Nice people thread part 3- Nice as pie

lostinrates

tomterm8 wrote: »

I guess with the entire private school thing, as a citizen I want most people to attend state funding education, because I think it is better for society as a whole. But if I was a parent I would want the best for my child... and if that is a private school, I would send the kid to private school if I could afford it.

I've wondered in the past means tested education fees might be better. I'm often saddened by how little peope value the free at point of use education they receive. But I wouldn't want to get rid of schools outside state control.....I remain a strong advocate for diversity.

Getting the school right is important and you're right, IMO, in saying its about that, and it can be in either sector...e.g. my sister and I went to different schools, her children now go to different schools: one's its felt are best suited to them as individuals.

vivatifosi

lemonjelly wrote: »

I'm not suprised they were better than U2. They were an awesome show. Fantastic use of lighting effects. Clearly a band who were enjoying playing live & being on tour. The Seldom Seen Kid is a very good and consistent album. I haven't heard the new one, but the new ones sounded good last night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO21KNsMiOs

and especially for viva
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcyskaMoBT0

Glad you enjoyed them jelly. It is a testament to how good they were when I saw them that so many people got to their seats early purely to see the support act. Doesn't matter where you see them though, you can't beat that baseline and tens of thousands of people singing Ohooohooohooohoo (not sure I've got the right number of os and hs in there, but you know what I mean). Thanks for the clip, sound wasn't great given it was from a mobile, but the mood was spot on!

SingleSue

The school my two younger boys attend is the 'posh kids' school although still a state school, the one eldest attends, is seen as where all the rest go. This is all due to catchment, for one, the catchment is mainly where all the expensive houses are, for the other, it is where there is a higher concentration of social housing..they still have some very wealthy children going there though!

It does change the perception of what the parents can afford in the eyes in the school though...hence the ultra expensive uniform where cheap alternatives are not possible (and no 2nd hand stocks either). At least at eldest's school, you can choose where to buy the uniform as there is no emblem on any of the uniform items.

Viva - Re the BB, yes it would probably change an awful lot...just recently we have been avoiding the town centre as they have made it disabled access only for cars and by the time I have parked up in the nearest car park and walked through, I can't do anything else or go any further. Everything is planned on distance from car to target point and back again, if it is a good day or bad day, lots of steps etc.

But, I am not ready to accept it properly...I keep expecting to wake up one morning and everything is back to what it used to be like, I can pretend everything is ok if you like, just temporary...applying for a BB would make it real and permanent and almost like admitting defeat (I hate admitting defeat, get very OCD about it).

It took an awful lot to speak to the OU about the exam, to admit defeat there but maybe I am showing the first steps into acceptance?

GDB2222

lostinrates wrote: »

First year for ever that I'm not even thinking about getting petrol for the car before the budget (or feeling silly for not getting it at least). Seems to me the choice is go now for really expensive petrol, go later for really expensive petrol...whether it goes up or gets put down.

It seems that the wise choice is to keep the tank full, just in case it turns out that you end up in a radioactive exclusion zone and need to get away - assuming the reports can be believed that there are people still living within 10-20km of the Daiichi reactors because they simply can't get away.

Nikkster

Not starting collecting as such - we've been given a list of properties to visit, think they're largely where the questionnaire has been 'undelivered'. I'll know more in the next couple of hours!

I've also applied to be a an interviewer (CCS?). Sadly I am mainly doing it for the money, but it should definitely be an interesting experience, and maybe we'll be able to say we helped on the last ever census?!

As an aside I definitely agree about meeting different people - I think everyone can benefit from meeting people from different backgrounds and situations. We all need reminding that not everyone is the same as us!

Oh, and I'm hoping the weather is going to be nice like this for the next few months

michaels wrote: »

Starting collecting - I didn't think we were supposed to fill it in until the 27th?

I have my interview for interviewer role later this week, not really doing it for the money (f all after tax) but because I am really interested in meeting people and seeing what they think about the whole thing. I always think it is so easy to live in one's bubble, interacting with similar people (and yes that does include nice people) and not really know what the 'real' world is like for other groups - one of the reasons I am so anti private school is I think that one of the draws is that it makes sure that little Tarquin and Chloe only get to meet other Tarquins and Chloes and are 'taught' that their ilk are better than the 'unwashed masses'.

lemonjelly

Nikkster wrote: »

Oh, and I'm hoping the weather is going to be nice like this for the next few months

Not something I'd thought of, but holy moly I do hope you're right. Might even be quite pleasant wandering the streets in a bit of sunshine, getting a little exercise and so on...:)

lemonjelly

Sigh.

I've just skimmed through the first 2-3 pages.

I don't tend to go around the rest of the forum much, greenfingered occasionally (& that might grow over coming months - you see what I did there?;)) & I very occasionally read the thread titles in the savings section, but that aside I don't go anywhere else.

When I signed up, I loved so much about this part of the forum. I learned loads. I learned more about how much I don't know. I've come into contact with many lovely, intelligent, witty, knowledgeable, helpful people who have conversed with me, feel like we have become friends, taught me so much, given me insights into so many new worlds.

I used to spend a couple of hours a day here. I'd get into some great debates, about some very real stuff, very interesting, very fascinating. Frequently I felt like I didn't have much of a clue what I was on about, but sometimes I did. Sometimes I had learned things very relevant to the debate. Sometimes I'd add in a perceptual point which I felt was important to consider.

In short, I pretty much loved a lot about this place.

I know I've been about less, what with stuff, & a real busy time at work (which will continue for the summer). Previously I'd have really missed the forum.

So why am I feeling that I'm not missing much anymore? Or, alternatively, why on earth have we got so many threads which are complete rubbish, & have no bearing on house prices, or the economy?

vivatifosi

lemonjelly wrote: »

So why am I feeling that I'm not missing much anymore? Or, alternatively, why on earth have we got so many threads which are complete rubbish, & have no bearing on house prices, or the economy?

A lot of threads are about people's worries and do have an element of economics about them, even if not purely being about the economy (or an economy). We are indeed living in interesting times, we're coming out of the worst economic downturn, in the worst shape, since WW2 at the same time as autocracies and theocracies face losing power relatively close to our doorstep and one of the most powerful countries in the world has been hit by virtually every negative force known to mankind with the exception of Godzilla. Arguably it is the best and most interesting time to talk economics.

The problem with a market like this is while the old rules still apply - markets go up and down, shortages or instability cause prices to rise, lack of demand cause prices to fall, inelasticity means we have to spend money on certain things leading to the pinch elsewhere - yet so much else about the current market is uncertain. It isn't like previous recessions, yet it is like previous recessions. What is very different and is something I'd never have expected to see, is that previous recessions - along with the instabilities and other problems we face - have never previously been played out in the arena of the internet. So whereas in the past we'd have read papers, watched the 9 o'clock news and read the Economist to find out what's happening, an increasing number of people read blogs and watch YouTube videos. Some of these are entirely relevant, some are total tosh and amazingly people seem ill-prepared to distinguish between them. Hence we have a lot of threads about silver ramping, the Bilderberg group, what the Rothschilds have been up to, etc. Mind you, I got a 1st in Economics and I haven't got a chuffing clue what is happening.

All of this is a great shame because there never has been a better time to talk about the economy. Nor with a better bunch of people. Mumble, Gen, Purch, Monkfish et al finance; Sir H understands the government; you, Dave, missk et al explain the educational angle; fc and Alan are among those giving a small business perspective; doozer, lynz, silvercar understand property inside out. Its that meeting of minds that is really rare and keeps me coming back. We just need to band together, post more interesting thought-starters and work as a group to drive out the tinfoil hatters. Don't give up on us yet jelly...

PasturesNew

What a scorcher! Been on a few beaches today, including a picnic lunch (sandwich and crisps, sat on a rock).... car temperature gauge said it was 25-26 degrees outside. So ... what a lovely day to be able to choose how I spend it

vivatifosi

Your day sounds idyllic Pastures. The high spot of my day in terms of getting some fresh air was opening the front door of the library and leaving it open. Still, I'm off tomorrow so if it's still nice it's my turn to get out and enjoy it.