Country Scheme at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

More is more in a country scheme, so forget minimalism and crowd mantelpieces and tables with pretty pieces. Country schemes find new tasks for old favourites, too - a Kilner jar becomes a vase, a teapot becomes a plant pot holder, and worn leather suitcases become a coffee table. Just mix and match for maximum impact.

In some ways the most important result of the Revolution was the union of the English and Scottish parliaments (1707). As long as the king governed Scotland and kept control of the Scottish Parliament, no one in England felt any need for closer union. Once the Scottish Parliament had escaped from royal control in 1690, Wrilliam III found himself expected to serve two masters. By adopting the Darien Scheme (q.v.), the Scots Parliament threatened to ruin his personal foreign policy, which required a good understanding with Spain, the country against whose Amen monopoly the Darien Scheme was directed.

The first letter to parents is likely to be an invitation to a meeting that will start the scheme, since most schools choose to begin in this way. A big meeting like this gives everyone a sense of launching the PACT scheme properly, and not just slipping into it. It suggests an effort by the whole school, saying to parents: 'We're committed: what about you?' Make sure the school is well prepared for such a meeting. You need to have discussed the ideas behind the scheme thoroughly, for at least two good reasons.