Beau Peep Notice Board
Beau Peep Notice Board => Outpourings => Topic started by: Redundant on November 13, 2016, 12:24:40 PM
-
...a marching band still sets my feet tapping. At our local remembrance service this morning, I don't do the parade thing, more a casual stroll, but the music still stirs the blood. Delightfully I saw several "ticktocks" marching along, a ticktock is someone who swings their left arm with their left step and right arm with their right step, here's an example, watch the young Marine cadet front left of this little group. It was a nice service and it was good to see so many people turned out, my diminished faith in mankind was briefly restored.
https://youtu.be/TAyALotznk4
-
Excellent. Might never be a drummer though !
I don't know if I had my faith restored or tried at the weekend, Red. I was sitting in the local Subway...the sandwich shop, not the train station...when a young lad in neatly pressed school uniform came in. Very polite, quietly spoken and articulate he was. Young girl (20ish?) behind the counter misheard him and started making up the wrong sandwich. Young chap told her politely and apologised if he had been misheard. Serving girly went in a wee mood and was not the most pleasant to him. Young chap got his correct sandwich, apologised again for any inconvenience and left
Upon the Buttcheeks leaving, the conversation went thus:
GIRL..."Pain in the arse, eh? Annoys me when kids get it wrong"
ME....."You got it wrong hen. I heard him order"
GIRL..."Nah, that's why he apologised, cos he got it wrong"
ME....."No, he apologised because he's been well brought up"
GIRL....derisory snort.
So why do I tell this? Well when I saw him come in, I suspected he was collecting for Poppy Day. It was just after 9am, he was out pressed and dressed, it was a special day and so it seemed logical to me. No surprise when we saw him collecting outside the local supermarket shortly after. Big surprise when we saw him there a full 5 hrs later!
The moral of my story?
I have the deepest respect for youth. They get bad press for a minority of them, but in general, they're a good bunch. Some of them are exceptionally good. It seems to have got me this year in particular. Because I lost my father? Don't know. But when I saw the young chap 5 hrs later, calling it a day and meeting up with some other cadets, I could honestly feel myself filling up with pride. Pride that some youth know and understand just what a special thing a poppy represents, and the sacrifices that people, not much older than them, made for all our freedoms. I'm a good few quid lighter this year, and delighted to be so.
I wonder if Subway girl spared a thought. I suspect not.
-
Subway girl was probably having a bad day. We all do at times. Besides, she has no choice but to work for a crap wage in Subway. That should also be taken into consideration.
-
There are always choices. You can even choose to smile through a poorly paid job, on the grounds that it not only makes your customer's experience better, but your own. And you have a job - many don't.
Yes, we all have bad days, and I'm lucky enough to work in a profession where people rarely see me when I'm not focussed on the job. But I'd like to think I'd be able to hide my bad days from people who have contributed nothing to the reason I feel like crap. And it may be corny, but the kindness and smiles of other people can actually help lift the gloom - best way to get a smile is to give one.
I found Sandy's post uplifting, and positive. And I agree that the vast majority of young people are still good and deserving of respect. Even Subway girl, I'm sure. But she didn't prove it on this occasion.
-
Nice post Sandy. I'm heading out shortly to collect poppy boxes and collection boxes I delivered a few weeks ago, and every place I visit makes me feel better about humanity. I've stood at tables humbled by the generosity people show, and laughed and joked with many of them. At one supermarket I took over from a lady who, shall we say is in her more mature years. She had moved the poppy table from inside the store to the outside, "catch more people outside" was her answer when I asked. So I stayed outside too, and froze, and admittedly muttered the occasional curse or two about how clever an idea it was. ;D
-
You can even choose to smile through a poorly paid job, on the grounds that it not only makes your customer's experience better, but your own.
I do agree, and certainly in this case. But customers should also be forgiving of the occasional lapse when things are tough. I was not particularly disagreeing with anything in Sandy's post, just adding that there might be more to the situation.
And I agree that the vast majority of young people are still good and deserving of respect.
. . . provided they don't get the idea that they can make huge life-changing decisions? 8)
-
But customers should also be forgiving of the occasional lapse when things are tough.
But customers should also be forgiven for the occasional lapse, when they snap at a sullen Subway girl, because there are times when everyone has it tough.
. . . provided they don't get the idea that they can make huge life-changing decisions? 8)
Oh, I so want to be there the first time your child packs a duffel bag with her favourite teddy bear and tells you she's leaving home. My eldest was four.
-
Oh, I so want to be there the first time your child packs a duffel bag with her favourite teddy bear and tells you she's leaving home.
Right up to the point where the child says, "Okay, I'll give you one more chance!" and unpacks again?
-
Once again a thread has been hijacked!!! But for the record I started running away from home when I was ten, and didn't really stop until I got a bedsit just before I turned fourteen. My favourite place was the harbour [plenty of boats in those days] but the police got wise to that, lorries, vans, cars [no alarms in those days], sheds...there was no end to my ingenuity. No teddy bears for me though, just books. [In hindsight a blanket might have been wiser].
-
Oh, I so want to be there the first time your child packs a duffel bag with her favourite teddy bear and tells you she's leaving home.
Right up to the point where the child says, "Okay, I'll give you one more chance!" and unpacks again?
Trust me - it won't happen without significant bribes...and that's just the start.
-
Once again a thread has been hijacked!!! But for the record I started running away from home when I was ten, and didn't really stop until I got a bedsit just before I turned fourteen. My favourite place was the harbour [plenty of boats in those days] but the police got wise to that, lorries, vans, cars [no alarms in those days], sheds...there was no end to my ingenuity. No teddy bears for me though, just books. [In hindsight a blanket might have been wiser].
It's a hard life when all you have is a book to hug. Sounds like you should be writing one, Red.
-
Trust me - it won't happen without significant bribes...and that's just the start.
We won't accept the bribes, only good behaviour. :)
-
Alternate realities are fun, aren't they?
-
It's a hard life when all you have is a book to hug. Sounds like you should be writing one, Red.
Again, with hindsight the book(s) were a dumb idea but I was addicted to reading, although in a dark shed that was not really achievable, but on a boat with the harbour lights... That's how I used to get caught so many times on boats, I'd sit on the upper deck just so I could read, and get so lost I rarely spotted the coppers until they were standing right next to me. Books were my escape from the reality I was in, fortunately most of the time that's no longer a need, more of a pleasure I hope I never lose.
-
Books were my escape from the reality I was in, fortunately most of the time that's no longer a need, more of a pleasure I hope I never lose.
Oh, Red, that was a huge life-changing decision to make at the age of ten. Mind you, it seems you managed to educate yourself exceptionally well, and all without the intervention of teachers. :)
-
Dog...bone....... ..0
-
I bet you say that to everyone you lose an argument with. ;D
-
Something else I must have missed.
-
Oh, Red, that was a huge life-changing decision to make at the age of ten. Mind you, it seems you managed to educate yourself exceptionally well, and all without the intervention of teachers. :)
Nice try for a steal Mince but actually I was inspired by at least two teachers, even though my stay in full time education was both haphazard and brief. Living up to what they both gave me has been and remains a part of my personality, and though I have imagined both of them shaking their heads in despair occasionally, I have never imagined either ever giving up on me.
-
Some remarkable and hugely enjoyable stuff from Red and Sandy on this thread. (Red, I agree with Tarks that you have a book in you somewhere!)
A few distractions have meant that I haven't contributed as much as I'd have liked recently, and I really, really, REALLY don't want to go over the education debate again, but I found myself nodding in agreement with Red's last post. I had at least three teachers who shaped my career and, therefore, my life. As a teenager, I wrote all sorts of daft short stories. I showed one of them to my English teacher at the time and he gave me nothing but encouragement. He asked me to pass on everything I wrote, which he would read in his spare time before offering me advice and giving me a belief that I could possibly make a living from my writing. Obviously, he had absolutely no need to spend his evenings wading through my juvenile ramblings...but he did. I will be forever grateful.
Look, I personally don't care if people choose to educate their children at school, at home or at a Moonies' Summer camp. I just want to say that there were some great teachers around and, I'm sure, there still are.
-
Obviously, he had absolutely no need to spend his evenings wading through my juvenile ramblings...but he did. I will be forever grateful.
But you could argue that this merely makes him a great person, irrespective of whether he was a teacher. He could just as easily have been a family friend, or librarian, or scout leader, or a member of a creative writing group, or a neighbour who enjoyed writing. I dare say if you had been locked up in a prison instead of a school, there would have been a friendly prison guard who liked your writing. I'm not belittling what he did for you, just questioning whether you had to go to school for it to happen.
-
[. . . to be reposted . . .]
-
[. . . to be reposted . . .]
Is this thread also about to be removed! (*coat*)
-
How would you like to be an admin, Egg?
-
How would you like to be an admin, Egg?
I think that's a threat.
-
;D
-
But you could argue that this merely makes him a great person, irrespective of whether he was a teacher. He could just as easily have been a family friend, or librarian, or scout leader, or a member of a creative writing group, or a neighbour who enjoyed writing. I dare say if you had been locked up in a prison instead of a school, there would have been a friendly prison guard who liked your writing. I'm not belittling what he did for you, just questioning whether you had to go to school for it to happen.
To be honest I think the point you make is...pointless. Of course these people were great people [one of my inspirations was also an English teacher] and they were teachers, so what? You argued I had educated myself without the intervention of teachers, and I simply corrected you, in fact the good part of me [which includes the educated part] probably has more to do with those two gentlemen than any other individuals I can think of. Nothing in any of that has anything to do with a particular form of education, public, private, home schooling et al.
Like most parents, before you, with you and after you, you are making decisions you think are best for your children, based on whatever data is available, and like most parents you won't actually know if you were right or wrong until it's too late. Even if you get it right, all of the time, every decision, something can still come along and mess it all up, you just hope it doesn't.
You do your best, you try your hardest, you never stop telling them you love them, all the rest is wait and see. On a personal note, if I got to pick a dad [instead of the way it normally works] you'd get my vote.
-
It's a hard life when all you have is a book to hug. Sounds like you should be writing one, Red.
Some remarkable and hugely enjoyable stuff from Red and Sandy on this thread. (Red, I agree with Tarks that you have a book in you somewhere!)
I thank you both for that, there are at least half a dozen First Chapters in existence, so maybe one day I'll amalgamate that lot and get on with the next chapter :)
Sorry, it struck me that I'd like to add to this slightly, in that I think if I ever did write a book I'd rather do a Robert Noonan. Using the pen name Robert Tressell he wrote one of the greatest social commentaries I have ever read, "The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists", but died before it was published in 1914. On that basis mine should be finished when I'm 183... If you haven't read "The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists" please, please, please do at some point.
-
Obviously, he had absolutely no need to spend his evenings wading through my juvenile ramblings...but he did. I will be forever grateful.
But you could argue that this merely makes him a great person, irrespective of whether he was a teacher. He could just as easily have been a family friend, or librarian, or scout leader, or a member of a creative writing group, or a neighbour who enjoyed writing. I dare say if you had been locked up in a prison instead of a school, there would have been a friendly prison guard who liked your writing. I'm not belittling what he did for you, just questioning whether you had to go to school for it to happen.
Here is pretty much what I said in my earlier deleted post, minus a few personal details I was asked to edit, and was happy to do so. Their removal in no way affects what I wanted to say...
Okay, last word on this from me.
Mincey, you will do what you will do, and I wish you well with whatever you decide on the home-schooling front.
This is the bit that doesn't seem to get through to you though. It is absolutely NOT necessary for you to grind the current education system, schools and teachers into the dust in order to justify your decision (and it is your decision, not your children’s) to go for home schooling. Whilst some of us have tried to put forward our own perspective and opinions about the pros and cons as we see it, I don't recall seeing anyone trying to paint home schooling in the same light you appear to be determined to paint schools and teachers; as being a complete waste of space and time. That may have been your experience, and I'm sure you are not unique in that, but as you've read from many of us here, it is certainly not the experience of us all. Some of us look back fondly to our school days, and recognise their value, both educationally, socially and emotionally, and are more than happy to credit them with helping to shape the good side of who we are today.
You don't need to try and convince us we're deluded, looking through rose-coloured glasses, or that we'd have been infinitely better had we been taught by our parents at home. We don't need to hear that, but you seem to need to reinforce it in order to justify your choice. You don't need to do that. Some of us liked our schools, our teachers, and the friends we made at school, many of them for life.
And some of us may have had close connections with schools beyond our own schooling. We may even have been teachers ourselves, had kids who have been through the education system, served on school boards, or even have children who have gone on to become teachers themselves, and who value their profession greatly. I fit three out of those four categories. Your persistence in trying to rubbish what connects all of that, taints all of that.
By all means, go for home schooling. You're certainly smart enough and qualified to do so. And any children you have may even be smart enough to do it all by themselves, who knows? Good luck!
But this is one occasion where you don’t need to destroy in order to build.
Now, give it a rest, please.
-
Roger said: I really, really, REALLY don't want to go over the education debate again and then he said: but, which means he is going to say something that has something to do with the education debate. He said: I found myself nodding in agreement with Red's last post. I had at least three teachers who shaped my career and, therefore, my life. Now you can't get clearer than that. 1. He's adding to the debate and 2. he's stating that these people shaped his career because they were teachers.
If you are locked up for 35 hours a week with teachers as the only great adults that you can meet, then of course if some great adult shapes your life (other than your parents), it's highly likely to be a teacher. That's just basic statistics.
That was my point: you don't need to attend school to meet these great people. So how stating that there are great people who are teachers and great people who are not is to "grind the current education system, schools and teachers into the dust" baffles me.
As for this "last word on this from me" and "give it a rest", the correct school parlance is "no returns" or "no backsies". If you no longer wish to indulge in a debate (and that's always fair enough, especially given that I often debate doggedly, sarcastically, even irreverently), simply not posting works a treat. But surely it's intellectually unsporting to state that you "really, really" no longer wish to indulge and still throw in an obvious rebuttal, or to add way more than your two-pennies worth without intending to hear the other side.
-
On a personal note, if I got to pick a dad [instead of the way it normally works] you'd get my vote.
Thank you for that. I hope any children I have feel the same way. But they'll probably find me tiresome. :)
-
Roger said: I really, really, REALLY don't want to go over the education debate again and then he said: but, which means he is going to say something that has something to do with the education debate. He said: I found myself nodding in agreement with Red's last post. I had at least three teachers who shaped my career and, therefore, my life. Now you can't get clearer than that. 1. He's adding to the debate and 2. he's stating that these people shaped his career because they were teachers.
If you are locked up for 35 hours a week with teachers as the only great adults that you can meet, then of course if some great adult shapes your life (other than your parents), it's highly likely to be a teacher. That's just basic statistics.
That was my point: you don't need to attend school to meet these great people. So how stating that there are great people who are teachers and great people who are not is to "grind the current education system, schools and teachers into the dust" baffles me.
As for this "last word on this from me" and "give it a rest", the correct school parlance is "no returns" or "no backsies". If you no longer wish to indulge in a debate (and that's always fair enough, especially given that I often debate doggedly, sarcastically, even irreverently), simply not posting works a treat. But surely it's intellectually unsporting to state that you "really, really" no longer wish to indulge and still throw in an obvious rebuttal, or to add way more than your two-pennies worth without intending to hear the other side.
You appear to be morphing Roger and me into one entity, or confusing which of us said what. Either that, or you now feel you're under some sort of pincer attack. Neither is the truth. You also seem to be conveniently ignoring everything else you've ever posted about this, stretching back further than your last reply to Roger, which is certainly what my own response alluded to, and not simply that one post.
And before I'm picked up on my declaration that my last post would be my last word, that would be in relation to the home-schooling versus evil schools debate, and not, as is the case here, your dogged, sarcastic and irreverent debating style. To which I'm tempted to add 'deeply flawed', in light of the above. But I shall restrain myself, for fear of provoking further evidence of same.
But do feel free to continue arguing with yourself. ;D
-
;D
-
I surrender.
-
I'm starting to wonder whether Dennis is looking up at a very small flying nomad, or whether the nomad is in the background and Dennis is looking up at something else.
-
I surrender.
I'll wave your white flag.
Terrible weather for the time of year, eh?
-
If you can't stop them stealing your topic...join them. I was looking up at Orion tonight, of course I didn't know it was Orion at the time, but I identified it by spotting three stars in a short straight row, and then hit Google when I came inside. Apparently those three stars are called the belt stars [Orion's Belt...who knew?], also known as the Three Kings or The Three Sisters. They even have names, "Alnitak", "Alnilam" and "Colin". I then went back outside and tried to spot the rest of the constellation, but the sky wasn't having any of it, I shall have to try again. The adventure that is my life, continues.
...but I found myself nodding in agreement with Red's last post.
That might not have been agreement Roger, it might have just been time for your nap...
-
If you can't stop them stealing your topic...join them. I was looking up at Orion tonight
Join them? That's quite a tenuous segue from Dennis looking up. I guess I'll have to do the same.
I was wondering this morning whether to just throw on a washed but crumpled t-shirt Orion it first.
-
I was wondering this morning whether to just throw on a washed but crumpled t-shirt Orion it first.
Okay, I'm sorry but that is terrible, just terrible, I beg you, please, please leave the puns to the professionals [Sandy]. My star gazing is clearly in its infancy, let me at least enjoy the first flush of undiscovered territory before you litter it with, terrible, just terrible [did I mention terrible?] comments of such [terrible] ilk.
-
I used to stargaze too, Red. On semi cloudy nights, you can get a better view of the stars if you take a shot of Senokot.
It always helped move my constellation.
-
Played havoc with my planetoids though Sandy.
-
Strange rings around Uranus?