stevejp

Someone really didn’t step back and look at that before they walked away, did they?

ATL, prior to the failing to repel boarders, used lighthouse financial services - not sure whether that’s still the case, but I believe it is. My understanding was that they are there for you (not that they’re trying to sell you anything - totally altruistic, of course ) and can advise on all aspects of your finances - not just TPS. Might be worth a ‘phone call, as independent advice (which I think you need, by the way) can be costly, I believe.

My head starts to spin with anything like this, so really can’t offer any advice, per se. However, I was just wondering; are you by any chance still a member of one of the teaching unions? ( I know many people stay as members for a few years in case some evil little wotsit decides to try to make a few bob by trying to make some allegations). If so, I know they all tend to be linked with partners who provide financial advice, and they may be able to help. Hope this helps - apologies if not!

I was trying to be polite, but yeah, ok - you called it...

Wouldn’t like to guess, but definitely not cheese!

Must...resist... from... commenting... Must...resist... from... commenting... Must...resist... from... commenting...

...or if you advise the bloke whose (temporary - We hope!) home is Chequers...

Oh well, that’s a relief. I had been rather concerned, but now we’ve been reassured by the Secretary of State for housing and local government (obviously an expert in the field - after all, he must have been to school at some point) I feel so much better. any sarcasm in this post may be purely coincidental...

If they sell many of those at £14.99, any noses will be dwarfed by the laughter as they make their way to the bank - what a rip-off!

Not surprised - childbirth is (or so I am reliably informed) painful enough at the best of times!

Bloody well hope so!

I don’t think it’s the running past that they’re worried about - more the possibility of a collision?

Frustrating time for scorers in the Birmingham League - temporary league regs say that only the home scorer is allowed to score. We were away on Saturday, so I spent the whole match pacing round the boundary, interspersed with running over to the scorebox to shout the names of players through the scorebox window. Quite understand the need to keep everyone safe, and quite right that no club should be penalised for not being able to provide a scorer, but most clubs had already made provision (gazebos etc) for enabling two people to score. Oh, well - hopefully be back to (approaching) normal soon.

To state my position before replying; I’m a teacher (used to be in charge of ICT in a primary school, hence my membership on here) with an interest (but no great skill or knowledge) in the technical side. There is indeed some regular teacher bashing on here. Some of it justified (there are times when I despair of some teaching staff, including some of my own colleagues!), some quite unpleasant and unjustified, the majority, imho, born of a frustration of teachers not understanding the technical aspects and technicians not always understanding the complexities and sometimes unrelenting pressure of teaching. Agreed - and the latter an important point to bear in mind. Again, agreed - and in the long run, the people who will really lose out will be the kids - who already have lost out and still have the most to lose. This type of argument (and I completely understand the frustrations of all support staff) only serves those who don’t really value any of us, and whose purpose is served by a policy of ‘divide and conquer’ - because while we are squabbling amongst ourselves, the whole education sector suffers from ‘death by a thousand cuts’ without anyone being in a position of strength to fight it. However, when an experienced, respected (and normally mild-mannered, in my experience) contributor such as @6Foot2 is driven to comment in the way that he has, I’d suggest it behoves all of us to take note. And by the way, anyone who wants to see some real vitriolic argument between different sectors of education, head over to the TES chat rooms and spend a pleasurable (?) hour or two over there!

The trouble is, at least if my experience is anything to go by, it doesn’t just ‘all go’ - which leaves the bits that are left looking even more ridiculous if they are left to get long! Was so glad to get mine cut - much longer and I’ve have had to have bought a surfboard!

Not disputing that, but the ship is still moving - ie, the kids are still being taught.

The only thing wrong with your analogy, is that the sails still work perfectly well when the engines break down - which is the argument of many of the older generation of teachers. I use tech every day in my lessons, but would be absolutely ashamed of myself if I couldn’t teach a lesson without it.

I just have this image in my head of some poor council workman sorting through all the various signage in the back of his truck: “That one? Nah?” “How about this one? Not really suitable.” “Loose gravel? Oh well, I suppose it’s the closest one I’ve got...”

That’s at least three, now! Has your boss offered to buy a drink, recently...?

Quick, someone arrange a face-to-face meeting between him and the orange one...

In fact, you had no I deer...

Wait a minute - we’re supposed to haggle! Bert? This bloke won’t haggle...

Honestly, you lot are so common! Has to be gently sautéed with a light vinaigrette, served on a bed of salad. ... with chips!

...and not only that, they have a strong leader with genuine empathy, compassion, intelligence and common sense - so totally impossible to compare (but very easy to contrast...)

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