Hello, and welcome to another edition of the immensely popular Speedo! I just want to start by saying thank you to all those who read us online, we have over 6000 views since the counter began last June! Keep on reading!

There is very little happening in the school this week. The kids are away, and I must confess that I miss them. Don’t tell them I said that! We do, however, have a teacher birthday… Paul will be having another thirty-something birthday on Saturday, so if you see him, don’t forget to wish him “many happy returns of the day!”

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY…

21 Jan – Martin Luther King Day
This is a day to celebrate the birth date of Dr. King, the famous American Civil Rights activist. It is always on the third Monday of January. It is a national holiday in America.

22 Jan – The January Uprising
This was the longest uprising by Poland, Belarus and Lithuania against the Russian Empire. Originally it was a protest by young Polish men against being forced to join the Russian Army.

23 Jan – The Second Partitioning of Poland AND The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
In 1793, Russia and Prussia divided Poland between themselves after Poland was forced into an alliance with its enemy, Prussia, in 1790. The same day in 1943, Jewish people decided to rebel against their German oppressors in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

24 Jan – The Assassination of Caligula
In 41AD, the Roman Emperor Caligula was stabbed by a group of conspirators. He was known to be a very cruel and violent man, and once thought of himself as a god…

25 Jan - The First Telephone Company
In 1881, Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell formed the world’s first telephone company, the Oriental Telephone Company. 34 years later, on the same day, Bell spoke to his assistant over a 3,400 mile wire, from New York to San Francisco.

26 Jan - Australia Day
The official national day of Australia, this commemorates the establishment of a settlement at Port Jackson in 1788. The area became known as New South Wales.

27 Jan – The First Television Broadcast
In 1925, John Logie Baird demonstrated television images to members of the Royal Institution and a newspaper reporter. Where would we be without television today?

The Adventures Of Bobby Callan – Part Fifteen

Miss Brown was halfway down the mountain path when she had an idea. She turned on her heels and ran back up to where Harry Potter was drinking some strange cloudy liquid.
“What are you drinking Harry?” Miss Brown asked.
“I think they call it lao khao. Something like moonshine, so I’ve been told” he replied.
“Why on earth are you doing drinking that? You are only fifteen or so! What’s the legal age in Thailand for drinking alcohol?”
“I couldn’t care less, I am Harry Potter and can do anything I want!” Harry said, petulantly.
“So I’ve been told… And yes, that was sarcasm. Anyway, that is why we are back. You said you can do anything you want, right? You are to use your magic wand and teleport us to Liverpool.” Miss Brown demanded. Harry noted the use of to be for when something has been planned or ordered. He smiled, and remembered a Callan lesson he had once had at Hogwarts. He had turned the teacher into a dung beetle, just for fun.
“Ok, fine. Just close your eyes. I’m not sure why you would want to go to Liverpool, the place is full of Scousers and an awful football team..”

Miss Brown opened her eyes, and found she was standing inside Anfield, right in the middle of a football match. She began walking off the field, when a ball rolled her way. Steven Gerrard, that Scouse footballing icon, shouted over.
“ ‘Ere miss, if you are walking across a park and a ball rolls your way, do you kick it back to its owner or do you pick it up and throw it back?”
“I always pick it up, because I am not allowed to get my shoes dirty. If I do I have to clean them myself” she shouted back, then picked up the ball. The referee blew the whistle.
“PENALTY TO NEWCASTLE!” he shouted. Miss Brown was wearing a red pullover, and was inside the penalty area. Michael Owen buried the resulting spot-kick.
“Aww, thanks miss, you’ve just lost us the game…’ Gerrard said, unhappily. To make things worse, the referee showed Miss Brown a red card.
“I don’t care, I’m leaving anyway” she said.

She made her way to The Cavern, that famous club where the Beatles played many, many times. She remembered an old picture of it on the wall in Room 11. She went in and saw someone who looked like Sir Paul McCartney.
“Excuse me, are you Sir Paul McCartney?” she asked.
“Yes, I am, who is asking?” Famous people are always rude, she thought.
“My name is Miss Brown. I have a huge favour to ask. Do you know where I can get a signed copy of your first LP? Harry Potter turned my friend Bobby Callan into a frog, and the album is the only way to get him back.”
“Did you say Bobby Callan? Relative of the great Robin Callan?” he asked.
“Er.. yes. Were were in the middle of looking for Robin when Harry became a nuisance. Can you help us?” Miss Brown asked, surprised.
“Sure I can. I just so happen to keep a copy here just in case I become too greedy and lose all my money, friends and everything else I have gained. But that isn’t going to happen, because I am Sir Paul McCartney! So I will give you my copy. I knew Mr Callan, he gave Callan lessons to fans after a gig in Madagascar last month. He sponsored me, because he is a huge fan of The Beatles. It is signed by everyone. I just have one request. Find him, and tell him he owes me fifty pounds.”
“Sure, that’s easy” Miss Brown said, and left the Cavern Club with the album.