Friday 6 April 2012

Lights, books and schools

6 April 2012

I was a pleasant surprise to be charged only £3.98 for the new bulb thingy for the bathroom.  I had visions of it costing over a tenner.  All together I thought I’d had a good day yesterday when I went out … until ‘I came to take my night time pills that is.  Then I realized that I had forgotten to call in and collect our new supply of pills.  Jan isn’t in a rush for them but I will need them for tomorrow morning.  She is off now to collect them.  It’s only around 150 yards away but I can’t walk even that far, that’s why Jan has gone for them.  I shall now go and make a coffee for when she gets back.  Well, she’s back and the pharmacist is closed all day.  Luckily I have a full morning’s dose in the cupboard so that will be OK.

Dorktown used to have three grammar schools; King Edwards was the boys grammar while the girls went to the High School for girls.  The third was Manor Park.  When Labour knocked the grammar schools on the head, King Edwards became the 6th form college, the High School for Girls became Etone School and Manor Park became a normal comprehensive.  Two year ago someone had the bright idea of merging Manor Park with Alderman Smith to form an Academy – and that was done.  Since it was founded the Manor Park site has been closed.  Now there are on-going talks about the future of the site.  One councillor has suggested that the site remains an educational establishment.  I would agree with that idea as long as an eye is kept the future and the likely increase in need for comprehensive school places in five or six year time.

Did you happen to catch the item on the news last night about a shortage of primary school places in some areas of the country?  Well, think it through … that will become a shortage of middle schools places and then eventually of comprehensive school places.  Why has this happened?  Well, councils trying to save money is the top and bottom of it!  They have closed primary and middle schools all over the country, now they should hopefully be seeing the error in this short term fix.  Coming up is the council elections – this could well be a question to ask the muppets when they knock on your door.  I know I shall be doing so!

I’ve noticed something in today’s News that I had seen before.  I found a condensed run down of the major stories in this week’s papers.   Don’t worry; I’m not going to the do the same ;-)))   It seems a lazy way for the editor to do his daily comment column.

There’s another story about a pervert sexually abusing kids in the borough.  This moron was abusing kids way back 30 years ago.  The mental damage to these kids is shown by the fact that they only reported the abuse in 2009.  How they live with such memories I just don’t know.  Maybe it’s time to up the penalty for such men.  Something has to be done to stop it happening!  

The reason I went yesterday afternoon was that I wanted to get our Radio Times and my Amateur Photographer.  I also needed to go the bank and sort out a new Standing Order for Mother’s care home fees.  The county council has changed its payment reference number and it needed to be sorted out ready for two weeks’ time when the payment is due.  However, while I was in the bank I remembered that the fees will be increasing soon needing yet another visit it the bank, so why couldn’t they have done both items at the same time?

I’ve finally managed to finish the current edition of Writing Forum magazine.  In it said something about Waterstones recommending three particular books.  So I made a note of them and went into Waterstones to buy them.  What I didn’t expect was that they are hardbacks not paper backs.  Whatever, I shall read them soon.  Oh right, you’ll want to know what they are then.  In no particular order then, they are The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey; The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce and The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd.  I’ll let you know how I get on with them later.

Today’s photo then … 

Is of a fishing boat tied up at the dockside in Ulster.  It was rather a nice day that but with a bit of swell on the sea, that’s why the reflections are not quite as good as I would have liked.

And for a funny …

Three elderly men are at the doctor's office for a memory test.
The doctor asks the first man, "What is three times three?"
The first elderly mans says, "274."
The doctor rolls his eyes and looks up at the ceiling, and says to the second man, "It's your turn. What is three times three?"
"Tuesday," replies the second man.
The doctor shakes his head sadly, then asks the third man, "Okay, your turn. What's three times three?"
"Nine," says the third man.
"That's great!" says the doctor.
"How did you get that?"
"Simple," he says, "just subtract 274 from Tuesday."   

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