Bearing in mind this is at night

the policewoman was wearing dark clothing

I've been in peasoupers:

Visibility in fog is better at night. When there's lots of light around, it bounces off the fog and makes things worse. Ever driven in ordinary fog, and tried the difference between dipped headlights and full beam?

Dark objects show up better in fog than light ones. Because fog scatters the light, anything less reflective is more visible.

Science dispels myths – sorry mate

I loved the story – sounds like a great family myth, giving lots of amusement to all concerned. Harmless, and charming.

A simple Google search will reveal loads of sources about visibility in "pea-souper" fogs.

Consensus among these sources seems to be that visibility at the very, very worst was down to "a few yards". Therefore it's probably unlikely that people would be unable to see what was on the ground within pissing distance, and therefore were not likely to piss on someone.

When very young, we do tend to believe what our dads tell us, and some of us never go back to check

We are due to fly out on the 19th

It's really weird the way different Education Authorities have different dates for school holidays

Up here in Cumbria, half term doesn't start until 29th May.

our scene is very working class based

Sorry carbon – I forgot to mention the Yorkshire miners yacht club, and the Lancashire mill workers sailing club

As you say

it's actually a lot more accessible than most people think

If you've got loads of money and don't need to work

generally the butt of all jokes – always see old men with them in the marina

generally the butt of all jokes – always see jews with them in the marina

generally the butt of all jokes – always see blacks with them in the marina

generally the butt of all jokes – always see women with them in the marina

generally the butt of all jokes – always see gays with them in the marina

We have a Sadler 32 drop keel version (3'6" – 6'6")

generally the butt of all jokes – always see idle, rich, smug, white, middle class in those nautical sheds

Difficult choice!

With so much spare money and so much spare time, the world is your oyster.

I believe the coastline of Somalia is a particularly interesting area to explore.

Other rich idle people have had the experience of a lifetime there

ignore the heartless comments and callous mocking

As if I wouldn't!

how can it be brainless? for lack of information

No – for lack of understanding.

Public sector pension contributions are not invested in the stock market. They are subsumed into general government revenue, and pensions are then paid out of general government income. They can be held down or cut at the whim of governments because they are not tied to any kind of connection with stock market values.

See Greece, today

You ought to sort yourself out with a pension

I've got one

It's so pitifully small I still have to work virtually full time

see SFB's brainless post above – "pension security" – LOL

You can mock about age – but even my pitiful financial situation is bliss compared to what the young ones on here face

1/2 lb of Everton mints and all the arse shots he can take.

Could you express that in terms of eightieths (1/80ths) of final salary?

unemployed 1997-2010 were you?

Nope

But also employed 1969 – 1996

Educate yourself

you accepted low pay for pension security

What will your pension pay?

Do not collect £200

An exact analogy, SFB!

I failed to collect my free cash from Fatcha.

I didn't buy shares in her car-boot sale of national assets
I couldn't buy my council house for peanuts and sell it for diamonds
I worked in the public sector during years of wage freezes and below-inflation settlements

none of the effing above

ask a similar question

I hope you don't need to ask a similar question

I've searched in vain for any question being asked in the visible parts of this thread

FFS what is the "situation" which started this thread?

What is the "similar question"?

I have a man to do that for me

Get YOU!

HMRC give me money back every year

Yes it's called fiddling your accounts

Sincere apologies to everyone above. I had no idea about the seriousness of this. It's gratifying to see how much support is available on here for people in distress.

I have a situation too, and would also appreciate some guidance. This is not a situation I would joke about.

Could some of the "professionals" on here please help me too?

bruneep you trusting little person

LOL at the tinfoil hat joke

I would have put one on, if I had though it would have protected me from phishing emails shortly after contacting PayPal and HMRC

It's just that – well, two days after paying by PayPal, I got a phishing email

And two days after phoning HMRC Darlington, I got a phishing email

So maybe your own tinfoil hat is blocking messages from the real world

And if you trust online payment systems and online tax assessments – you are juicy bait for internet piranhas

And your financial testicles are dangling temptingly low in the water

Nip! Nip!

Some clues as to the situation would be helpful

Or is this just attention-seeking about you, and Talkemada-Fred, and aleigh, and millie, and Swinley

you are drunk

and attention-seeking

and probably not female

Pay by PayPal online

Two days later, recieve phishing email requesting your bank account and credit card details "for security reasons"

Corrupt staff at PayPal are regularly passing details of your transactions to criminal gangs

Contact the Inland Revenue online

Two days later, receive phising email from IR, so they can give you a massive tax refund. Guess what info they need?

Corrupt staff at IR are regularly and systematically passing our details to criminal gangs

If the woman was poor and evidently would struggle to support offspring, then she should have made the decision NOT to have children.

You hearless b@st@rd. Have you read Dickens?

"They are Man's," said the Spirit, looking down upon
them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers.
This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both,
and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for
on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the
writing be erased. Deny it!" cried the Spirit, stretching out
its hand towards the city. "Slander those who tell it ye!
Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse.
And bide the end!"

"Have they no refuge or resource?" cried Scrooge.

"Are there no prisons?" said the Spirit, turning on him
for the last time with his own words. "Are there no workhouses?"

a staff suggestion box

It's called the Headteacher's waste-paper basket

Mention it at your next staff meeting

LOL! You think schools have meetings at which staff can express their views?

any chocolate ones

FFS this is a state school

Think Rich Tea

There might have been a few Nice biscuits there too

Tell me that you at least got a cup of their specially-provided tea, and a few of their specially-provided biscuits ?

Of course we did!

But they were specially-provided for them, not for us!

you either work in a pretty tough school or are a crybaby

Read the reports of what was happening in the classroom of the teacher who attacked a pupil with a barbell.

That was a mainstream sectarian (Catholic) school which had been praised by OFSTED for its development of moral and spiritual values in its pupils.

What sort of morally and spiritually developed pupils deliberately persecute a mentally vulnerable teacher until he cracks? And then film the process?

I'll tell you – ordinary kids in ordinary schools

And if you've got ordinary kids in ordinary schools, that's what your kids are trying to do every day in every class

If you could follow your kids into their classrooms, you'd be appalled at what they get up to

I hope

But do you genuinely think you're point of view applies to all of the 25,000 schools in the UK?

Do you have (or have you had) kids in the state system in the UK?

Does that include the Teachers on the Governing body & the head

Yes of course I've talked to the teacher governors and the head

the teacher governors say things like "nice and warm today?"

and the head says things like "good morning"

But they've never said things like "what prevents you from doing a good job as a teacher?"

or

"if you could make a few simple changes to this school, what would they be?"

And in 34 years none of the bastards has ever bothered to talk to you ?

At the school where I took up my most recent teaching job 5 years ago, all new staff had to undergo an induction programme. One of these induction sessions was an evening to meet the governors. All of us nervous new staff were in a group on one side of the room talking to each other. On the other side of the room, a group of governors all taking to each other.

And that was it – no governor crossed the divide!

Just because you cant see forces in action, eldridge, doesnt mean they arent there

I've seen governors in action – parking in their specially reserved spaces, supping their specially-provided tea and biscuits, producing reams of documents, swanning around school on guided tours, getting their children into the oversubscribed school of which they happen to be governor, putting their school governorship on election material for parish council, district council, county council, parliament

Oh I've seen them in action. I kmnow they are there. Just like I've seen candles on a birthday cake

I hate football (check my posts on here!) but I channel surfed to the closing minutes and I was gripped. Forget the sport, it was great drama.

Sadly, my long-term views about the game were reinforced by the pitch invasions and general misbehaviour afterwards

a good team supports staff and drives development

I've been a teacher for 34 years.

During that time no school governor has ever even spoken to me

One of the twins

18yr lad

got a apartment

his baby

the babys mother

I think you could interest the Daily Express in this story

the school was struggling to get Governors

and yet, somehow, kids went on going to school and getting educated?

School governors are like candles on a birthday cake. They look great, and everyone thinks they are an important part of the process, but blow them out, take them off and the cake tastes exactly the same

MODS – can you pull this obvious commercial?

Can I suggest you get the word "sheep" tattoed across your forehead (preferably in Comic Sans)

That way you can be certain that you will attract compatible blokes

Don't ask

Don't tell

Sorry if this is unacceptably realistic, but

for most of you on here with ordinary kids in ordinary state schools, the description of that classroom is an accurate portrayal of what your kids get up to every day

using phones to film teachers = normal
texting your mates during lessons = normal
roaming around classroom assaulting other kids with bits of equipment = normal
telling teachers to **ck off = normal
conspiring with other kids to wind up teachers = normal

most of you don't know what your kids are like in school

if you did, you'd be bl@@dy horrified

and then you'd blame the teachers

Ahh – life on benefits!

So much more attractive then working for an effing living