How much to live on

[Deleted User]

I prefer checking out my own groceries. I especially like smartshop where you can scan and pack without having to unload the trolley and then pack it all into bags again! So much easier and no queues.

helensbiggestfan

I am not a teacher nor a professional educator however I do take an interest in subjects such as psychology, child development, etc.  I have always believed in lifelong learning and I am strongly in favour of education and the pursuit of knowledge purely for the joy of it. It's such a pity that school often destroys enjoyment of learning in the pursuit of exam success.  

I know there has to be some sort of measurement of progress but I don't think our current exam system represents a true reflection of someone's intellectual capacity or future potential.  It all seems terribly arbitrary at best and at its worst it seems little more than a futile tick box exercise.  

I have seen too many "failures" go on to achieve spectacular success once they left school and a great many "academic high fliers" who were predicted to have golden futures, later crash and burn to believe that exam success is any kind of worthwhile yardstick.  

We now know much more about the human brain.  We know that the pre frontal cortex (the thinking part) is not fully developed until around the age of 25, slightly later in males. Late Bloomers are definitely a thing and they can often end up outstripping those who seem to show early glittering promise. 

I have mentioned in the past how I have worked for several self made multi millionaires. Not  one of them had a university education.  They either dropped out because of boredom or they didn't even bother attending in the first place.   Interesting....🤷‍♀️lol. 

I can throughly recommend "Late Bloomers" by Richard Karlgaard. 

A couple of other books which examine the subject of "success" I found interesting and informative are "Quiet"by Susan Cain, and "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell.  

My advice to any student who is disappointed with their exam results is to not let it define them.  There is more than one way to skin a cat.   Keep trying. Find another path. 

And I would strongly advise parents and teachers not to judge their perceived failure too harshly. It's not necessarily down to laziness, lack of ability.  It could just be wrong timing or the student was led into a cul de sac.  

 An exam result is not a predictor of someone's future.  Not by a long shot.  

Re - checking out groceries....... 

Went to Lidl. There was an assistant trying to encourage shoppers to use the self service tills.  He approached me,  I said "thank you but I prefer not to use them". He said he would do it for me.  He was very pleasant and helpful, even trying to show me how to navigate them.  I thanked him and listened politely of course but I still haven't  the slightest intention of using them in the future.

 I will fight the system until the bitter end. The powers that be know there has been a rapid increase in shoplifting and theft since the introduction of self service tills.  They save on wages whilst the loss of revenue due to theft is passed to customers.  We, the hapless customers, are shafted twice over, increased prices, worsening service.  

And whilst I'm on my soap box........😂 

Bring back bus conductors -  it would make buses safer and more pleasant, and there would be fewer opportunities for fare dodging.   Bring back lift attendants - I once knew an elderly lady with a withered arm who was a lift attendant, she loved her job. It gave her independence and dignity. She said she loved meeting people.  When the store closed she had to claim disability allowance. She hated being dependent on the State. 

Bring back rag and bone men. They were the original recyclers. They might help reduce fly tipping and keep our streets cleaner.  

All these service jobs, lost.  They might not have been the best jobs for long term career prospects and prosperity but they were often good as either starter jobs or for students etc.  They are certainly no worse than working in fast food outlets or as delivery drivers. 

 And one thing seems self evident to me.  Service jobs make the world a better place, service workers often seem to act as guardians to a more civilised way of living, often helping keep low grade crime, such as rowdy behaviour and littering at bay,  and helping reduce petty theft, vandalism and graffiti.  

My parents were both bus conductors for a while, back in the day. Yes they moved on to bigger and better things but they genuinely loved being "clippies" and would often reminisce about their time "on the buses".  My dad in particular could sort out rowdy passengers whilst my mum, who could charm the birds off the trees, could handle overly boisterous teenagers with aplomb.  

Let's face it, if I wanted to be a checkout operator I could apply for a job as one.  Actually I was one for a while many years ago.  In those days there were no bar codes, half the time there were no price labels. You had to know the price of every product.!!!  And, you had to work out what change to give back (pre decimal of course). Now that was a real memory workout.  Kept the brain in good nick.  😉. 

And it was fun while it lasted.  Much more fun than some of my later higher pressure proper "career" jobs.  

Albermarle

Bring back rag and bone men. They were the original recyclers. They might help reduce fly tipping and keep our streets cleaner

They still exist around here. They cruise the streets in pick up trucks looking to see if anybody has left anything out. 
Although I think they are mainly interested in metal items. 

helensbiggestfan

Yes there are still some left, as you say concentrating mainly on metals.  There's money in metals. (Which is why ne'er do wells strip lead off buildings and nick boilers off construction sites). 

  Textiles are now pretty much worthless, which is why they are such a problem, because so much fabric is synthetic and non biodegrable.  Fast fashion has a lot to answer for.  

I think some people are looking at ways to recycle textiles into insulation materials but not much progress so far.  Charity shops get paid around 40p a kilo for clothing they can't sell. But so often it just ends up being shipped to developing countries where it is supposed to be sorted and recycled but ultimately it often just gets dumped, polluting soil and water courses.  It's a growing problem with serious consequences.  

My son, who is an electrical contractor, now has an extra bin for electrical waste. It's a private scheme, not council run. Like a lot of metal waste, it is priced by weight.  He has to pay fees but even so it's still quite lucrative,  averaging £80 to £100 per bin. 

I still think it might be worth introducing a deposit scheme for aluminium cans for fizzy drinks,  like the old pop bottle returns when I was a kid.  😂

QrizB

helensbiggestfan said:

 In those days there were no bar codes, half the time there were no price labels. You had to know the price of every product.!!!  

I have hear that one of the problems before barcoding was that the supermarket might increase the price of a can of beans from 4p to 5p but the checkout operators would still ring it up at the old price, because that's what they remembered it as ...

helensbiggestfan said:

I still think it might be worth introducing a deposit scheme for aluminium cans for fizzy drinks,  like the old pop bottle returns when I was a kid.  😂

Itreland and Germany both have deposit return schemes, and Scotland has been working on one for a while now.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposit_Return_Scheme_(Scotland)

helensbiggestfan

QrizB said:

helensbiggestfan said:

 In those days there were no bar codes, half the time there were no price labels. You had to know the price of every product.!!!  

I have hear that one of the problems before barcoding was that the supermarket might increase the price of a can of beans from 4p to 5p but the checkout operators would still ring it up at the old price, because that's what they remembered it as ...

helensbiggestfan said:

I still think it might be worth introducing a deposit scheme for aluminium cans for fizzy drinks,  like the old pop bottle returns when I was a kid.  😂

Itreland and Germany both have deposit return schemes, and Scotland has been working on one for a while now.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposit_Return_Scheme_(Scotland)

Yes, we had a new price list every Monday. Lol. 

Yeah, the  UK are behind with recycling, deposits etc.  

meant to say.......my new neighbours are fab.  Yesterday a neighbour gave me a bag of fat juicy plums.  Must be about £20 worth. 

Organgrinder

When in Norway ten years ago every can or plastic bottle had a recycling label from memory, that if scanned at the recycling point gave you a voucher to spend in the shop.

Really easy and convenient.

Much like the self scan systems in supermarkets. I always use them in Tesco for my main shops. Tells you how much you've spent and automatically applies any coupons you may have. It doesn't automatically deduct the 10% discount with Clubcard Extra but it is a pretty straightforward calculation after all.

tooldle

helensbiggestfan said:

  Textiles are now pretty much worthless, which is why they are such a problem, because so much fabric is synthetic and non biodegrable.  Fast fashion has a lot to answer for.  

I think some people are looking at ways to recycle textiles into insulation materials but not much progress so far.  Charity shops get paid around 40p a kilo for clothing they can't sell. But so often it just ends up being shipped to developing countries where it is supposed to be sorted and recycled but ultimately it often just gets dumped, polluting soil and water courses.  It's a growing problem with serious consequences.  

There exist now a number of clothing companies whose USP is their clothing is made from recycled materials. Some focus mainly on Nylon from a range of sources and others, offer a wider range of fabrics including cotton from used clothing. 

MarzipanCrumble

Primark have a clothes/textiles recycling bin.  Does not matter the state or the make.  Hope they are responsible in what they do with the contents........

Wales is renowned for its recycling rates - one up for the labour gov here.  2nd in the world......
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c511344v959o

Wales' overall recycling rate for 2022-23 was 65.7%, exceeding the target of 64%. The household recycling rate reached 64.3%, while the non-household recycling rate increased to 76%. Wales is also recognized globally, ranking second in the world for recycling rates. 

helensbiggestfan

Didn't know that about Wales. Excellent.