General Chat

'food day' Paula? I've just eaten one of the coffee muffins which PC baked yesterday. Does that count? :-D

Unless we have large families, we only tend to gather together for Matches and Despatches. It will be good for you to share memories with other friends in a less formal setting <3

Wooden spoon and saucepan time for OH - he should have caught up with his sleep by now (evil chuckle)

Coffee muffins sound good DET. I am just going to have some lunch, not sure what at the moment, I will have to look for inspiration

Evening everyone.

DET, I don't have a relative of any description, gender or otherwise whose name begins with O. I didn't realise you were on fb :-)

Work is extremely miserable at the moment. The Project Team and my HR friend went to the pub for their 'job club' meeting. My line manager and the CEO's executive assistant are taking on HR matters temporarily, as well as whatever else she volunteers for >>>>>>>> 'I'll be happy to do this, I'll be happy to do that', creating a good impression for herself and then delegating it all to us. 'Oooh, she's brilliant, isn't she ' -P :-P :-P

Some of the so called vacancies have been put on hold, so are there are now fewer. I think maybe about 5 or six out of those at risk may be lucky enough to get one of the new positions. Two people at risk have already found other jobs.

Our line manager in all her wisdom says the atmosphere is going to get worse over the next couple of weeks before it gets better. Well would you believe it!! Who would have imagined that :-D :-D :-D

Paula, hope you are feeling more cheerful this evening. Definitely not nice events, but it will be nice for you to meet up with your friends again in the future.

Hope Maz is having a good time in the IOW :-D :-D

Bet the littlies are running rings round LG. Poor lass always has something on her plate to keep her busy :-(

Me and FB? Lol – well, sort of so that we could see photos Eldest posted when they were overseas. Don’t post on it regularly since I’m concerned about security. PC has tightened it up as far as she can, but there are concerns that ‘friends’ could provide a backdoor as it were.

With LG’s additional house guests, she’s probably too busy to mess around on the internet, although she did say a few days ago that she was having trouble with connections.

Finger’s well and truly crossed for your ‘At Risk’ friends and colleagues. The Line Manager is probably trying to look good in case she gets considered for the next round of cuts.

BM’s partner has been given notice redundancy today with effect 6 July, which we only found out about via FB. They are probably in shock as it wasn’t expected. :-( :-(

The Queen has lost her Throne! Out with the red and white, in with something more soothing on the eye ;-) :-D

(If that doesn't bring her out of hiding, nothing will :-D )

Good morning - what a grey day. Off to Sains later. As we don't have to cater for PC this evening, OH may be open to purchasing a meal.

Good afternoon every one. I am feeling much brighter today, life must go on, but I still think about my lovely friend and can't believe she has left us. I and have done some household chores and a bit of baking. YG Your line manager sounds just like someone I used to work with years ago. She always blatantly took the credit for work she had not made much contribution to. My OH and his colleagues had their redundancy letters last week and last night he said the atmosphere is so much better now, they are all just waiting to go now. I hope things will be sorted for you and your colleagues soon, incidentally they have asked OH if he would consider staying on a little longer if they need his help. DET I hope you have a good day out, enjoy your lunch.

Evening to those of us who are around!! :-D :-D

DET, I am on fb, but I have it set for friends only and some of the settings within my profile are unchecked as well. I never post photos or details of family, in fact, I rarely post, just using it to play games and keep the brain ticking over!!

There is a really good job going just half a mile from where I live. It's a receptionist job at the local veterinary hospital where I take fur. 25 hrs a week including Sat mornings. Not sure whether I could handle the 'bad' side of it when a client loses a pet and also whether I can reduce my income from 35 to 25 hours. Mmmmm, food for thought for the evening :-) :-)

Morning all -

Glad to hear you were feeling more 'normal' yesterday Paula. There's nothing like a spot of baking to raise the spirits.

YG - go for the job! You've nothing to lose and everything to gain! *If* you were offered it, you could always turn it down if the money doesn't add up.

Work work this afternoon, but only for an hour and a bit. In the meantime, the ironing molehill has suddenly evolved into a mountain and needs to be nibbled at.

Do you think LG will pop her head onto the thread today? Has anyone heard from her in the last few days?

Good morning DET and everyone else. YG - Why not go for the job, you have nothing to lose. I awoke to a lovely cup of tea (thank you OH) with the sun streaming through the windows, I have a few chores today and will probably go in to garden for a while. I always ring my old neighbour (or she rings me) on Thursday mornings, the call can last ten mins or an hour +. No cooking/baking today, we are out to dinner this evening. <3 I love this sunshine, fingers crossed it is here to stay :-D

Sun? What’s that? We’re stuck under the southern UK blanket of cloud – at least it is supposed to be a bit warmer.

Enjoy your chin-wag, and this evening’s meal. Have you checked what time Sain’s closes? ;-)

LOL DET. I am so sorry you are not getting he sun, I will refrain from boasting about it for the time being. It is OHs choice where we eat tonight, so don't think it will be Sains. My old neighbour does most of the talking bless her, fortunately I am a good listener. :-D :-D

Evening all.

Not heard anything from our beloved Majesty. She must be really busy getting everything done. I think today was the day for the move, so hopefully she will be back very soon. :-) :-)

Enjoy your meal out tonight, Paula. :-) :-)

I hope work wasn't too taxing today, DET. At least whilst the youngsters are doing exams, at least they are quiet!! :-D :-D

After googling average pay rates for the job, I have decided not to apply. I can't really afford to cut hours and hourly rate as well. I am going to stick it out and see how things change with the onset of all the new directors and 'Heads of >>>>>>. If I can handle it for another 15 or 16 months, then I might consider trying to cut the hours where I am now.

My friend has an interview on Tuesday so everything is crossed for her. They have said some very shallow, hurtful things to her and knocked her confidence terribly, so we are all wishing her the best of luck. The company might be good with clients but they do not know how to treat their staff >>>>>>>>> FACT :-( :-( :-(

Fingers crossed for your friend YG. Tell her that they must think she has something going for her, to even offer her an interview!

Students well behaved with only 28 to supervise. Such a pity that one of them had a moblie phone in his pocket. If he hadn't started to play with the headphone leads during the exam, I wouldn't have noticed. Now he is disqualified :-0 :-0

BM's partner is being made redundant as of 6 July as the owners are closing the private school. Apparently as she is still 'on probation' she won't get paid for the holidays. She's already talked to the Union, and one of the parents, a top London Lawyer, is giving free advice. There is something 'funny' going on with the way the school closure is being handled.

Het DET..I've been nebbing on one of the Threads you have contributed to..quote "don't rely on spellings being consistant".......consistant ??? tut tut.

Derek xx

Tut, tut, DET!! You had better run, Derek.. Go and hide in your archives, double quick!! :-D :-D :-D

Where's that sledge hammer? Derek - it just goes to prove the point, doesn't it? :-D :-P

Just a quick peek before off to toil. Have a good day.

DET. Typos are a pain! We had a great night at a gastro pub, I had fresh pasta parcels with four cheeses yummy, K had Rib-eye steak which he demolished. Friends both had chicken smothered in cheese tomato sauce., it all seemed to disappear very rapidly. I was a good girl and resisted the puddings. Just a few chores then shopping delivered by Sains. Have a good day everyone ;-) <3

Sounds good Paula. I think I might have gone to for the chicken as well. The last time I had ravioli as a main, it wasn’t at all filling. May be your ‘parcels’ were larger. Not really keen on restaurant deserts – they often disappoint. As OH has to watch his sugar intake, we frequently go for a starter instead.

Using yesterday’s phone debacle as an example to today’s students, all of a sudden 4 phones were handed in. Strange that!

Puddings looked good, I am just not a pudding person. Perhaps I am old fashioned and behind the times but I can not understand why mobile phones are allowed into class rooms let alone into exam situations. How on earth did we manage to live without them? When I used to invigilate mobile phones where not allowed in exams, and all students were made aware they would be confiscated. Sounds like this example served as a good lesson.

Oh, they’re still not allowed ‘On their person’ in the exam room, but phones are an extension of the student’s arm and to be honest, sometimes they forget they’ve got them in their pockets. We insist that they are left in hags in the cloakroom, or those handed over later, taken there to be collected.

There’s a long list we have to remember to ask them to check for
Mobile phones
Iphones
Ipods
MGP? Players or similar
Android/Smart watches – they’re new things that communicate with a laptop or Ipad.
We could say ‘Any Electronic recording or Wireless device’, but half of them wouldn’t understand!
If one is discovered during the course of the Exam, we all have to write it up which is then submitted to the Exam Board. They are usually disqualified for that exam, and potentially all exams in that block of sessions.

I used to do the same at a Grammar School – they were telling us to look out for ‘ear-wigs’ where someone outside the room/building could be telling the students the answers. Parents can be very competitive!

Ours is a ‘semi-rural’ school with many students bussed in. It’s recognised that mobiles are needed in case they miss the coach home. If they go off in a class room, then they are confiscated…not sure how long for though.