'supporting each other through really tough times'

Popperwell

Molly that's a good blog...

I know they have to pay to supply and cook school meals but though I eat small amounts and usually only one meal, whether I spend 50p or £1.50 I don't go hungry and I get a decent portion and that is whether I cook from scratch or adapt by using ingredients already prepared.

Tonight I am having mashed potato, mushrooms, eggs, sausages and baked beans and I reckon it comes in at around £1.50 but this a perhaps a larger meal tonight or the ingredients are costing more.

If I was using frozen or fresh veg it would be nutricious but be even cheaper. So you do wonder how they work out the costs? Also the amount they give...I do wonder about the value of school meals.

MrsCD

fuddle - war and paracetamol :rotfl::T Love it! Leave it just the way it is!
You are AMAZING :T:T:T Well done for standing your ground with your horrible old LL. Don't worry - people will see right through him.

Have a great Christmas in your new home and enjoy yourself.

smileyt_2

Sevenup I am a supported lodgings carer (but for a charity, not a private or council organisation). I would be thrown off the books if I locked my young person in, or if I told them they couldn't buy food because I wanted fridge space! When Lodger Boy has been at his worst I have still given him his shopping (food) money even though I might have felt like strangling him. We are not allowed to withhold food or heating as punishment and we're certainly not allowed to lock them in! (I guess the exception would be if they were somehow off their face on drugs and it was a safety issue, but then it would only be for as long as the ambulance took to arrive!) You must complain to whoever employs the carer as they are breaking all the rules! There are also procedures for me to request a break if it's all getting too much for me, and the young person is found another place to stay for two weeks. There has to be an exit strategy (unless of course young person just ups and goes, but I can't just 'throw them out'). The way this carer has behaved is outrageous - I'm not surprised your daughter was in tears!

Well done, nuttyp.

Fuddle what a piece of work your ex-landlord is. You are well shot of him.

Straycat hasn't been here today. Perhaps he's found someone to take him in and is lying in front of a warm fire.

I bought some trainers and waterproof boots today. Trainers cost £12 and when I got home I found they originally retailed at £135! Boots cost £28 and they originally retailed for £123. From TK Maximus. Mind, they were only size 2's so there would have been no VAT - the only benefit of having little feet! No way would I pay £135 for a pair of trainers! They are ones that tone your legs and bum but I didn't know this until I'd walked a mile in them and was thinking, " What's happening to my bum?" - and then I twigged :rotfl:.

lisakay_2

lol, smiley. i had a pair of toning trainers once. took me ages to get used to them and i still have wobbly legs and a saggy bum

I weny into school before i picked the girls up and spoke to the most senior member of staff available who also happens to be the healthy meals coordinator who writes up the packed lunch guidelines...i had lots of fun with her
two lots of carbs in the same meal, no quality protein, no vegi option for the juniors as the infants had eaten it all (cheese salad, no hot vegi meal), no dairy if the kids chose fruit as their dessert. although once the juniors came in for their dinner the portion size increased to...7 pieces of ravioli per child, no seconds.

the meals cost £1.95 per child.
apparently members of staff have recently raised the same concerns over quality and portion size, with the reception class often complaining they are hungry by mid afternoon.

ok, so i know i said i wouldn't go into detail, but i'm still fuming.
the cook said to me before she left this'll be like a day off to you, coming from secondary to primary. she wasn't wrong. in secondary not a minute of our day is unaccounted for. I was there for 45 minutes today before i lifted a finger to do any work, told to sit down, have a brew, go for a cig (no need to get changed out of uniform, no one will see). oh and when you've finished later, just have a quick sweep round, don'y bother mopping the floor we only do that once a week, twice if it needs it...
when the water jugs came back in from the tables, no need to wash them they've only had water in them (no matter the dozen sticky little mitts that have been handling them)

i'm disgusted, embarrassed and ashamed. no wonder the council are losing catering contracts if thats how the other kitchens are run!!

ETA, and i shall be requesting a refund on the (nearly) £4 it cost me to pay for the girls meals today. DD1 said hers was cold when she sat down. not surprised, it had been in the servery keeping warm since before i got in at 11am and no temp checks were done on it before dishing up.

Softstuff

fuddle wrote: »

Peace not paracetamol, darn phone lol

I preferred "War and Paracetamol" too, gave me a giggle And you're not selfish talking about your stuff Fuddle, you're one of the most selfless people I know. That landlord will give in long before you do.

Lisakay, I can't get over how disgusting that whole school dinner saga is from start to finish.

Unix, we're all waiting with baited breath too.

I had a lovely day at my charity shop yesterday. Bought a nice set of measuring cups for $1.50, they're so sweet (they look like little teacups) and they make me smile.

Poor hubby has wisdom teeth worries. He has one coming through and the dentist says it'll be an easy removal if it has to come out. The thing is, he's very nervous about the whole thing, because unlike me (my teeth are all my own....well, I bought and paid for them), he's never had so much as a filling. In contrast, removing my wisdom tooth will mean surgery.... but even though I'm generally nervous at the dentist, I'm ok with that!

lisakay_2

softstuff, i'm still fuming. and i'm normally way too lazy to get worked up over stuff.
i dont want anyone to think this is the norm, it's not. not even close. my local council (who runs the kitchen i'm in and the girls' school) has very high standards. i have no idea how this has gone unnoticed.
the catering manager at the town hall will be getting his ear bent in the morning, and i will be putting my name and my supervisors name forward in a takeover bid. watch this space...

good luck on the wisdom tooth front, i had to have one removed because there was no room in my mouth for it, and here's me, the one who normally has such a big gob, lol

grandma247

Softstuff wrote: »

I preferred "War and Paracetamol" too, gave me a giggle

Me too.

Fuddle I had tears running down my face when I read about the phone call. He should be embarrassed but I doubt he is. He has no conscience.

My youngest daughters kids went to a school a while ago that regularly ran out of food and the only option the kids had was rubbish sandwiches. She moved house and got them into a school with proper dinners.

monnagran

Fuddle: war and paracetamol. You've added a whole new phrase to the English language. Remember folks, you heard it here first.

lisakay: well done for not taking this lying down. If other parents knew what their children were getting for their hard earned money, there would surely be a riot.

maryb

war and paracetamol, love it, love it!!

though it wouldn't mean anything to our American cousins - War and Tylenol doesn't have the same ring

katieowl_2

I liked War and Paracetamol too...I though it was, um, some deep comment on war and what a headache it all was....

I've done some sums...and cancelled my xmas shopping trip tomorrow. Well I'm still doing it, but in 'my' town, not 'big' town and saving the £20 on petrol. I feel better already because I was dreading it. I've a squillion things to do here anyway, and the last market push is for Sunday, when I have about six orders for mince pies etc to deliver...so I could do with not being knackered on Saturday, when I have to cook it all. Just means I'll have slightly less choice for the DD's BF's but as I hadn't a clue what to get anyway...that might be a good thing.

Also does anyone have a yummy recipe for savoury crackers to eat with cheese. As I'm providing the last two courses of Xmas dinner, I thought the least I could do was have a bash at some HM crackers?

Kate

I