The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

chris_m

michaels wrote: »

I noticed while I was up there that the unit said it needed replacement in 2022

You sure that was in 2022 and not in half an hour?

ivyleaf

LydiaJ wrote: »

Congratulations. Once Aged P had had his cataracts done, his vision was better than it had been for decades!



That's interesting. Were they individual instrumental lessons or in big groups? Schools in England are already desperately underfunded and getting worse. I'm afraid I don't see much prospect of anybody finding the funding for children to be taught anything, including music, in groups smaller than a whole class of 30, and I'm not sure how well you can learn an instrument in that kind of context.

Individual. But it did depend on a school instrument being available if you didn't have access to one of your own. I wanted to learn the clarinet, but they were all in use, so I tried the bassoon but didn't have enough "puff". But when i was doing SCE Music I was able to have piano lessons for free.

At the DGC's primary school (i.e. the one DGS moved from but DG D stayed at) they all get a year's lessons on year 4, either trumpet or viola. I think the lessons were free but instruments had to be hired.

LydiaJ

ivyleaf wrote: »

Individual. But it did depend on a school instrument being available if you didn't have access to one of your own. I wanted to learn the clarinet, but they were all in use, so I tried the bassoon but didn't have enough "puff". But when i was doing SCE Music I was able to have piano lessons for free.

At the DGC's primary school (i.e. the one DGS moved from but DG D stayed at) they all get a year's lessons on year 4, either trumpet or viola. I think the lessons were free but instruments had to be hired.

I'm impressed!

zagubov

hjd, sorry for your loss.
Sue, I hope all goes according to plan tomorrow.

michaels wrote: »

The spare was a lithium, luckily it stopped beeping after a minute with the new batt, ours does slide right off the ceiling part once you have stood on a rickety stool and figured out where to put a screwdriver blade and that it then slides rather than twists despite being round so at least you can put the new battery in having climbed down.

I noticed while I was up there that the unit said it needed replacement in 2022

I sometimes think that maybe all smoke alarms should have the same design for opening/replacing batteries etc. It seems stupid to have to marvel at the diversity of product differentiation when you're looking up from the top of a stepladder.
Either that, or we should be given training at school. If I had someone who was leaving home to live by themselves, I'd give them this book or one like it, but even this doesn't cover smoke alarms.

silvercar

DS2's (private) secondary school insisted that all year 7 (age 11/ 12) learned a musical instrument for a year, as part of offering a fully rounded education. Great idea in theory, he chose the violin. After one term he was ready to give up, as were we. After two terms even his teacher agreed. Though we were all pleased that it had been offered and he had tried.

Pyxis

I'm a bit confused as to why a wired in (mains) smoke alarm neeeds to have a battery changed.

PasturesNew

ivyleaf wrote: »

Individual. But it did depend on a school instrument being available if you didn't have access to one of your own. I wanted to learn the clarinet, but they were all in use, so I tried the bassoon but didn't have enough "puff". But when i was doing SCE Music I was able to have piano lessons for free.

At the DGC's primary school (i.e. the one DGS moved from but DG D stayed at) they all get a year's lessons on year 4, either trumpet or viola. I think the lessons were free but instruments had to be hired.

We had no free lessons, nor instruments. Wealthier kids had/brought their own instruments into "music" lessons... poorer kids had to use the school's tambourine or triangle.

I did have a simple recorder, no lessons though, you had to teach yourself.

I was "quite good" at piano, my parents bought an old piano from a neighbour and I got a lesson from a chap aged about 80 for about 6 months or so until I was about 10, then we moved house and that was that. He charged 2/6d and a cheese sandwich

So that was that for music. I continued to "teach myself" on the piano over the next few years, but without books/etc you just try to play the few pieces of dog-eared music that came with the piano ... so that never went far. Fleur de Lys was my greatest achievement... but with few scores else that became a bit tiresome.

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

I'm a bit confused as to why a wired in (mains) smoke alarm neeeds to have a battery changed.

In case of power failure, the alarm still operates. I'm guessing, in a real fire, one of the things that might first blow out is the actual power.

PasturesNew

Thoughts to the Clan of Sue, who are packing/driving again today.

SingleSue

We had free instrument lessons at high school, I wanted to do piano or violin but they were full so I did horn, cornet and trumpet instead.

For Josh, his PRU purchased musical instruments and hired a specialist teacher after it was discovered that he calmed down and was able to learn after banging/tapping on walls, doors, tins etc. It was one teacher's hunch that changed Josh's life, before that they thought he was just doing it to be annoying/wind up rather than trying to calm himself. That one hunch meant that he calmed down enough to return to mainstream education and because access to playing music was a main stay in his statement of educational needs, ultimately, take GCSEs, A levels and go to university.

He did a mini dissertation (6000 words) last year on the benefits of music and differing needs, scored really well on it too.