Hope his next round of excitement wasn’t charging you for an overdraft Ivan. JS
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Hope his next round of excitement wasn’t charging you for an overdraft Ivan. JS
# BUPA operates Residential Care Homes and Nursing Homes around the UK. When the fire legislation changed from the FPA1971 to the RR(FS)O-2005 which put the responsibility of fire safety on the risk creators not on the fire authority, I was part of a team of fire risk assessors employed on a full-time basis to inspect these care homes. I once referred to them as Old Folks Homes only to be forcefully corrected by a matron. PC.
Makes a change to being spanked by a matron!Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Copley
Once worked with a guy who was well known for his exaggeration. One of his best was just after moving into a new house he was digging in the. garden and found a V.W. Beetle buried in it. He dug it out and it started first time. Very reliable those German cars!
Regards Michael
#10. Hi Ivan. I had to smile at the idea of a bank manager having an exciting life in banking, there aren’t many TV dramas based around Chartered Accountants. I had this discussion with my niece the other day, she is an art teacher, very left wing, politically correct, and woke. A product of the long march through the institutions that is rampant in the UK at the moment. My niece argued that she has had as much experience in life as I had, and my age had nothing to do with experience. I mentioned (without trying to make me out to be too clever by half) that, since leaving the school of hard knocks, St Mary’s SM School Burnley in 1958, undoubtedly the roughest school in Burnley, without any qualifications, starting full time employment a week before my 15th birthday I had done following jobs; building timber sheds until I was 16, then 12 years sea circumnavigating the world 3 times before I was 18, visiting over 100 different foreign countries and islands, serving on tramp steamers, tankers and trawlers. Qualifying as a ship’s radio officer. Then serving 28 years in the fire service having at different times had the following references; pump commander, watch commander, station commander, assistant divisional officer FP Bradford division, licensing officer, petroleum and explosives officer, radiation officer (Although I didn’t know too much about rad risks) command and control of major incidents officer, collapsed buildings and collapsed excavations officer, Breathing Apparatus Main Control Officer. And then working for 9 years 6 months in a hotel. Well, I told her, I thought I was ‘a man of the world’ - been there, seen it, read the book, until I worked for Shire Hotels. I was quite innocent about what goes on in hotels – you haven’t lived until you have witnessed a Burnley wedding, with the crying bride stamping a full wedding cake down the toilet wanting to sleep with the best man, when she caught her new husband with his hand up the chief bridesmaid’s dress. The groom fighting with the bride’s father, etc, etc. I remember the manager saying to me, “Oh, Peter, Peter, they’re kicking off in the Garden Room, can you go and sort them out?!” I said, “Flipping heck, Paula, you’re the manager, you go and sort ‘em.”
“Aw go on, Peter, you’re a man.” I said, “Let them fight, then call the cops.”
When I got used to the antics of the great British public who had been drinking from 10am until 2am the following morning, I loved working in the hotel, best job ever meeting people from all over the world. Then I spent the next 7 or 8 years as a fire risk assessor inspecting hundreds of premises until I retired at the age of 73. I reminded my schoolteacher niece that during the 46 years I was involved with fire safety work, I inspected well over 250 schools dealing with belligerent teachers and head teachers who think they know everything in the world. Anyway, as I said to my niece, “I don’t want to insult you, Emma, but I think I’ve had a bit more experience of life than you have teaching kids how to paint a flower.” Needless to say, she hit the roof at that! I didn’t dare say, ‘People who can do, do. People who can’t do, teach.’ She’d have bit my head off at that. PC710198.
[QUOTE=Peter Copley;3 ‘People who can do, do. People who can’t do, teach.’ She’d have bit my head off at that. PC710198.[/QUOTE]
Peter I've said that a couple of times and had my head bitten off, but have pointed out to them that they've been going to the same school for 20 years, teaching the same subject for 20 years and probably instilling the same inaccuracies into hundreds of pupils over the years to a captive audience, but they don't see it that way. They get so used to speaking to pupils in a condescending manner they think they can do it to adults; maybe some adults keep quiet because the have children at the school. Welcome as a fox in a hen house doesn't come into it
Hi Peter, When I read your piece, I thought for one minute we'd met. Me having been a Fireman (shoreside) and prior to that 9 years in the Army. After, that was, a short spell on a tub built in the 20's in the Bay of Bengal and points further east. Fortunately I realised that you couldn't have meant me, since I'm 80 and Jomo Kenyata was never my best mate! Anyway your observations are quite thought provoking since I've met quite a few insecure characters in my time, who fit this bill. I do get some comments though when I'm quizzed about how I've navigated through life; MN, Army, Fire Service. Fortunately I was never that good negotiating any of them, but then my wife has told me at least a 1000 times to stop exagerating.
Cheers
Antony
#12... I reside today in something similar , but are called retirement villages. To gain residence in such one must be over 55. If you want to see what they are like google RAAFA Retirement Village Mandurah W.A. You may see a vibrant Community still dancing to Fred Astaire. Cheers JS
When I moved to Cooma I showed a class of older people, [all younger than me ] how to put a ship in a bottle, I had also taking a couple of photo albums with my ships pictures in them, I would say that 90% hadn't seen a ship other than on TV, they were amazed when I told them that hundreds of tankers of that size and much bigger were month after month running up the Persian Gulf, to "Where is that".
I suppose we must allow for some people, one, not being aware, and two wrapped up in where they are.
Cheers Des
The problem with teaching these days is that teacher has to put up with little Johnny's sh-t 5 days a week. Then there is every likely hood little Johnny will tell his drugged up mum and piss-d up father that the teacher is picking on him with the end result of teacher getting a kicking. But yes I agree that some members of the teaching profession do think they have been through the University of Life. An old saying which I am sure a few will have heard before, there is only one thing worse than a first trip Junior Engineer and that is a second trip Junior Engineer. I know I am sure I was guilty of that charge myself. My biggest bug at sea was usually Cadets when I was Junior(which was not for very long because I knew everything about ships after my my first trip. They had read a few books and thought they knew it all. Ask them to turn out a bolt or something on the lathe or milling machine they went pale and stuttered that is the fitters job. I served my apprenticeship shore side as a fitter welder , as a hobby I used to restore cars etc! so I knew my way around a workshop fitting skills was like water of a ducks back I did two years in the tool room and my last couple of years in the pipe fitting fabrication shop. On my first trip we had a problem with a hold bilge well. The loading was delayed until this could be resolved. They got a shoreside welder down and he was fannying about with it. He said the stub piece was to short and he could not get a weld around the back underneath. The Chief was a pig ignorant guy from Anglesey. They were all at the top of the hold looking down at the pipe concerned talking about Thistle bond and Cement boxes but these take time. I asked why not just weld the pipe from the inside of the pipe. Chief ripped me a new one wtf would you know. I went down the hold asked the welder for his gear and did the job in 5 minutes pumped the bilge well out and we carried on loading. The Chief never spoke to me for a day. He sent for me gave me a case of beer on OCS account and asked me how I knew that would work. I told him a bear faced lie that I was a coded welder, he looked at me quite dubiously not sure if I was taking the pis-. Still I went 4/eng halfway through my next trip