so if anyone wants someone to teach dinghy sailing, powerboating or yachting; or navigation and related skills in the classroom; or to run workshops on various aspects of folk (especially shanties) - or indded to sing in a club or festival, I'm available!

Schantieman, you remind me of an emergency teacher (the equivalent to "casual" and "supply" teachers elewhere) my school used to have available. I used to teach in Lynall Hall Community School; very "alternative" but part of the Victorian Education Dept and a leader in innovation until Kennet "Jeffed" it and the 10 other similar schools in the system.

The teacher I'm thinking of ran an art studio/shop (with his partner) called "Kites, Art and Penguins Dusted". The Penguins Dusted bit came from a line in a Ginsberg poem that mentioned "a pint of penguin dust"; people were invited to bring in a penguin (toy, picture, story etc concerning penguins) and he'd pull out a brush and gently dust it into an old glass pint milk bottle. He had it about 1/4 full at the time I noticed it.

His qualifications were really in art but he'd worked up a whole series of lessons involving kites. If he were required to teach "Science" he'd teach a series of classes centred on the science of kites. If he were required to teach "History" or Geography" he'd teach a series of classes centred on the history or geography of kites. "English"? Write some essays or analyse some texts on kites. "Art"? Make some kites. "PE"? Out into the yard and fly some kites.

Of course, the kids loved him and the teachers were pretty happy with him too; he was very popular and very sought after. Although he did a lot of work in Melbourne's northern suburbs he really got into his element when the regular art teacher on our staff took Long Service Leave; we snapped this guy up, but that leads into quite another (and positive) story.

He could well be an example for others to note.

Cheers, Rowan