaky and banks tightening their lending criteria, this route is fast closing off. But parents willing to take a riskier route could reap greater rewards. Another group of researchers interviewed parents and children from 124 well-off white middle-class families in three English cities. The parents had made the decision to send their children to poorly-performing local comprehensives. The children did well, with excellent exam results and plenty of places offered by highly-regarded universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. One reason for their success, the researchers suggest, is that the schools, mindful of their positions in official league tables, were keen to keep these valuable clients. Teachers paid the youngsters more attention in class than they did to dozier students and arranged extension activities for them. One school, desperate to keep a bright child in the sixth form, even ran an A-level drama course especially for her. The parents were delighted by their huge savings. But they had to work hard. More than half became school governors, and all monitored their children's progress relentlessly. “They thought their children would do well being exposed to a more socially and ethnically diverse educational experience,” says David James, one of the researchers. “But as people must do with more volatile, risky investments, they watched closely and were ready to pull out if needs be.” So parents inclined to take this route must ask themselves two things: what their risk profile is, and whether they are willing to be activist investors. |
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