I’m home alone tonight and Americans discovering Fred Dibnah sounds spot on.

I went through a few of these reaction videos a year or so back, mostly “proper/classical” American musicians supposedly discovering rock bands. Some were cringingly bad, some seemed genuine. Reactions to Nightwish always funny – trained soprano singing rock? Like you’ve never seen Par Benatar?

Despite a not great week with dieting r the 100 days of exercise, I’ve lost 0.4kg. Unfortunately I’m home alone this weekend and likely to gain it back!

Just got in after another missed day, but took my parents to meet up with friends they’ve not seen in person since before Covid, and as they are all in their 80s, best do these things while they can!

don’t forget the opening sample of When two Tribes go to war.

Or the closing sample from Def Leppard’s Gods of War

Home town visit

Another short run and stretching.

Actually I still don’t know what the OP has a problem with as I can’t be bothered to find out but I suspect that it is really just a matter of opinion anyway.

Downplaying incitement to racially aggravated violence and arson is, at best, not appropriate in a workplace.

Especially a very multicultural workplace.

Especially by a relatively senior officer of the Crown.

If he’d still been on my level and on my team, I’d have maybe just taken him to one side and told him what a dick he sounded like. But he’s now above my paygrade and so is tackling his behavior. I suspect/hope he’s parroting something he’s heard without understanding the full meaning, and will learn from this.

A Nigerian born colleague also heard it and collared me as I left work as he suspected I’d done something about it. I suspect if my colleague had reported it it would look a lot worse.

I’m very impressed with Royal Mail – no one was in yesterday when they tried to deliver the new lighting set for my towbar rack. Presumably the same again today, but they used their initiative, got in the side gate and put it in the shed that wasn’t locked.

Last week an Amazon guy used his initiative and rather than leaving a package on the doorstep in the pissing rain,  he found the front door was unlocked and I got downstairs to see his hand disappearing back outside after he threw the package in.

We live in a village where these things are not massive risks BTW.

Five ten slip ons

Terrible you can’t get these any more. Bought some at the start of the first lockdown after recommendation on here, and they are just starting to wear out.

you don’t want this dad involved, he’s clearly going to be trouble in future either way

Many a true word spoken in jest

Inappropriate yes, and he is clearly a bellend but personally I would have ignored.

I did think I should do that, but I was so shocked I’d actually heard it out loud I kind of knee jerked.

For those who’ve missed it “Hurty words on Facebook” is the phrase used to describe the comments made on social media inciting violence/arson/riot/murder by those outraged that the posters were jailed for the crimes.

Which thinking about it again as I type, makes me more convinced I did the right thing. Even if he is just ignorant and was using an edgy sounding phrase he didn’t understand, that can’t be allowed to become acceptable.

I’ve heard, apparently, that as soon as someone at HMRC is skilled in tax affairs, they jump ship to one of the accountancy firms. Understandable if it’s a lucrative move.

I can neither nor deny….

Now we stop the training just short of “skilled” to improve the retention….

My 20year old engineering apprentice who was dumped out of school straight into lockdown is still a virgin and doesn’t even have the awkward alcohol fuelled chat up techniques that I used to little effect.

At least you know what to get him as a Secret Santa…

According to google 11am on Thursday is one of the best times to call them

(Unplugs phone)

I have the Rab hut slippers, plenty warm enough. There is a higher “ankle boot” version as well. Sometimes crop up in their Mountain Outfitters factory outlet if you are nearby, but probably not this time of year.

Though definitely Crocs for the bin run. Especially with the lights fitted for dark night bin runs

Guessing its not suitable for my 9 year old?

Absolutely not. Regularly features on Internet round ups of “most horrific non-horror film”.

the basic 52yo body/lure of tea, rest, beer and chewing the cud with other dads

That sounds a lot like the world of audax.

There’s a lot of murder in that paragraph but he was only part time.

4 day week but maintaining productivity

How do we break those cycles?  Only by engaging with and supporting those people at a societal level.

Which brings me nicely to the uproar on the local Spotted page last night when the neighbouring parish council failed to object to a house in the next village being converted to a children’s home. I innocently asked if the folk were unhappy at the council apparently not asking them first, or at the proposal itself.*

To be fair, several of the official objections submitted were into the quality of management, care, and staffing of such homes, which is a valid concern. There were also a couple concerned at a potential drop in property prices, and a general concern that the (checks note) 4 child residents in the middle of an estate in a small Derbyshire village would turn the whole area into some sort of inner city ghetto with a murder rate to rival the worst parts of Detroit.

The poor kids have to go somewhere, and their chance of getting their lives turned around will be greatly increased if the community tries to support them and not isolate them.

*the FB group moderator messaged me to say “I know you did that deliberately, and I know you can handle yourself, but message me if you want the thread deleting if the pile on gets too much”

Install a wood burner.

Show me your parent is on STW without saying your parent is on STW

Another failed day here, caught out with family and Scouting commitments. Need to be more proactive and “assertive”. Suspect that I will arrive at tomorrow nights Trustee board straight from the gym, as they are opposite sides of the sports field!

My experience in the past 2-3 years is they are utterly fhecken useless (2nd only to DVLA, amd tied with Border Farce).

I’m not having that – no way are we going to be beaten by DVLA!

Sorry OP, I’m not on the personal taxation side. I think our phone lines close at 6 for speaking to real people.

If they’ve decided they only want to run a tiny amount of heating to save money, I can’t see that running extra electric heaters is going to go down well.

Was my thought as well.

I suspect that common sense will prevail. Although “thermostat wars” is at least great preparation for married life….

Your own parents should be the ones teaching parenting not society.

But in the absence of parents to do that, we had Surestart. Then we had austerity.

Fat Lad at the Back

Trying to pretend it’s all going just okay is just simply ignoring reality

I’m not sure anyone has claimed everything is going OK. No doubt you can provide examples of those who have.

We all think there have been problems and disappointments. I really need to see some strong positive moves in the budget to feel reassured my vote was well placed.

But it would be a big help to the discussion if the whole absolute black and white tone of the debate from some was scaled back. The world is full of grey.

Just not Sue anymore.

Whenever teachers complain about parenting skills, it amazes me that they don’t see a connection with education.

Chicken and egg – it’s now multi generational. Grandparents didn’t get a great education,  weren’t great parents to their kids and had no ambitions for their kids to do better, who didn’t get a great education who became worse parents to the poor kids who are struggling now.

The solution will be multi generational as well, but that doesn’t fit with neat 5 year election cycles and no party is prepared to set a long term vision.

Unrealistic expectations of what the school can do to make up for their parenting shortfalls and the insistence that poor behaviour is a consequence of a learning difficulty are big challenges for her and the staff.

We are seeing a big increase in young people coming into our Scout group with additional needs. We try and accomodate to be inclusive but it puts a huge amount of extra work on our volunteers, and we’ve lost a couple because of it. It also has an impact on what units can get done. To get fair, most of the kids seem happy and accepting of others who are different, and the impacts.

but she’s convinced that PPP (piss poor parenting) is at the root of most children’s problems.

Probably also true! My lad has moved and helps at an oversubscribed Scout unit who are less “accommodating”, rightly or wrongly, and take a hard line excluding bad behaviour as spaces can be filled from the waiting list. He says the atmosphere and “productivity” at meetings is way ahead, but there’s concerns around what the excluded kids do next.

I ride with an inspirational primary head who has a school in a “challenging” area. He’s adamant that his biggest issue is parents attitude.

Kids avoiding toilets due to smoking and bullying has been around since I was at school, though other factors may be making it worse now. One of ours went through a stage of not using the toilets at school just because they were in an awful state, I remember raising it with the school. There was a national campaign about it called Bog Standard.

In England the Year 6 residential trip  (final year at primary) was a rite of passage – you could see the kids coming back with increased confidence and maturity after what was often their first week away from family. I think the loss of that, and the loss of the “usual” transition to secondary for those affected years probably accounts for a lot.

I’ve not noticed much issues in the way they’ve governed, some positives in terms of updates to policies, some negatives on what i would like to see, but then, i’m not seeing behind the curtain on why these changes aren’t being made.

Overall, pretty steady, nothing amazing, but neither anything horrific.

My view as well – some obvious gaffes, some disappointments, some unexpected progress in other areas. With my civil service hat on, more stable and responsible feel to what filters down here to the shop floor.

The budget will determine whether disappointment outweighs the progress. Show me the details, not soundbites floated via the media.

Isn’t whinig to come across as edgy a bit of an oxymoron?

Certainly moronic. Wink emoji

Maybe those previous supporters/apologists for Starmers poor decisions have realised that they backed the wrong horse

Maybe people – disappointed with Starmer or not – are fed up of posters coming on with that kind of constant whining to show how edgy they are

Last of his albums I bought was “Waking up the Neighbours” which was produced by Mutt Lange. Distinct Def Leppard vibes in places.

We’re a Scouting and Guiding family, and these absolutely ring true:

What I have noticed are behaviour impacts in the class and broader impacts on pupils social skills and general development.

I’ve also recently done a few trips and have noticed a significant* increase in the number of pupils who find managing their basic needs (eating, drinking, toileting etc) away from home a challenge.

Talking to our leaders and leaders from other groups, it’s a widespread problem. Two years on things are beginning to improve for kids who have had the opportunity to do activities but it’s still coming through, compounded by the number of volunteers who stepped down during and after Covid.

Kids have never needed more support, in school and outside, and resources just haven’t been there.

Social media saturation (as above) and definitely less effective or absent parenting. Combined with a complete lack of any effective early help service.

Combined with Covid made the perfect storm.

I am guilty of many of these. Thank goodness ashat explained what we’d all been missing.

I didn’t catch it when it first came out, but being a RAF brat and loving on or near bases, it brings back the underlying tension at the time.

I think Adams himself said he was sick of hearing it eventually .

If he promised to never play it live I’d go and watch him again, he was pretty good live. Though it’s an appropriate song to go for a piss to, I suppose.

Another one who tries not to react after an incident where a driver got cautioned for assault(ing me.)

I do sometimes still shout and gesture, it’s a stress release, although my threshold for shit driving to react to is higher than a lot of mates.

I’m just reading a list of 51 songs he wrote for others – including Joe Cocker…

A dying market….