Early Risers.

[roundhouse]

morning form a damp London although its not been raining since I got up.

 

Bus was not shown no the online departure board so we started walking. The bus went past us.

 

Got to the station knowing that our London Bridge train is now not running due to the drivers overtime ban. Nor is the previous one (and the one that used ot run in between was withdrawn a few years ago with the LBG rebuilding).

 

So we waited for the Thameslink. However as the preceding Victoria train was late the Thameslink was rerouted into the platform across the island. That meant we were last getting ot there and last on. Stood all the way for 40 minutes in sweaty train.

 

So looks like we will be doing the same on non strike days for the foreseeable future.

 

At least tonight we wont be on Southern as we are heading North.

[The Stationmaster]

Hello from a bright and breezy Somerset.

 

Despite the best efforts of the white van man yesterday, I managed not to take delivery of a giant box containing a 'dog cage'. He looked at me and said "Heather Watson?" and I thought - not unless I have had a very serious overnight operation.

 

I said "I don't have a dog", and I have not ordered a giant cage. But he seemed very keen to get me to sign for it and shoved a hand-held machine into my hands.

 

He looked at the house number 5 on my front door and said "number 4?".

 

No.  I gave him the signing machine back.

 

So, he had to man-handle the giant box back down the drive across the road and down the street, and I was left none the wiser really.

 

There seem to be a lot of delivery drivers around trying that sort of trick at present, we had one last week with tow large packages for a house up the road; he went away with his tail between his legs after a few words from me.

Edited December 9, 2016 by The Stationmaster

[trisonic]

There seem to be a lot of delivery drivers around trying that sort of trick at present, we had one last week with tow large packages for a house up the road; he went away with his tail between his legs after a few words from me.

 

I had a friend in the music business (no names, etc) who was obviously related to Mrs. Malaprop. He would have sent the driver off with “his legs between his legs - in fact, he was in an awkward shaped boat”.....

 

Best, Pete.

Edited December 9, 2016 by trisonic

[jamie92208]

Actually they always have been for a small number, What there has been, is an offer from the the public schools that if the government pay them the £5,200 per pupil paid to state schools for their education, the Public schools will make it up to the average £12,350 cost of a public school place, for 10,000 pupils.

 

This is a counter to those who claim public schools should lose their charity status, meaning they would pay taxes on their income. Those who propose that neatly avoid the fact it saves the government the cost of £5,200 per pupil currently educated privately, rather than if they educated at the state purses expence.

 

Note,

To those about our strange use of Public School title, it comes from the days when you were educated (if at all) at home in Private, So when the first Schools were opened to the public, any member of the public with the money, could and still  do send their children there.

Many of these schools have over the years received donations for, or made provision for, a small number exceptional pupils from the state sector to attend the public school.

 

I grew up in the Yorkshire village of Giggleswick.  What was a local church based grammar school from the 15th century became what is known as a public school and was based in the village.  The West Riding County Council used Giggleswick, plus Sedburgh, Ermysteads (Skipton), and Stoneyhurst (I also think they used Ampleforth) to provide rural grammar schools and negotiated a cut rate for those of us who passed their 11 plus to attend as day boys.   Ermysteads also had weekly boarders who came down by train from places like Dent.   IIRC it cost the council £300 per year to send me to Giggleswick and I gained a good education on the rates.  I hated the culture of the school but valued the teaching. For girls they had  several Girls Grammar schools in various towns. Sadly all this system vanished with political changes in the 70's but it was a very cost effective way of providing a good education in the far flung reaches of the county.   I wonder if this new scheme will cater for day boys as well as boarders.

 

Jamie

[Killybegs]

Three schools in Bristol had the same arrangement. Queen Elizabeth's Hospital, The Cathedral School and Bristol Grammar School. I went to the latter having somehow, to everyone's surprise, done well in the 11+. I think either 20% or 40% of the intake were on scholarships, the rest were fee paying. In the first year, we were segregated accordingly, then 80% were streamed from the second year based on academic performance, while the other 20% who had chosen Classics had their own form. I was never a great pupil and never fulfilled my early promise!

[TheQ]

I believe the deal is for day teaching not boarding.

Oddly one of my old state secondary schools, apart from being academied, now has boarding accomodation attached so that pupils whose family are military and therefore moving around a lot can leave their children and not interupt their schooling.

I went to 2 state Primary schools and 3 state Secondary Schools in Limavady district, Wiltshire, South Uist and Inverness....

I failed the 11+ due to my hand writing, the first school, taught copper plate hand writing, the second school taught straight up and down hand writing, and ever since my handwriting wanders around between the two...

 

My average Open university marks went up by 15% when I got my first computer and printer....

Edited December 9, 2016 by TheQ

[southern42]

' Morning all from red dragon land.

 

Wet.

 

Shopping done.

Cuppa had.

Lunch shortly.

 

ER...I think that's it.

Ooops!  No!  More Christmas cards to write....

 

I may be away sometime....  

[jonny777]

There seem to be a lot of delivery drivers around trying that sort of trick at present, we had one last week with tow large packages for a house up the road; he went away with his tail between his legs after a few words from me.

 

I wonder if it anything to do with racing around the deliveries as quickly as possible and therefore getting more done per day, and earning slightly more of a pittance than normal?

 

Or maybe they are being pressurised by the companies?

[jonny777]

If the driver was counting the houses on our side, and believed they were 'even' (in error); he still would have got it wrong as we are 5, and the other two are 1 and 3 as you would expect. Therefore if he thought we were the 'even' side of the road, he had still come to number 6 instead of 4.

[The Stationmaster]

Or he made a genuine error

 

The house number on our gate pier is carved into a block of solid slate in gilded numerals about 6 inches high (mind you he did seem to be of 'foreign' origin so might not be familiar with numerals in the Arabic style).

[Tony_S]

Or he made a genuine error

Some of the couriers we get from the east London depots are not fluent English speakers. I would assume they wanted me to take the parcel in for a neighbour who was out. I have keys to many of the neghbours so if something like a bathroom suite or cement mixer turns up,I can at least put it in their garage! The bathroom was by arrangement as it was COD and I was given a very large sum of cash to hand over.

Tony

[Tony_S]

These sums of £5000+ are not going materialise from a magic money tree. They will come from the existing education budget. Taking those who are likely to score highly in exams will lower the average in the core school population leading to greater denigration of the state system. A bit like the creeping privatisation of the health services.

[Horsetan]

Actually they always have been for a small number, What there has been, is an offer from the the public schools that if the government pay them the £5,200 per pupil paid to state schools for their education, the Public schools will make it up to the average £12,350 cost of a public school place, for 10,000 pupils.

 

This is a counter to those who claim public schools should lose their charity status, meaning they would pay taxes on their income. Those who propose that neatly avoid the fact it saves the government the cost of £5,200 per pupil currently educated privately, rather than if they educated at the state purses expence.

 

Note,

To those who don't know about our strange use of Public School title, it comes from the days when you were educated (if at all) at home in Private, So when the first Schools were opened to the public, any member of the public with the money, could and still  do send their children there.

Many of these schools have over the years received donations for, or made provision for, a small number exceptional pupils from the state sector to attend the public school.

 

 

I grew up in the Yorkshire village of Giggleswick.  What was a local church based grammar school from the 15th century became what is known as a public school and was based in the village.  The West Riding County Council used Giggleswick, plus Sedburgh, Ermysteads (Skipton), and Stoneyhurst (I also think they used Ampleforth) to provide rural grammar schools and negotiated a cut rate for those of us who passed their 11 plus to attend as day boys.   Ermysteads also had weekly boarders who came down by train from places like Dent.   IIRC it cost the council £300 per year to send me to Giggleswick and I gained a good education on the rates.  I hated the culture of the school but valued the teaching. For girls they had  several Girls Grammar schools in various towns. Sadly all this system vanished with political changes in the 70's but it was a very cost effective way of providing a good education in the far flung reaches of the county.   I wonder if this new scheme will cater for day boys as well as boarders.

 

Jamie

 

 

Three schools in Bristol had the same arrangement. Queen Elizabeth's Hospital, The Cathedral School and Bristol Grammar School. I went to the latter having somehow, to everyone's surprise, done well in the 11+. I think either 20% or 40% of the intake were on scholarships, the rest were fee paying. In the first year, we were segregated accordingly, then 80% were streamed from the second year based on academic performance, while the other 20% who had chosen Classics had their own form. I was never a great pupil and never fulfilled my early promise!

 

 

These sums of £5000+ are not going materialise from a magic money tree. They will come from the existing education budget. Taking those who are likely to score highly in exams will lower the average in the core school population leading to greater denigration of the state system. A bit like the creeping privatisation of the health services.

 

From 1981 until 1990 I attended a public school. Back then, the Government Assisted Places Scheme was available to cover most of the cost of school fees so, in my case, my parents (who were never brilliantly paid during their working lives as state school teacher and nurse) never had to pay more than a third of the actual fee. This was a considerable financial help to them, and I received a pretty good all-round education there (though the school was not very good at dealing with problems such as racist bullying).

 

The school offered a further incentive in the form of its own in-house scholarship / Bursary scheme, but you had to pass some pretty stiff exams to qualify. I took these exams and failed them heroically, so ruined the chance of having a completely free private education.

 

It is significant that the Government Assisted Places Scheme was one of the first things to be scrapped by ZANU-Labour when they took power in 1997, thus killing educational mobility for the less well-off at a stroke and allowing ZANU-Labour to claim that private education was elitist since only the rich could afford it.

[The Lurker]

The possible advantage is that they will be afforded far more opportunities to excel than the average state school can provide, because the current drive is to push underachievers to get to the basic required level, and no time is afforded to push the bright children. Throw in the basic British disdain of intellectual and academic achievement (a societal thing, reflected in many schools),  and you create an atmosphere that positively discourages achievement. If the private schools give some kids the chance for something better, when their parents would not have been able to afford it, then I think there is something positive to be said about it.

In an ideal world we wouldn't have this conversation because society would in general value education, and learning would be valued for the sake of learning. Sadly many parents don't seem to give a toss and neither do their offspring, meaning that education and educators are undervalued.

At least that's what it feels like round our way....

[The Lurker]

And greetings from London Bridge; where the sub seems to be trying to battle past the grey clouds.

 

My cold is still present but it is a minor inconvenience; we of course await news of Bill and Tony A.

 

Younger Lurker excelled last night in his role of 5th Shepherd in the nativity. His two lines were delivered clearly and with expression. The play, written by one of the year 3 teachers, seem to weave in Russian folklore. Not quite sure how it all fitted but it was quite fun. And during Younger Lurker's practice for singing one of the songs I learned a new word. Who knows what a mudjik is, without looking it up? Or is my ignorance sadly reinforcing my argument re state education?

[edcayton]

The house number on our gate pier is carved into a block of solid slate in gilded numerals about 6 inches high (mind you he did seem to be of 'foreign' origin so might not be familiar with numerals in the Arabic style).

 

he could have been an Arab.

 

Ed

[TheQ]

These sums of £5000+ are not going materialise from a magic money tree. They will come from the existing education budget. Taking those who are likely to score highly in exams will lower the average in the core school population leading to greater denigration of the state system. A bit like the creeping privatisation of the health services.

I agree, but it would be an interesting task to try and create a system that gives such places to the children who would most benefit from it, rather than those who would do well in almost any school.

You can guarantee those parents who move houses to get their children to get their children into a good school would do whatever it takes to get their children one of those places.

 If today we still had grammar schools everywhere that's where they would be moving.

 

 Well have to be careful to avoid too much politics here, but I believe that getting rid of grammar schools was a disaster because it lowered the standard of those schools output of pupils, but did not sufficiently increase the standards of the secondary moderns I attended.

I did well at school because of having to stay in State (council) Boarding accommodation in Inverness, as the schools in the outer Hebrides were basically Carp, except for one which also had boarding accommodation. Being under the control of teachers day and night probably brings up the education level as much as going to a private school.

 

Sadly too many parents don't value education, those that do even from a poor back ground seem to get their children to do better. An example is Jade Goody I admired her for only one thing, She was as thick as two very short planks, but she knew it and made sure her children got the good education that she didn't get.

 

One set of my grand parents got all four children to grammar school, he was a ganger on the railways. The other side suffered from the problem of all military families of junior ranks, moving around a lot and no continuous education.

 

..

[edcayton]

These sums of £5000+ are not going materialise from a magic money tree. They will come from the existing education budget. Taking those who are likely to score highly in exams will lower the average in the core school population leading to greater denigration of the state system. A bit like the creeping privatisation of the health services.

 

I so nearly just ticked Agree Tony. Problem is the number of times recently I have heard of the brighter kids "helping" the less able ones. This may well raise the average, but I'm not at all sure it will help the helpers.

 

A friend of my parents was a scholarship boy at Bluecoats School. He was also a Barnado's boy, and told of the misery of his time at school due to bullying.

 

Ed

[TheQ]

 I was in the education system of the UK, not studying it  nor any other system.

I was also regularly bullied at school, a consequence of always having the wrong accent with moving around, and having a strange Christian name when all the other boys were Mathew Mark Luke John Edward etc..

 

Mudjik,  It rang a bell, but I'll admit I had to look it up it's over 40 years since I studied the Russian revolution, but you must have heard of the railway wagons the British builders supplied to pre revolution Russia.  Where they had to change the grease in the axle boxes because the poor Russian Mudjiks  peasants were eating it...

 

Arabic Numbers

٠ = 0

١ = 1

٢ = 2

٣ = 3

٤ = 4

٥ = 5

٦ = 6

٧ = 7

٨ = 8

٩ = 9

١٠ = 10

and that was about my limit in Arabic after ٦ years out there.

 

Well thats about it for my contributions for today see you all Bukra inshallah

Edited December 9, 2016 by TheQ

[Ohmisterporter]

Lancaster has separate grammar schools for boys and girls. I don't know how they avoided being converted into comprehensives but they are still going strong. My sister and both my brothers went to grammar school, as did my son and nephew. When I sat the eleven plus: have you heard the expression "With flying colours"? Well, I failed with flying colours. I genuinely cannot say that they were any happier or more successful in life than I was, but I am fairly sure I would have struggled at Grammar school; too lackadaisical appeared on school reports with some regularity. Top of the class in History though, thanks Mister Waterhouse.

 

Stay safe all. 

[bbishop]

Afternoon all.

 

Stroke club Christmas lunch Wednesday, with a couple of pints, then three trains and a minibus to the hospital.  Op first thing yesterday, collected by my sister at about midday.  I'm still a bit gloopy from the GA but have no pain in the knee and even went on a 15 minute walk this morning on the Leas, whilst my brother-in-law was shopping.  I'm uncomfortable with the positioning on my sister's pc so will sign off soon.

 

I've tried Tony A's phone numbers, without joy.  Keep well all.

 

Bill

Edited December 9, 2016 by bbishop

[Ohmisterporter]

Arabic Numbers

٠ = 0

١ = 1

٢ = 2

٣ = 3

٤ = 4

٥ = 5

٦ = 6

٧ = 7

٨ = 8

٩ = 9

١٠ = 10

 

 

If our number system is supposed to be Arabic I can't see much resemblance apart from 1 and 9. Number 0 originates from India, prior to which there was no number 0 nor any substitute for it. Where would we be without it now? Apart from anything else how would my cricket scores have been written?

[TheQ]

If our number system is supposed to be Arabic I can't see much resemblance apart from 1 and 9. Number 0 originates from India, prior to which there was no number 0 nor any substitute for it. Where would we be without it now? Apart from anything else how would my cricket scores have been written?

[Judge Dread]

 

 

 

 

 It was aircraft equipment, thus half the supply was "only" 55v - but at 400Hz. 

 

 

Been there done that. See advar. 400Hz @ 400 volts. I didn't get a shock but I caused the ends of the probes on the meter to be burnt off. 

[Ian Abel]

Glad to see POETS day, if for no other reason than I MAY get a chance for some modeling over the weekend!

 

No visible signs of stress yesterday as the "cloud provider" finally succumbed and granted the Long Island client 500GB of space for the reporting system - talk about generous

 

The evening was taken up with a "home visit" to a couple who are foster parents to rescued dogs. Jemma on her quest for a dog, and has got as far as being able to visit one she hopes will become hers. A lovely friendly little 3-year old dachshund named Honey. Meeting went very well, with Honey curling up in Jemmas lap for quite some time and seemed very happy.

The whole dog adoption process here seems very involved, I know for understandable reasons, but it means that even IF the foster couple approve of Jemma and think she's the right choice, the agency still have myriad steps/hoops to go through, and she would not be able to take possession until Dec. 30th. A long time to wait for someone who is very anxious to have  a companion. Here's hoping...

Then off to choir practice, one of the few I've been able to attend since I'm out of town so often <sigh>, prepping for the Christmas Eve service which is always a great event with significant choir presence. Since I've been in the choir over 10 years now, the choir director is allowing me to sing at Christmas even though I don't manage to get to many rehearsals.

 

The weekend sees us Saturday heading off to capture our Christmas tree, followed by getting it set up and having a celebratory (whether it's up or not) fondue dinner with Trevor and his fiancée joining us, as Jemma and the Mrs feel I shouldn't be hauling the tree around "on my own". You'd think I was 99 and poorly the way they talk

Sunday hopefully some modeling before heading out to Long Island in the evening

 

"BRISK" this morning at -10 and overcast grabbing the paper, expected to make -8 during the day then fall to -16 tonight

So far just light blowing snow in the air, but 3-5 inches forecast for tomorrow.

 

Hoping to POE, best of luck to others attempting the same.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Ian Abel