Ilchester Cheese : Advent Calendar Review

I bought my husband an Ilchester Cheese Advent Calendar for the 2022 Christmas season.  He likes cheese.  I like cheese.  I'd heard a lot about this calendar in 2021 but when I'd found it then it was too late.  This time I found it at our local Co-Op grocery store and it was on sale.

The calendar featured 24 days of cheese but there was only a variety of 9 flavours.  That meant there were several repeats.  The calendar was of cereal box cardboard grade and was apparently designed to fit in the door of a refrigerator even though I didn't store it that way.  The individual doors were perforated for easy removal and each package of single serve cheese was nestled in a light plastic tray.

The calendar price ranged from $36.99 to $29.99.  That breaks down to approximately $1.54 a piece of cheese.  However, when you consider that over half of the pieces were double flavours the cost is more.

What we enjoyed.  Well, Hubby really enjoyed getting a piece of cheese every day with his lunch.  We both enjoyed the information on the different flavours and it allowed us to explore different flavours which we'd never heard of or never had the courage to try before.  We discovered one flavour is aged, one is smoked, one is part of an annual festival where it's rolled down a hill.  We really liked the red Leicester flavour of cheese while the majority were very good.  The only one which didn't go over well was the one infused with cranberries and sage.  I liked it but it was a bit strong.  I realize it's a seasonal flavour so that's why it was included.

What we didn't enjoy as much was the repeat flavours.  So this calendar is all one brand manufactured by Ilchester Cheese.  Bravo for them creating a calendar!  However, when you end up having the same flavour a couple days in a row it becomes a bit "meh".  The other thing, which is not their fault at all, is that the brand isn't stocked here.  The only flavour that the grocery store tends to have is the Applewood smoked cheddar and in my opinion, there are other brands that supply that which we'd buy first in larger quantities.  Ilchester is a British cheese company and it seems that Cathedral is a more widely supplied brand.  So when I did want to purchase some of the flavours we'd tested - we couldn't.

It's worthy to note that while the advent calendar is adequately constructed, that by the time Christmas Eve arrived, the box had not stood up to the test of time.  The doors were torn and falling apart.  It went straight into the recycle bin.  If you are one to enjoy packaging then this probably isn't for you.

Do you have a cheese lover in your family or group of friends?  This does make a great gift for the holidays.  We did thoroughly enjoy it and I hope it continues to gain interest and that they include more flavours to make the calendar even more interesting.

Music Teachers | Teaching in a Time of Covid

I contemplated writing a blog about the Blizzard of '07 but honestly there wasn't a lot to tell.  It was a huge blizzard which shut down the city.  We canceled our music students for the day (it might have been two days) and we did make up lessons later on.  It's an event a lot of people recall.  I think it was a Wednesday.  That's really all there is to that story.

Tuesday March 17th will always be a date I remember. Not because it was St Patrick’s Day, but because it was the first time ever that I had to teach piano lessons virtually and boy, was it a steep learning curve. 

The previous week the first case of Covid19 was announced within the city.  That evening I stopped at the Shoppers Drug Mart on the way home to pick up some milk.  There was a sign on the door that said they were already sold out of hand sanitizer, masks and toilet paper.  It was surreal inside the store.  There was a man with a shopping cart looking for the sold out items and kept badgering staff because it seemed like he didn't believe they were actually sold out.  I got my milk and continued on home.

The next day at work, parents were already concerned and students were cancelling lessons.  Rumours were circulating that the schools were going to be shut down the following week.  It was a very odd time.  Us teachers stood distanced from each other in the showroom talking about what was going on.  Over the weekend, there was a discussion about the Academy closing its doors or how this was all going to be handled.  At the time we believed it might only be a couple of weeks but minute to minute and hour to hour things changed.  I suggested we attempt to teach via Skype as I'd heard others were doing it.  Sunday night it was decided that Monday the 16th would be the last day we'd teach in person and we'd begin notifying our students that Tuesday lessons would be moved online.

Over the course of 3 days over 600 students were notified by phone call and set up with skype accounts.

I had gotten an iPad for Christmas and had subsequently purchased a tripod which would hold it.  My digital Technics piano was in our home office, also known as the Star Wars room.  What complicated everything was that Hubby was also sent home to work for the first time on the same day.  We couldn't work in the same space as our hours overlapped.  We moved his computer to the basement and purchased all the necessary equipment he required.

It took me a week to bring home all the materials I needed from my classroom.  That first week, I took a ton of notes and transcribed them all onto my laptop.  What became very apparent was that I had taken for granted the ease of phrases like "play that part again" "look for bar 10" or just being able to count along with students playing.  I couldn't just point at something.  Students had to become so much more self sufficient and be ready with pencils and markers and highlighters to make corrections for themselves.  They also had to take the homework notes.  Some students did very very well but it was also really hard for others.  Sometimes calls would drop or they wouldn't be online on time.  It was crazy but then wasn't everything.

School had been cancelled so I saw students suddenly practicing who hadn't worked very hard before.  I heard from parents how grateful they were that we had online lessons to look forward to because as wild as the times were the piano lessons gave a sense of normalcy.  The feeling was mutual.

We taught virtually from March 2020 through the summer until the end of August 2020.  In the summer because my schedule was reduced we moved my piano to the basement and Hubby moved his office to the Star Wars room, where he still works to this day.  At the end of my work days, I'd come upstairs and holler "I'm home!" and we'd laugh.

Miraculously, I myself only lost a handful of students.  In September, donned in mandatory masks and with cleaning protocol in place, we returned to in person teaching while some students and teachers chose to remain online.  I was so thankful to not have to deal with technology anymore.  

On one particular day my mask was snug and I complained to my student how it was flattening my nose.  I said "what will you say when we don't have to wear masks anymore?"

He replied, "my, you have a flat nose".

Spoiler.  He didn't.

We adapted so quickly and now working virtually is a way of life.  We jump online through Skype or Zoom with ease.  We held festivals and concerts online and while that's fading away working virtually will always be an option now.  Those few months changed everything.

Music Teachers | The Time I Broke A Piano

 

All was fine until I went to work. Over that weekend, the piano that was in my classroom was loaned out for an event, an accountant’s convention apparently. I didn’t have an issue with that, after all I didn't OWN the Technics PR54 which happily resided in my classroom, but I felt like it was mine. I used it every day.  I no longer teach anyone who would remember that music rest Christmas paper wrapped piano, but if you do, you must be very special.

What I am about to relate to you will no doubt surprise you as much as it did me!

With that in mind, here is what happened on that Monday when I arrived at work to my classroom. My piano was not in its correct location.  There were two windows separated by a length of wall. I simply preferred the piano to be centered on that wall. I don’t think that’s a crazy demand. Things should be symmetric, that’s all. I barely needed to move it a foot.

This had happened before and even now isn't unheard of. When the piano wasn't in the rightful symmetric-wall-centered position I'd simply push or pull it back into place. It wasn't a heavy piano since it’s an electric/digital piano. I’ve helped move pianos in concerts and festivals for years! I am not new to moving things to and fro. 

Another tidbit of information which you need to know is that I am not a very strong person. I can lift some things. Move some furniture about in my house. But I don’t have what you could call brute strength. I am not Bam Bam. Nor Paul Bunion. 

So I grabbed onto the end and tugged. I did not turn into the Incredible Hulk when I pulled on the piano. But do you want to know what happened? Maybe I shouldn’t tell you….  The end of the casing of the piano came off in my hands! 

AHHHHH! I am so fired, I thought. 

At first, like Ralphie trying to get away with icicle broken glasses (oh my gawd, I shot my eye out) in the Christmas Story, I thought I could just push it back on and no one would be the wiser. Nope, it didn’t work. I stood back and surveyed the damage. The end of the piano had been held together with simple doweling.  The wires were hanging out the end.  It looked really bad.  REALLY BAD.

 
I am so fired.

I went and got Sharon from the front desk. Sharon was the receptionist, book keeper, maintenance man, carpet cleaner and all around handy-man, but I have to stress she is a very good friend. 

“Sharon, can I talk to you in my classroom for a minute.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, you really have to come here.”

“Can you just tell me?”

“Um….” Me, trying to spit it out. “I kind of wrecked the piano!”

She walked with me to my classroom. Her assessment of the situation? “OH MY GOD!”

Luckily, I was able to teach in another room that day. Also luckily, the academy director, boss and owner and her husband were away and wouldn’t find out until the next day.  Did they ever find out?  I guess they will when or if they read this! 

But here is just how good of a friend Sharon is. It bothered her so much that she couldn’t get a hold of the piano repair person that she went in on her own time, dismantled my piano, crazy glued it and put it back together again. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men did put the wrecked piano back together again! I didn’t know that she did this until a while afterward. Sharon retired twice, maybe three times and probably didn't get a lot of the glory at the Academy, but she was the glue that held so many things together.

Literally.

Just like the Mom in the Christmas Story when Ralphie got in the big fight and had to wait until the Dad came home. Sharon softened the blow. Ralphie didn’t get killed and I didn’t get fired. By Friday we were all able to laugh about it and now many years later it barely seems like it happened. 

What I know for sure is that I will never ever EVER touch that or any piano to move it again. If it is sitting in the middle of that classroom I will teach in the middle of the classroom. I will not pull, push or tug. Will I cringe?  Oh yes I will!  Because just recently, I went in to work, a Tuesday this time, to find a new Roland digital piano in the middle of my 2023 classroom.  

Was I going to move it?  

Heck no.  Not on your life.

Advent Calendar Reviews

This is a comprehensive table of contents or appendix of all the Christmas Advent Calendars and Countdowns in one easy to find place.

The Body Shop

Tea at the White House

Bonne Maman

President's Choice

Ilchester Cheese

T.Kettle Tea

The Body Shop 2023

Bird & Blend

Christmas Vacation Jelly of the Month Club

Walkers Shortbread

Grove Place Market 12 Cups of Joy

President's Choice : Advent Calendar Review

I picked up the President's Choice Advent Calendar on a whim.  I did not need another calendar in the slightest because I had three for the 2022 Christmas season.  It was on sale and was only $12.  There's no way I could leave the store without it.

I tucked it away until after the holidays were all over.

It was January when I decided to take it out and open it up.

The President's Choice Calendar was a light cardboard which unfolded to reveal all the numbered days.  It included a string so that it could be hung in the kitchen for easy access and to decorate for the holidays.  The calendar was 24 days but there were some duplicate flavours.  Each day was a single teabag in it's own package.  Behind the tea package was a quote for the day.  What really impressed me was that each tea package included a list of ingredients, whether it was caffeine free or not and brewing instructions.  This impressed me because tea advent calendars which I've spent far more money on didn't include these things. Bravo!

As I stated, the calendar was 24 days and I spent $12 on it (which is actually rounded up).  That breaks down to 50 cents per cup.  That's an excellent value!

My favourite flavours included Ginger Peach, Feeling Soothed, Dreamland, Lemon Ginger, Spiced Apple, Chocolatey Chai and Feeling Calm.  Honestly, I found something to like and enjoy in each flavour.  I even purchased a box of Ginger Peach and Feeling Calm.  I can see myself purchasing some of these other flavours as well.  A box of President's Choice tea is very affordable and you won't feel guilty for having them in your tea cupboard.

Would I buy this President's Choice Tea Advent Calendar again?  You bet!  Next time, I'd even enjoy it during the holidays instead of after the New Year.

Music Teachers | A Blog Appendix

This is a comprehensive list of links (appendix or table of contents) to all the blogs I've written about my musical journey including teachers, training and experience.

Elementary School Band

My Rockin' Organ Lessons Part 1

My Rockin' Organ Lessons Part 2

Klassical Karen

The One Who Didn't Like Me

Meet Mrs Sandra

The Time I Broke a Piano

Teaching in a Time of Covid

Music Teachers | Meet Mrs. Sandra

We aren't supposed to have special students.  When asked we will deny that we think of some students over others.  We treat everyone the same and have the same expectations but it would be a total lie if I didn't admit that some students find a way into my heart unlike others.  There's been a few over the years but I won't name names.  You know who you are. 

If you've followed this series of blog posts then you'll know I played clarinet in elementary school and started organ lessons at the age of 12 which is late for most keyboard students.  At age 17 I began teaching keyboard and working to get my grades with the Royal Conservatory in piano.  I taught for several years in my home town before moving here in 2001.

At that point, I was feeling burnt out so I took a job in retail.  I worked my way into management but never really got the respect I thought I deserved for my work.  So, in 2005 I approached a teaching colleague and she hired me on the spot saying "what took you so long to come see me."  I took over the Monday to Friday teaching slot at the Academy of Music and that was that.

I realized this was my true calling.  The first day I returned to teaching gave me feelings like Scrooge waking on Christmas morning.

I've taught so many people over the years ranging in ages from 3 to 83.  People tell me I'm a good teacher and while I feel confident it's hard to believe them when you keep striving to be better and better versions of yourself.  Students come and go but it always amazes me when someone approaches me and says I was their piano teacher.  Students grow up and change and teachers remain mostly the same.  A few years ago I had this exact thing happen.  A young lady at an outdoor concert kept staring at me.  Finally she confessed that I was her piano teacher.  I said "forgive me, but I don't recognize you."  She told me who she was and yes, of course I had taught her!  I've had this happen in stores and other places around the city too.  I’ve also had the experience where a student said “you taught my dad” and yes I did.

I am rather oblivious to the year gap.  The most popular age for a student to begin is age 7.  I see them once a week and while I know they're growing up, suddenly they can drive and in a flash they have boyfriends and are starting university.  That is, if I've had the pleasure of teaching them that long.  Many many students often quit lessons in high school but there are those special ones who keep going.

How blessed am I to know these young people for so long!  I've had a couple of these special people become teachers as well.  I feel a lot of pride for their accomplishments but its also bitter sweet.  My encounters with them make me a better teacher and have made me strive to be better year after year, exam after exam and festival after festival.  I'm happy for them but always a bit sad too for the end of a relationship which honestly is a big part of my life but a miniscule part of theirs.

Some days are good and some are bad.  Some students come to lessons emotional after school or elated over something else.  I hear a lot of things from students and probably things that might make their parents shudder.  I tell them stories, I ask about their day, ask what's new and always wish them well on their way out the door.  They're free to talk and show honesty with me while getting down to the business of learning to play and appreciate music.

My main goal for my students is to make me obsolete.  They should be able to learn, play and perform without me.

It's the end of an era when a special student moves on.  I’m sure it’s far harder on me than it is on them. Meanwhile, I continue to do what I do.  I make everyone feel special.  I share the love of music everyday.  The rewards are far greater than I ever could have imagined.

So when your kid says they want to take music lessons.  Please, please do everything in your power to support them.  Buy the books, buy the instrument, and show up at every event they're in.  

And, take pictures all along the way because you just never know where it's going to lead.