Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

Fidelia

HairyHandofDartmoor said:

I know I'll have to go to school tomorrow, it's the uncertainty of not knowing if it will be classes of thirty or just key workers and vulnerable children . 

I haven't managed to read all the way through your diary yet, HHoD (though I will, I promise!), but am curious as to why you have to go in to work if it's just the key workers' and vulnerable children attending. I may have got the wrong end of the stick but I thought you were doing TA cover and still waiting for a permanent post. Can't the school operate safely with a 'skeleton' staff for the next few weeks?  Or maybe a lot of regular staff are having to isolate at home at the moment?  Such a state of flux for all concerned at the moment.  Take care x

Fidelia

foxgloves said:

HHoD - Yes, we noticed that....Mr F said 'When even Jeremy Hunt is sounding reasonable, you know the government has hit rock bottom'. 

I feel so sorry for Matt Hancock being the Health Secretary during this awful time especially as he was relatively new to the post when the pandemic started.  I still think he's a 'lightweight' though and have very little faith in his ability to see us safely through this if past showing has been anything to go by.  Unlike Mr F, foxgloves,I was always a big fan of Jeremy Hunt as Health Secretary (speaking as a former NHS employee when lots of my colleagues were less than impressed with some of the 'run ins' over contracts etc that they and their unions had with him).  I certainly wish Boris had kept him in post.  I think it was JH who said yesterday that we should close our borders immediately.  Couldn't agree more, can't understand why it wasn't done in the first lockdown.  He also said we should quarantine anyone entering UK in hotels etc, not just rely on them going to wherever they said they would quarantine themselves.  Obviously logistical and financial considerations to this approach  but New Zealand eradicated Covid by having a total border closure, I can't see why we can't try to contain it better even at this late stage.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Fidelia said:

foxgloves said:

HHoD - Yes, we noticed that....Mr F said 'When even Jeremy Hunt is sounding reasonable, you know the government has hit rock bottom'. 

I feel so sorry for Matt Hancock being the Health Secretary during this awful time especially as he was relatively new to the post when the pandemic started.  I still think he's a 'lightweight' though and have very little faith in his ability to see us safely through this if past showing has been anything to go by.  Unlike Mr F, foxgloves,I was always a big fan of Jeremy Hunt as Health Secretary (speaking as a former NHS employee when lots of my colleagues were less than impressed with some of the 'run ins' over contracts etc that they and their unions had with him).  I certainly wish Boris had kept him in post.  I think it was JH who said yesterday that we should close our borders immediately.  Couldn't agree more, can't understand why it wasn't done in the first lockdown.  He also said we should quarantine anyone entering UK in hotels etc, not just rely on them going to wherever they said they would quarantine themselves.  Obviously logistical and financial considerations to this approach  but New Zealand eradicated Covid by having a total border closure, I can't see why we can't try to contain it better even at this late stage.

A border closure would certainly have contained the virus but it wasn't done.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Fidelia said:

HairyHandofDartmoor said:

I know I'll have to go to school tomorrow, it's the uncertainty of not knowing if it will be classes of thirty or just key workers and vulnerable children . 

I haven't managed to read all the way through your diary yet, HHoD (though I will, I promise!), but am curious as to why you have to go in to work if it's just the key workers' and vulnerable children attending. I may have got the wrong end of the stick but I thought you were doing TA cover and still waiting for a permanent post. Can't the school operate safely with a 'skeleton' staff for the next few weeks?  Or maybe a lot of regular staff are having to isolate at home at the moment?  Such a state of flux for all concerned at the moment.  Take care x

Hi Fidelia. I have a permanent contract as an MTA and will be required to attend every day in order to look after key workers' and vulnerable children at lunchtimes. My TA cover may not be required any more, but it depends upon how many vulnerable/key workers' children will be attending school. As teachers will be busy preparing online learning, TAs may be needed to do face to face teaching. It all depends upon the numbers attending. So I'll have to wait and see what the head teacher decides as to staff that are needed on site.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I have a bonus day off 😁 as only teachers and office staff are in school today, drawing up rotas and preparing for online learning. I'll definitely be needed every day for my MTA role I think, but I'm not sure about my TA cover so I need to wait for the rotas to be emailed. I'll miss a morning's TA cover pay this morning 😞, but it's not a huge amount of money if it's just a one off.

Last night at 11pm the office staff and teachers were still trying to email parents to let them know the school is closed today but the email system kept crashing so they were tearing their hair out and totally stressed 😱😱😱. The short notice is putting immense pressure on school staff and parents 😡🤬. What a nightmare!

Anyway I've used part of my bonus day off to go back to Mr M and buy oven chips and mineral water that I'd forgotten to buy yesterday. The store was quite busy for a Tuesday morning, probably full of people panic buying 🤣.

This afternoon I'm going to help DH finish preparing our paperwork for the accountants. I'm not sure if lockdown will affect DH as he seems to have some possible work in the offing. He didn't apply for the self employed grant in December as he had some work come in in early December that was reasonably lucrative. 

I hope this new (but much anticipated, by me anyway!) lockdown doesn't affect my diary friends too badly.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I've just heard from school that I'll be doing my normal MTA session every lunchtime in my usual year group bubble (just with a smaller class presumably). I'll feel much safer in the canteen with less children as it will reduce the potential viral load. We've been told to wear a mask for the entire session.

I'm still waiting to hear if I'm needed for TA cover 🤞.

Sunshine_girl2

Glad to hear you will still have work to go to HH. Although I agree with the lockdown , the timing was awful for schools. My GKs were in school yesterday , luckily they understand why they can't go again. My DS just rolls his eyes and says Boris we can't do anything and he is the boss 😂. I am busy printing off jolly phonics worksheets for my DGD to do .
Enjoy your extra time off and keep safe . 

Fidelia

Must be so unsettling for school staff at the moment, my heart goes out to all of you who are involved in that line of work.  Good luck to your DH, HHoD, that some enjoyable and lucrative work comes in for him soon.  It must be a very unsettling situation for him too but then, self-employment often is at the best of times.  My late Dad ran his own business,  employing a few staff and with premises to pay for and I know what nightmares he went through during past recessions. We only discovered after he passed away that he'd released so much equity from the family home to pay his staff's wages and just generally stay afloat.  Some employees had been with him all their working lives and he felt so paternal towards them. DH was a mix of SE and a PT salaried job.  If the SE work dried up he could often 'up' his hours at the other job so we never really had to struggle too much on that score although we were never 'flush'.  He would rather have just been SE but needs must when we had a large young family. I always worked full time once our youngest started full-time school. Now DH is retired he's thankful that he stuck it out in the paid job that he didn't much enjoy because he gets a company  pension, even though not a full one, and is still able to do his SE bit knowing it isn't the end of the world financially if commissions are thin on the ground (which they currently are!).

Will your DS be able to stay at home longer than you all expected or will he be part of the phased return?  According to Michael Gove on TV this morning, I think he said students should stay put where they currently are.  Must be a massively unsettling time for students too especially as they're paying so much for very little in return..  Is your son in his final year? I've lost track of where he's up to. sorry.  Sending hugs to all your family, HH0D.  You're  coping so well with your usual cheerfulness and optimism xx 

Willowtree222

Hope you're ok Hairy. 
We've been told that in my setting we're now also responsible for supervising the students testing themselves. Not looking forward to that one x

mummytogirls

Glad to hear you feel safe in your job at school with less children HHOD. I think we got our letter out earlier than others last night as it went without a hitch. The system spent all morning crashing though, absolute nightmare!!!! xx