Jimmy,

Thanks for replying. The DT sounds brilliant. Exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for. Sorry but I cant commit to it now as Sussex is a little bit far away but would it be OK if I kept it in mind for September? I’ll try and get something closer to home but if all else fails then you might just get a call after the summer holidays.

Cheers dude.

Simon

I’m a teacher in a Referral School. This is definately a child protection issue. Write a letter to the kids school stating your concerns. As a matter of course, your letter will be brought to the attention of the School Child Protection Officer who will then decide what to do eg referral to MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub here in Devon.) YOT, Family support services etc.)

Sounds like a stressful home enviroment for the young people to be in. There are BOUND to be associated challenging behaviours already evident at school. Your letter could be the tipping point needed for the kids getting some real support and help.

If this situation has impacted on school before then a C.A.F. may have been completed. It is all good evidence and will HELP the lifes of the young people.

Go and write your letter now.

I’ve just listened to the Radio 4 programme about this very subject.

Money. End of.

Not according to Gordon (Gecko that is.)

“Greed is good.”

MSP.. sorry mate just realised that your degree is in something like yoghurt weaving or data warehousing. Try and read some economics books before spouting such drivel.

OMG MSP you have NOOOOO idea. and you have missed the point completely. This isn’t about rich and poor. This is about stimulating enterprise. Rich people can be rich for any number of reasons (winning the lottery, playing premiership football, or inheritance to name but a few.)

Dropping the taxation level from 50 to 40% is about encouraging more people to be more entrepeneurial. It has the added advantage of increasing YES increasing tax revenue but the main idea is to encourage budding business owners to take the plunge and go for it.

Ohh and Binners…. are you mental or something?

MSP thats true and it illustrates my point well. In this country there exists a 50% limit on taxation(both psychological and physical). What I mean is people can not stomach the thought that mortgaging everthing, putting it all on the line to set up a business and eventually being successful means that you have to give away HALF of what you earn to the tax man. These thoughts stiffle enterprise and therefore tax income is reduced. The percentage may be different in other countries where populations feel that want to pay higher taxes knowing that they are getting something really good in return eg health system, well maintained roads etc.

In Britian we definately dont want to give more than 50% of our hard earned money away.

If you are asking what percentage I think high earners should be taxed at then its got to be less than 50%. Isn’t that what Laffer tells us?

Anyone ever heard of the Laffer Curve?

I think it has something to do with economics.

Depends on what type of pool-side access you have but best thing I found was to forget completely about using the lockers and to take everything in a pram. It’s a real pain trying to stuff all your belongings into a locker whilst trying to hold a baby in your arms.

Our swimming pool lets parents put all clothes and changing items into the pram which is then pushed to the pool edge (but not right in!) Makes things a lot easier.

I always make sure that I have a dry towel on top of the pram for a quick wrap up of a very cold baby. Incidently, watch out for your wee one getting cold very quickly. (15 minutes was more than enough the first time for our wee girl.) Now, our little one has a lycra swim suit (a bit like a rash-vest that helps to keep her a bit warmer.)

Be prepared to load your car up, travel to the swimming pool, pay for parking, locate the changing rooms, grab a family changing cubicle, get changed, push pram to poolside, dangle babys feet in water only for the little monster to looked freaked out at all the noisy things going on and to make it very clear that she wants to go home.

Also dont forget “swim nappies.” Pool attendents tend not to like little floating parcels in their nice clean pools.

Its a logistical nightmare but more than worth it when you see them swimming under water for the first time.

8 year old harnesses that LOOKS ok…. Ummmm

You have heard of Todd Skinner havn’t you?

Kenny,

Why you climbing on an 8 year old harness?

Ohh and Edukator…. my sentiments entirely, Best summed up with the word Cobblers.

Kenny,

You STILL haven’t recommended a harness…..

Isn’t it time you ran away?

Kenny, my point is that you haven’t suggested what harness to buy….

I suggest you stick to things that you know about, like quoting useless bits of information from movies.(Or ducking into a thread you have no idea about and leaving one or two lines of a comment and then running away again.)

Also, Edukator….. You are quoting me incorrectly. It wasnt me.. it was someone else. (But if you want a comment, then…… “Communal chalk dipping????? Wots that all about then? Wer’e not bloody olympic gymnasts ya know. (or do you live in the states?) Also, chalk bags have never been banned at walls, however loose chalk is often frowned upon. (Thats why you can get some neat little chalk balls to pop in your bag.)

LOVED your opening line also “You’ve just demonstrated how few indoor walls you’ve climbed on with this, Simon:”

I tend to do all my climbing in the like, OUTDOORS! Doh!

Thats what climbing is, isn’t it? An outdoor sport? Trad is where it’s at.

Oh and Kenny, if you want ME to suggest a harness then I would probably go for one from Petzl/Wild Country/DMM/Singing Rock/Black Diamond/Metolius cuz they like have those belay things on them for like clipping in…

And you have done better Kenny?

Jesus, you guys might think you know a lot about old Kona’s and how to bleed Juicy 5’s but you have no idea about climbing.

An adjustable one such as Camp? Thats like saying “What car should I buy?…… “Ohh, one that runs on petrol like a Ford.”

WHICH Camp harness? FFS

And Petzl for the win (a basic but comfy harness?????!!!!)

**** me! Petzl do some of the best designed and most feature laden harnesses on the planet? WHICH one ffs?

(Hangs head in shame.)

Stick to arguing about 10 speed vs 9 or 29 vs 26 please.

Did you actually use sand when you sand-blasted it? If so best get it checked out by a pro. Sand blasting an alloy can leave sand embedded in the metal. When the frame is painted the sand will react with the the alloy and rot the frame from the inside out.

Headfirst

Thanks for clarifying what “progression” means. Have been wondering for a while what it was.

Poly….

That’s entirely my point. Why should ANYTHING we do as individuals in our PRIVATE life be accounted for in our working lives?

Apart from cases were a law is broken, why should a commercial organisation have the right to tell us how to dress, talk or act DURING our own free time?

Scuzz….

My comment about the plumber was to illustrate the point that teachers are increasingly being held accountable for happenings in their personal life whilst they are at work.

EXAMPLE:

On 23rd Dec last year two Primary teachers in Hull were forced to resign for comments they made to each other during a PRIVATE Facebook conversation.

My point is that the general public wants it both ways. They want teachers to be held to the highest possible moral standards of our society, they want teachers PRIVATE lives to be accountable but at the same time say that teachers are overpaid, over-pensioned, over-holidayed, boring old farts who hate kids.

Fair point bike monkey

“No profession can have that many members with so few who need to be sacked.”

But your figures are wrong. There were actually 228 struck off by the GTC in the past 10 years. (211 for poor conduct and 17 for incompetence.)

For me the interesting bit is “POOR CONDUCT.” Just what exactly is that? Posting pissed up pics on Facebook or swearing at kids?

Remember that the GTC is being disbanded and if you combine that fact with the increased powers of head teachers in academies then i wouldn’t be suprised if “POOR CONDUCT” is widened to include infringements of the sartorial kind.

In what way?

And that story is……….?

“No one is forcing teachers to work at academies”??????

How can you say this when ALL schools are being encouraged/forced to become Academies or suffer HUGE financial cut-backs and become the local sink school?

Also are you not aware that Academies have their own pay and conditions separate from the current teachers pay and conditions. Can you not see privatisation when you see it?

REALLY? Academies have to adhere to “Normal” working regulations? Would a 19 year-old plumber who gets pissed on a Friday night and then posts a photo on Facebook of his drunken antics be fired by his employer first thing on Monday morning? I think not.

If that 19 year old was a “teacher” then he would be big trouble.

Adhere to normal employment law? Yeah right! Lets see how long that one lasts.

As a teacher myself, i would have no hesitation in removing a “BAD” teacher but those teachers who need help or extra training in upping their game should be given the support they need to become better practitioners.

Also, how do we measure the effectiveness of teachers? Teaching is not like working in a factory where higher output means higher wages or success.

The blunt tool that the Gove(enment) uses is how many GCSE’s can a certain teacher help his students attain. This takes no account of class size, student ability, social problems, staffing shortages, work-load levels or extra-curricular clubs orgainsed.

I don’t want to work in a school that expects my students to get 98% A*-C at GCSE and doesnt give a toss about the at-risk YR8 girl who has just taken an over-dose in my tutor group.

The question of what makes a “bad” teacher is very relevant for those who work in Academies. With no need to adhere to normal teachers pay and conditions, head-teachers of academies can set ANY employment regulations they wish. Want to bring back cloaks and mortor-boards? Go for it. Want to make teachers work from 7am to 7pm? Yup, go for it. How about teachers working 6 days a week? How about teachers working for less pay and 48 weeks of the year? How requiring all female teachers to be single and if they get married they have to leave the profession like they had to back in the 1920’s? It’s all possible in an Academy.

If people would just stop and think for one moment about the HUGE impact good teachers have on their often pissed off and marginalised off-spring then we would see TV campaigns and riots in the streets with parents demanding that ALL teachers are paid £1 million per year, given MORE holidays, EVEN better pensions and class sizes are reduced from 35!!!!! (YES 35, in some schools FFS) to less than 10.

Teachers should be viewed as the Kings and Queens of our society, NOT the whipping boy.

fily5bellies

How do you know what he does or doesnt want?

The guy asked for an energy drink recipe. I gave him one.

Granted getting breast milk might be a problem but he didnt ask for a carbo drink. He asked for an energy drink.

Oh and why doesnt energy mean caffeine in this context? You dont know the context.

There is a BIG difference between “Energy Drink” and “ISOTONIC.”

Energy drink = Red bull style drink
Isotonic = Lucozade Sport style drink

The above recipes are for ISOTONIC drinks. (but the posters forgot to put in salt.)

If you want an ENERGY drink then mix a strong cup of coffee with breast milk ( thats Caffeine and taurine in technical speak.)

Good luck.

When you say “may apply” what exactly do you mean? Have these people been diagnosed or you just fitting the symptoms into the only category you have heard of?

More details needed.

BTW. Part of my job is to diagnose ADHD. (I’m currently sitting in a classroom with 6 sufferers.)

First rule for success would be not to refer to your beloved as “THE” wife.

If the shoe (or handbag) were on the other foot, would you mind being refered to as “THE” husband?

We had a similar experience with getting our (then) 6 months old to take a bottle. She is now 18 months and eating us out of house and home. Solutions for us were:

1. Mum expressed her own milk. (Got an electric pump.)
2. Made sure that bottle had naturally shaped teets (knook? SP)
3. DAD and DAD only gave baby bottle for the first few weeks. (Baby would demand boob if mummy tried to give her a bottle so mum left the room and I did it.)
4. After a while baby got used to bottle and started to make no distinction between boob and bottle.

We also never lost sight of the fact that the World Health Organisation recommend that babies are breast fed for the first 24 months of life. Our little one still has booby (especially at night)and not even my mental mother who demanded that we stop breast feeding at 4 months could persuade us otherwise.

Stick to your guns. Have fun go mad.

Ohh and Traildog is right—– There is a reason why getting kids to eat food can difficult —- they don’t have any teeth! (You will definately see a marked improvement when their back teeth make an appearance.)

Luke,

Please tell me Jo hasn’t had her bike lifted AGAIN?

Simon.

Mad kids I work with say a Generic Trigger.

Supertacky….

Third party only? WOW! Really impressed that you are 100% certain that your daughter will in no way be to blame for any accident that she might be involved in during the next year.

The idea of having to stump up cold hard cash in compensation for an entire new rear wing of a 2011 Bentley that my 18 daughter (in her 5 year old Ford KA) just happened to scrape as she reversed out of a tight parking space just freaks me out. Thats what Fully comp ins is for.

Really interested to hear that some people think that “perfectionism” is a strength and therefore a desireable trait. (Cougar)

Seeking perfection in everything you do could mean that you are unable to multi-task and juggle a number of projects at once.

It could also mean that you disregard peoples feelings, rub people up the wrong way and are unwilling to listen to the ideas of others in your search for your version of perfection.

Being a perfectionist, could also mean that you are unwilling to admit defeat or that you have made a mistake.

Also, try and name even one product or service in any industry that is “Perfect.”

Life (and business) is never perfect. Often a compromise has to be reached. Surely, a strength would be to realise this and understand how to achieve success rather than perfection. Both concepts can often be poles apart.

Mog,

I currently commute 55 miles each day on a 1999 CBR600f. I’ve used every thing from rucksacks on my back, holdalls cargo-netted to the pillion seat and soft throw-over luggage but nothing comes close to a top box fitted to a quick-release plate.

I bought my rack second-hand off e-bay. Cost me about £60. The box was a brand new Chinese made Givi COPY (45 litre) that was only £29.99 again from e-bay. I simply couldn’t afford the real Givi at over £180.00.

I was initially worried about the quality of the materials used to make the box but it has provided sterling service for over 3 years now.

It’s soooo much easier being able to clunk-click a secure box into place rather than messing about with bloody straps and bungies.

My first bike was a 1996 Bandit 600. I still miss it!

Also, I got really sick of commuting with a laptop. (Just to bulky and annoying.) Also, I found that rolling up power cables put unnecessary strain on them and I ended up going through 3 of them. I eventually got to the point where I downloaded all my important files onto a portable drive and made sure that I had access to a computer both my work locations.

Happy biking.

Hungry Monkey

Your friend called Jo? Havent spoken to her since 24/12 but tell her Simon and Claire (and baby Josie) are thinking of her.

**** scum-bags.

I know her bike well and will keep a look out.

Don’t do it mate.

I got swept up in the whole “Who do you think you are thing” as well.

Bloody nightmare.

I assumed that my family, like me, were all from Belfast but have just discovered that my great great grand father was originally from London and after having being a hero in WW1, he came to Irelend in 1920 and became a Black and Tan. Probably committed some horrible acts against civilians.

The dead are dead for a reason. Don’t go bringing them back to life. It will only end in tears.

A family member is a sports psychologist. They recommend using the concept of “self-efficacy.” In lay-mans terms, people who have high self-efficacy KNOW that they can perform a certain task. People who have low self-efficacy DO NOT THINK they can perform a certain task.

To create high self-efficacy, you have to look at your past performance ie have you attempted the task before and have you been successful.

In your example you would have to think carefully and remember a time when you undertook a gut-busting hill climb. Remember how it felt when you got to the top. Remember the searing pains in your legs, the thump of your heart as it tried to rip its way out of your chest cavity, the little bit of white drool that dribbled down the side of your cheek and the over-riding thought that death was imminent and that you had to kiss goodbye to your favourite hamster Joey.

Then, and this is the important part, ask yourself this question. “Did I actually die?” If you didnt then there is a good chance that you wont die if you find yourself in the same situation again.

If you did die (even for a few seconds) then it may be a good idea to have yourself checked out at the nearest A&E.

This technique really helped me when I got freaked out when using pelican crossings and sharp kitchen utensils. (but not at the same time.)

Good luck with the cycling. Remember its not dying on the bike you have to worry about, its the monsters hiding behind the curtains and under your bed that you should be concerned about.

Have a nice one.

Princetown is just 25 minutes (12 miles) further on than River Dart Country Park. They are both on the same road (watch for the signs as you come off the A38)

I would highly recommend the Princetown, Scout Hut, Sheeps Tor, Burrator and then back to Princetown again route.

Should take you about 2 hours plus stopping time and a bit of route finding.

Grab an OS map and go for it.

Cheers for the comments, one and all.

I had an interesting conversation with two of the rangers at Haldon today. I was dressed in non-biking civies and asked them if it would be OK if I went out for a jog on the blue bike trail. Their answer was that “we can not tell you not to as it is open access but we would advise you to do it in reverse so you can see if bikers are coming towards you.”

My problem is that all the signage, marker posts and marketing bill-boards at Haldon describe the bike routes as “Dedicated bike routes.”

When Haldon was first developed, bikers in the South West all jumped for joy at the prospect of having Daffyd Davies designed bike trails on our doorstep. Finally, bikers would have a “dedicated” area just for them. We all felt special and happy that our sport was becoming so popular. It was like Christmas morning when you discover that Santa Claus has spent shed loads of money on you and delivered the best present EVER just for YOU.

However, a few months down the line, Santa is now back and is tell you that the present that you thought was just for you has now to be shared with with every dog and his frog that wants a go.

I have no problem sharing with all types of bikers (especially as the trails are marked as bike trails.) But do I really have to share with horses, runners, walkers and other non-bikers who would blame ME if I came around a blind corner and discovered them standing gormlessly unaware that they are on a marked bike trail and blocking the middle of the trail?