Early Risers.

[gordon s]

Every year about this time we have a visitor who takes great delight in feeding and bathing in our pond.  Jackie is convinced it's the same Wagtail every year.  Surely that can't be possible, or is it?....

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2015 by gordon s

[The Stationmaster]

It's OK Mike, I wasn't expecting The Waterside, just surprised by the dated appearance and the surfeit of sprouts...:-)

 

I'll get back to my woodwork....

Better than checking out expensive golf sticks, oops - clubs.  I reckon some of those pic, especially that one of the meal, date from the time the owner's wife was doing the cooking and all of the pics look as if they were takebn by passengers or sent in by lovers of the ship or enthusiasts.

 

Interestingly Trinity House do a somewhat similar thing and use pics sent in by passengers not only in publicity material but also in their annual report!

[Purley Oaks]

I can understand your quandary.

She should have said Chelsea are sh*t

Quite. She should have said that Chelsea are f ing sh*t.

 

Last night's family games evening was a wonderful success - we only played the game Switch using two packs of cards - and with the banter were a load of laughs, just what we all needed. Margaritas were pretty good, too, which may have made us all a wee bit sillier.

 

Many thanks to all of you for your good wishes for my forthcoming chemo. It's really good to have the support and advice here. Positivity, as Jock says.

 

Mal

[New Haven Neil]

That wagtail has a more malevolent look than the penguin in 'The Wrong Trousers' !!!

[New Haven Neil]

Wagtail average lifespan - 2 year - oldest known, 11 years!

[The Stationmaster]

Dick, a scenario I became only too familiar with in my past employment.  They don't have a snowball's - no wonder they become offenders.  Our probation officers did their very best to instil some values into them, sometimes with success, sometimes not. Sad.

Mrs Stationmaster had some experience - fortunately at a distance - of how they turn out during her spell of employment at Reading gaol (she decided to give up commuting and join the Civil Service - that's where they offered her a job).  By strange quirk of fate after rearing  the offspring her next job was in education, as a Classroom Assistant 'looking after' (for part of the week) a 'statemented' lad in a somewhat downmarket junior school.  Fortunately (?) his mother decided that he needed something better and got him transferred to our local junior school which meant Mrs Stationmaster went with him - a pleasant walk from home, great teachers and Headmaster etc - except her charge was like a fish out of water and was chucked out within a few months, despite his mother's protestations.

 

Now the odd coincidence in all this is that laddo - who had contrived to set fire to the family home at the age of 5 - continued on an absolutely predictable path and finished up in Reading Gaol within a year or so of it being re-categorised for young offenders.  By the time he was 21 he had a criminal record including arson, theft, and - I think - assault.  Something which my good lady predicted was probably what would happen to him based on the way he was when in junior school.  Are some people simply born bad?

[Steve Williams]

Parents evening story:

 

Mother and boy show up, he wearing a Chelsea shirt, she an Arsenal shirt. I'm doing this as head of year, so it's already a bit edgy as I get so see the difficult cases.

 

Me: "Before we start I must say that you were told to wear school uniform, certainly not a football shirt, and that is the sort of thing..."

She: "And it's a sh*t team anyway."

He: "Not as sh*t as the Arsenal. They're complete f******ing sh*t"

She "No they're not you little sh*t, they're the best team. Chelsea is sh*t"

 

A couple more exchanges like that and I invited them to leave before I called security...

 

We had to expel him a few months later. Some kids don't stand a chance.

I trust, in the interests of furthering their education, you took the opportunity to highlight how 'sh*t' is such a versatile word, being used as both a noun and an adjective? It can also be used, arguably, as a verb, as in "I ain't doing sh*t", or "We were 'Sh****d on".

Edited October 23, 2015 by Steve Williams

[BoD]

  Are some people simply born bad?

 

Any number of people have been thinking about that one for centuries and are still arguing about the answer.

[Purley Oaks]

 Are some people simply born bad?

Know what you mean, Mike. Can be down to a load of factors - our eldest went through a bad patch when he was a teenager, but the other two were absolutely fine.

 

The good news is that longitudinal studies show that most delinquents grow out of criminal activity by the age of 25 or so; three things help - one is a steady job, another is a stable and caring home environment, and the third is the love of a good partner.

 

What doesn't help is living in a disadvantaged family in a disadvantaged area. The saying that the devil makes work for idle hands rings very true.

 

Mal 

[iL Dottore]

Evening All

My daughters ever expanding puppy Barney(the black one) now 6 months old decided to munch on some slug pelts which were in a dog proof container she had to wisk him off to the vets have his stomach cleared with an injection, it sound if he is OK as a blood test is showing no trace of the pelts I'll be picking him up later from the vets as his mum and dad are on late shift they are not best pleased as the vets bill is £300 so far and another blood test is to be done tomorrow.

WP_20150922_17_17_55_Pro.jpg

Glad to hear that the vet managed to evacuate Barney's stomach in time to avoid a detectable level of Metaldehyde in his system (which suggests that he should be OK)

 

Unfortunately, I too have had a (near) poisoning experience. Like slug pellets, onions are toxic to dogs (raw and cooked onions contain thiosulphate [toxic at 15g/kg] which oxidises canine haemoglobin) and Lucy managed to scarf down half a plate of noodles with beef and onions before I caught her. I called the vet and on advice I monitored her for symptoms, fortunately nothing happened. But I am too well aware of the mixed feelings one has - of being very worried and of being very exasperated (idiot dog). I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Barney.

 

Job interview went well, but I was so keyed up that today I am feeling the consequences of that and feel absolutely knackered. We'll see what happens.

 

I'll have to look at ER in some depth shortly, as I have been AWOL from ER for a few days

 

iD

Edited October 23, 2015 by iL Dottore

[bluebottle]

If one's favourite football team is "The Best" and every other one is "Sh!t", doesn't one find it rather boring watching such one-sided games every week?

[New Haven Neil]

 Are some people simply born bad?

 

I'm told not.  The medics in my old team reckoned that the first three years are when the 'wiring' in the brain is mostly formed, so if the child is brought up with at least some values and behaviours that are acceptable at this time then basically they are there for life.  If not...then it's too late.

 

I agree with Mal that some do seem to grow out of phases of bad behaviour, and have seen some considerable successes in my old role, but some of the really bad jobs stay that way.  It's enough to make your hair curl at times, when you are in the presence of a truly evil young person.  There's not many of them that are in that category, but having seen one in particular in Court it really gets to you.  Most of the kids we dealt with were OK at heart, naughty really rather than criminal, but the occasional one (maybe a dozen over the 9 years) really did make you think they were going to end up doing something really, really bad.

[AndyID]

I can’t remember whether the GS could do that too?

.

 

Yes, it could do that too. FiL had a GS. It had a fixed length "jack".

 

There's a pic here with one doing the three-wheel trick.

http://citroenvie.com/gs-gallery/

 

I had a Citroen Ami station wagon. I bought it after a prat rear-ended and totaled our VW 1500 near the Corstorphine. The Ami didn't live up to its name.

 

EDIT: Come to think of it, at the scene the delightful gentleman from the Edinburgh Constabulary (or wherever it was) told me "we don't work for the insurance companies".

 

The prat should have been done for driving without due care. I had been stopped dead in traffic for at least five seconds before he rammed into me.

Edited October 23, 2015 by AndyID

[edcayton]

Ah yes, the old nature versus nurture thing. There was a programme on Radio 4 this week which claimed that it is, in fact, about 80% genetics, and that environment etc is not as important as we thought.

 

I believe the correct form is "we were 5hat on".

 

Ed

[Smiffy2]

I trust, in the interests of furthering their education, you took the opportunity to highlight how 'sh*t' is such a versatile word, being used as both a noun and an adjective? It can also be used, arguably, as a verb, as in "I ain't doing sh*t", or "We were 'Sh****d on".

I was more concerned at preventing a sweary shouting match going any further in a crowded school hall full of teachers trying to have sensible conversations about sensible kids, especially as it looked like it might end in violence. There was nothing amusing about it!

[Smiffy2]

No child is born bad. They learn that from adults. Sometimes the adults damage them beyond economic repair.

[New Haven Neil]

Ah yes, the old nature versus nurture thing. There was a programme on Radio 4 this week which claimed that it is, in fact, about 80% genetics, and that environment etc is not as important as we thought.

 

I believe the correct form is "we were 5hat on".

 

Ed

 

No doubt this will be one of those things that goes in a 10 year cycle.  Wait a while and they will change their minds again.  The psychologists and psychiatrists I worked with would disagree with Radio 4.

All together now:  'It's all about parenting' !!!!!

[Smiffy2]

So would the psychologists and educationists I worked with. Given that a very small percentage of people have mental illnesses which cause them to act in anti-social ways the majority learn it.

[andyram]

 

Sympathy to Andyram for the parents' evening - I hear that Younger Lurker's teacher had to ask parents to leave a consultation this week, for the first time in a long-ish career. She wasn't having them undermine her authority over a misbehaving pupil. Good for her I say, and I shall be disappointed if the head doesn't back her to the hilt.

 

Have a good weekend all

I must admit with one appointment I did all but tell them to leave. I started to shut the lap top down and pack things away. Forty minutes of telling them their child needed to arrive in school on time, with the correct equipment and with an attitude to learn was enough for me. If this child got firm boundaries at home it would be fine. Of course in these cases the school is at fault and their child is a genius at home! It obviously had no effect as the work produced following that appointment was equally carp.

 

And so we have reached the end of the week, and the end of the half term. The last day was no less busy. After getting about six full hours sleep I did feel a bit better. With the headteacher on a course the rubbish came my way today. It began with a parent's dreadful parking upsetting others. Then I had to lead a leaving assembly for a member of our support staff. This was followed by the staffing issue flair up in the afternoon. It resulted in a very delicate and tricky conversation at the end of the day. I now need a beer or too. The trouble is I will need to visit the local supermarket to get some and I can't escape until I have taken my turn on putting Amber to bed. Naturally she has chosen tonight to be wide awake!

 

Once the shopping is complete I will then need to help Sarah clean out the hamster cage and then type up a report on today's incident. A lovely start to the holiday.

[Steve Williams]

I was more concerned at preventing a sweary shouting match going any further in a crowded school hall full of teachers trying to have sensible conversations about sensible kids, especially as it looked like it might end in violence. There was nothing amusing about it!

I'm sure there wasn't. As a former H of Y myself I have had many a confrontation with parents. In fact, if I didn't upset at least a couple a month, I reckon I wasn't doing my job properly! On more than one occasion I have had a Form Tutor comment that they thought a parent was going to hit me, in fact on a couple of occasions, I thought so to. One notable event, when they actually did, was when an irate Mother and Father came up to the school and assaulted several of us including the Head and Deputy Head. I was on duty at the end of the day and went over to see what all the fuss was about, when the Mother stormed towards me and aimed a swing at my face, saying "And I owe you one too, from September you f*****g b*****d". This was a reference to my having called the Mother into school and told her that her son's behaviour was unacceptable. Fortunately, she was short and I am very tall, hence, I rolled with the punch and it was just a glancing blow. My response to her was "Is that a snap judgement, or a considered opinion?". The comment was completely wasted on her, but the PC who subsequently took the statements thought the Magistrate would love the comment! In the event, although we all trooped into court, they both pleaded guilty at the last minute. She was sentenced to four months. The report is here:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/oct/11/education.educationnews

 

 I always used to make a point of emphasising to 'lairy' Fathers that it didn't matter how much they shouted, they weren't going to intimidate me. It generally worked....eventually!  :-)  On another ocassion a parent was bending my ear on the 'phone whilst driving his HGV. I'm surprised he didn't go off the road. Eventually, after i had put him right on a few points, he ended up telling me that his estranged wife who was a 'right b**ch', accorrding to him, never told him all the facts. I do miss the cut and thrust of being a Head of Year. It was the hardest I have ever worked in my life, but was the best job I ever had.

Edited October 23, 2015 by Steve Williams

[Tony_S]

We have had a fairly lazy day. I think Aditi found yesterday quite emotional. She had taken in lots of snacks and cakes for staff at lunchtime and as mentioned adjourned to a pub with those who like a drink later on. Her colleagues certainly seemed to like her. I knew some of them anyway from years ago! Aditi's first task today was a lunchtime appointment with the diabetic nurse. All good news and she is to carry on with her new medication as it seems to be working without some common side effects. Then we drove to Dunton for the Fiesta's MOT. It failed!

The college parking permits in the lower right hand corner of the windscreen were deemed to be in some now forbidden area. We said to tear them off. It passed the retest. They then washed it, and kept us supplied with coffee.

Aditi wanted to go for lunch at a pub she goes to with a friend but it would have been too late for food so we tried a pub I have driven past for 40 years on the Southend Arterial but never visited. I think it used to rely on the day trip coach trade but the fish and chips were nice, better than the local chip shop!

Matthew got his all important burger number (something like that anyway) so he now has been able to unlock his Dutch bank account and buy a phone.

Tony

[Smiffy2]

I agree, Steve, being a HoY had many, many good things about it.

 

Until pastoral care was completely sidelined by Charles Clarke's new management structures.

 

Deleted that bit - not nice comments...

Edited October 24, 2015 by Smiffy2

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. I had thoughts of becoming a teacher during my latter days at school but my English grades weren't good enough, jobs were very easy to come by in 1964 anyway so I wasn't all that peturbed. I did find that during my career that I was a 'people person' which smoothed the way very well and often diluted trouble before things got out of hand. Though on some occaisions similar to those above I have told some people to 'go forth and multply' including a union branch secretary. On that occaision I knew very well that I was in the right and being also a rep of the same union (but a different branch) the senior official of the union who had to deal with his complaint knew both of us and when the circumstances were explaned to him he tore the branch secretary off a strip.   

[Simon G]

Sensible precaution Simon!

If the conversion works, could you point me to the thread because I believe I still have a couple of insulfrogs which might convert and save some funds?

Thank you,

Kind regards,

Jock.

Will do Jock. I am working on a test conversion on an old Peco point before I try it on a decent one. Should be ready to test sometime over the weekend.

[Simon G]

Are some people simply born bad?

A now deceased headmaster, who got me into rugby training for kids a while back, used to say that there were no bad kids, just bad parents. He would always go the extra mile by picking up some kids from their homes to take to training or matches, when their parents weren't interested or couldn't be bothered.