@boomerlives Correct! I’m impressed

Have you read Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson? It’s a compendious history of the English language that’s presented with humour and easy to read, you’ll struggle to spell (fish) after reading it.
How many English words do you know? You don’t have to fill in your profile to do the test
http://vocabulary.ugent.be/

If it’s all stalls then gender neutral toilets are a great idea, urinals stink anyway. They allow transgendered people to feel welcome and aid disabled people who may have a carer of a different gender to their own to use the facilities as well. They also require less floorspace than two separate rooms, so it’s a win for business.
I can understand other women’s concerns about safety but I’ve also seen women fighting each other in the ladies and the skirted figure on the door didn’t protect them, someone walking in did which would be more likely in mixed loos. I hope it’ll improve peoples hygiene too

There’s one benefit of the current political ****show in that it will discourage forestry nurseries and plantations from importing seed and stock from the EU, which will help prevent the introduction of pests and diseases. Once these gain access to our environment there’s little chance of preventing their spread, never mind eradicating them. Few of us consider washing our bikes after a ride never mind our car, clothes or the dog after a walk. We do work on breeding disease resistant stock but as it can take around a decade for trees to mature this is a slower process than the spread of the disease or pest, the alternatives can often be as detrimental to the environment.
The Woodland Trust does some really good work in protecting ancient woodlands against projects such as the Hs2, they are also intending to create a northern forest which will stretch from Lancashire to Northumberland by planting 50,000,000 trees. Even agencies and the 3rd sector such as SUSTRANS replant as part of their projects (grants are available). Although last year England missed its target by a whopping 71%, Scotland planted 22,000,000 in the same year. Estates such as Glen Feshie are moving away from Sitka Spruce plantations and grouse moors towards planting a mix of native species, although it’s still a commercial woodland they are worked in a more traditional and environmentally friendly way by harvesting a mix of produce from coppicing and felling as well as collecting the mix of fruit and nuts.

@phil5556 Congratulations! All the best to both of you

I’m the Handpicked E-sales team leader… For a forestry business

We’re agnostic and my kids went to the local non-denominational state primary. There I had to ask permission so that they didn’t have to attend the end of term traipse to church, they were put in the nursery class or had to sit in the school reception for the duration. They also faced regular bullying due to their heritage and economic status.
There was no other school in the area which had space in both classes apart from the local Catholic school, I had my apprehensions about sending them there for the reasons mentioned in the above posts but decided that it would be better than them feeling suicidal.
I have been pleasantly surprised. The school is much more diverse and inclusive than the local village school. Less than half of the kids are catholic and it’s they who are taken out of class for specific religious education. Instead of prayers they have a daily consideration, so if someone is feeling ill or is having a tough time they talk about how to support that person, bullying is practically non existent and issues are delt with swiftly.
They share classes with people from a variety of backgrounds and countries and are encouraged to question, understand and respect other peoples views. The school fosters a sense of community and provides a good learning environment, which is a stark contrast to the village school. Both schools were rated “very good” by HMIE but it’s the nondenominational school which marks the divide between the mainstream and minorities

@sadexpunk I think you hit the nail on the head with your holiday, he was away from the stresses, expectations and responsibilities of home and actually able to properly relax. As @lustyd said “It just needs the person to stop trying to be “normal” and stop being near people who try to make them “normal”. Without exception, all of the issues arrising from my ASD have been due to external pressures from people trying to make me be like them.”
+1
I also think that the medical profession and third sector are more geared towards making people appear normal and making money, rather than addressing the individuals needs

Even now, 27yrs on I find it hard to find the words to express my emotions and my experience of losing a parent in my teens. His friends won’t know how to relate and he will find it difficult to control his feelings, having to keep up a cheery disposition when he really wants to breakdown. It will all come out when he gets home, it’s where he feels safe and secure and you know the loss he’s struggling to accept.
It sounds like some sort of intervention is necessary to give him strategies to cope with his feelings as there are always triggers and we may not always be able to identify them. What would have helped me when I was younger was if my peers were counselled in how to cope with the grief and depression of others, if we were taught how to listen it might perhaps be more useful than trying to pick up the pieces when someone breaks down.
Are there any support groups for teens who have lost a parent near you? It might be of help to him to receive support from a peer group rather than an adult who has a scripted set of outcomes.
Feel free to pm me if it would help

It’s already been established that up skirting is illegal in France and it became illegal in England and Wales on the 12th of April under the Voyeurism Act. At least you did something OP but I’d have reported it to security, he might already be on the sex offenders register and if not it sounds like he should be. The guy probably thinks he has some impunity as he was blatantly seen, yet he still got away with it. I wonder what he might do next?
It reminds me of when someone tried to violently sexually assault me on a busy city centre shopping street one afternoon, not one person tried to help despite shouting at him to get off and that I didn’t know him. I didn’t report the incident either, what was the point? I worked as a waitress, had had a drink after work and was wearing skirt, obviously asking for it. Two weeks later he was successful in raping a woman

Cheers Poopscoop, it’s awesome eh? I’d love to have done something like that but it’s the prep that put me off, I love how they’re just winging it. I’ve got so much admiration for them and the people they’ve met on the road, have you read about Murat yet? Their social media pages are excellent, full of amazing photos and stories. They’re not doing it for recognition or glory, just for the sense of adventure, experience and kindness. There was no media to see them off, only their families and there’s been no publicity to raise money, I can’t afford much but I’ve decided to send a fiver to CCLASP for each week they’re on the road

Their blogs on fb and Insta are worth checking out, they’re having proper adventures on their tour and have met some beautiful people on their way

I’d agree with Silver Birch
https://images.app.goo.gl/CC49iJ86oErFzHy97

You could contact Pest Control and ask if you can make a print for personal use

https://www.pestcontroloffice.com/whatispco.html

I had at least 18 hands between my thighs every day when I worked as a jockey, sometimes I rode bareback. I now work in farming/forestry and talk about hardwood/softwood, the size of girth and if it will fit in my box. I have 3 sizes of box, the big one is at the back of the tunnel. I’m the only female in a team of 20, I cry everyday with laughter. They said if I don’t want to talk I can always use hand gestures

Yeah, I do. I hit the diagnostic markers for autism but not in prescribed manner

“despite being a genuine person nothing ever works out for me that same way” @golfchick I’ve also had little success (at anything) and fell into what I thought was yet another a dead-end, low pay and crap job, it was only ever intended to be for less than a year as I was going to go back to uni. I got the role because no one else would do it. I’ve been on the verge of being sacked because I had so much time off ill.
I was lucky that I had some interest in what I was doing but how it was done was a great source of stress. I’m lucky enough to be in a developing sector and was able to make subtle changes to my role that made it easier for me to operate. I’ve only been doing it for a couple of years and I’ve increased production by over 37% year on year, whilst I making it easier for myself. It’s not something I expected to do but I do but now I love it. I had my appraisal today and my bosses only criticism was that I need to temper my passion a little bit, I was also offered a promotion :-D
It’s a risk and a bit of a gamble but you’ll regret not trying to find your happiness

This is an interesting discussion, have any of you read The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer? It’s about the benefits and prohibition of hemp and cannibis.
The Dutch system has reduced the amount of users and the amount that they use, which has had many benefits for the society. My experience was that I was a heavy user before I moved there, smoking a 1/2oz a week. I moved just round the corner from High Times, which was open most of the day and would visit few times a week to start with due to the novelty but it slowly went down to once a week as I assimilated into Dutch culture.
The down side to decriminalisation is that organised crime gangs are still the main profiteers, dope is smuggled into the coffee shops where it is then legally sold in small amounts.
It really needs to be legalised to disrupt the cycle. Depending on scale a legal plantation would be able to produce a massive amount without many overheads once established. If it was grown in polytunnels you wouldn’t need to use so much electricity for heating and lighting, these things can get up to 25°c in February in the North. . You can grow up to 2.6 million seedlings in those things on around a half acre site, they would need more space as they grow but at around 25p per plant you could still make a profit or grow them on. They’d be ready to harvest every 3 months!

You can buy a bottle of Pet Behave spray from pets at home for about £3,you’ll need to spray the post a couple of times but it won’t take long before they’re out of the habit

@dezb I did say it doesn’t help their situation, moving could be the best solution if it bothers them that much and ask the vendors if there’s a waft of smoke and vocal neighbours if if bothers them that much

It’s interesting to see how polarised people’s opinions are about weed smoking. Cannibis is certainly not as harmful as other drugs, it even has many health benefits. Perhaps your neighbour feels the need for it to calm her down and the shouting could be much worse if she didn’t have her fix. I agree that smoking in front of kids is not ideal but the harm comes from the tobacco rather than the weed.
It isn’t illegal because of the possible harm it can cause, it’s illegal because big pharma hasn’t gained control of the market and governments and companies such as G4 make a lot of money out of criminalising and the incarceration of users. Legalisation and decriminalisation has been proven to be more effective in reducing it’s use in countries such as the Netherlands and Portugal, although it’s the “criminal” gangs who still profit. The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer gives a good history and background as to why it is illegal, and the benefits legalisation would bring. Did you know that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew cannibis plantations and smoked it too.
As for the driving argument, I failed my first test sober but passed the second time after having had a smoke an hour before. Now that I have kids I don’t drive stoned, but instead I have panic attacks if driving on motorways or dual carriageways (I avoid them at all costs as the possibility of passing out at high speed could cause a serious accident)
I know that doesn’t help your situation, but I hope it may give people a better understanding

I was burnt by it when I was a kid, all the way up my legs; I still remember the blisters and pain vividly. Well done for reporting it, I hope they’ll remove it soon

People +1

@dazh reality +1 Truths are subjective and facts have a half life, meaning half of what you think you know is untrue… But you don’t know which half.