It may be an urban myth that Inuit have 100 words for snow, but people who live in the South East have one sentence that covers small amounts of snow, rain or wind. "can I go home early please I'm going to wet myself"
They probably do have 100 words for snow, like we have Lord knows how many words for rain, e.g. drizzle, shower, spitting.
It may be an urban myth that Inuit have 100 words for snow, but people who live in the South East have one sentence that covers small amounts of snow, rain or wind. "can I go home early please I'm going to wet myself"
They probably do have 100 words for snow, like we have Lord knows how many words for rain, e.g. drizzle, shower, spitting.
It may be an urban myth that Inuit have 100 words for snow, but people who live in the South East have one sentence that covers small amounts of snow, rain or wind. "can I go home early please I'm going to wet myself"
They probably do have 100 words for snow, like we have Lord knows how many words for rain, e.g. drizzle, shower, spitting.
How many can we think of?
Tipping it down its siling cats and dogs its biblical
AVB having a pop at the lack of support at WHL - twas ever thus, great fans away from home but we don't cheer until 2-0 up when at home. Always been the case unless a 'big game' vs Chelsea or Arsenal when we do bother for 15 mins or so.
He's spot on and right to challenge us to do better. Mind you after the Spanners debacle, no wonder we were jumpy today!
Having said that we've only played well for 1 1/2 vs Chelsea so far this season, scored the same no of goals as Fulham and yet unbelievably we're 4th due to umpteen clean sheets (seriously not Spurs-like)....
Anyone remember the Perfect Day video the BBC played about a million times between programmes in about September 1997 for no particular reason? It was just after they launched their new balloon ident IIRC.
AVB having a pop at the lack of support at WHL - twas ever thus, great fans away from home but we don't cheer until 2-0 up when at home. Always been the case unless a 'big game' vs Chelsea or Arsenal when we do bother for 15 mins or so.
He's spot on and right to challenge us to do better. Mind you after the Spanners debacle, no wonder we were jumpy today!
Having said that we've only played well for 1 1/2 vs Chelsea so far this season, scored the same no of goals as Fulham and yet unbelievably we're 4th due to umpteen clean sheets (seriously not Spurs-like)....
Onwards and upwards!
At least you're in the top four at the moment. I'm fearing for West Ham already!
Anyone remember the Perfect Day video the BBC played about a million times between programmes in about September 1997 for no particular reason? It was just after they launched their new balloon ident IIRC.
Wasn't that the children in need single? Although not a patch on the original, it was a lot more interesting than just wheeling out the boyband du jour with a dull upbeat cover of a half forgotten song from the 80s.
It may be an urban myth that Inuit have 100 words for snow, but people who live in the South East have one sentence that covers small amounts of snow, rain or wind. "can I go home early please I'm going to wet myself"
They probably do have 100 words for snow, like we have Lord knows how many words for rain, e.g. drizzle, shower, spitting.
How many can we think of?
Tipping it down its siling cats and dogs its biblical
Pouring down Precipitation misting chucking it down
Barcelona is a fascinating town right now - a city in foment. I find it quite depressing. The open, broad-minded place I used to know has become insular and parochial. Friends from here, Catalans born and bred, feel themselves marginalised, their Catalan patriotism questioned, if they don't support independence. There is an intolerant, narrow-minded nationalism here that is utterly repellant, for all the Madrid government is stoking the fires. At some stage something is going to give.
Mr. Observer, might the intolerance for non-independent (as it were) thinking be related to the very hardline stance of Madrid? ie - not supporting Catalonian independence is considered the same as supporting the Madrid government over Catalan?
Is the Spanish Government, which I think has indicated it doesn't consider the referendum on independence to be valid, going to actually try and stop it, or let it go ahead?
Barcelona is a fascinating town right now - a city in foment. I find it quite depressing. The open, broad-minded place I used to know has become insular and parochial. Friends from here, Catalans born and bred, feel themselves marginalised, their Catalan patriotism questioned, if they don't support independence. There is an intolerant, narrow-minded nationalism here that is utterly repellant, for all the Madrid government is stoking the fires. At some stage something is going to give.
Nice to see attempts to create a European demos are simply fracturing those which did exist in to smaller pieces.
Mr. Maaaarsh, that may not necessarily harm the horrid EU's efforts to become a state. It depends whether such smaller groups are pro-EU or not. The SNP seem to be very pro-Europe.
Barcelona is a fascinating town right now - a city in foment. I find it quite depressing. The open, broad-minded place I used to know has become insular and parochial. Friends from here, Catalans born and bred, feel themselves marginalised, their Catalan patriotism questioned, if they don't support independence. There is an intolerant, narrow-minded nationalism here that is utterly repellant, for all the Madrid government is stoking the fires. At some stage something is going to give.
Nice to see attempts to create a European demos are simply fracturing those which did exist in to smaller pieces.
Anyone remember the Perfect Day video the BBC played about a million times between programmes in about September 1997 for no particular reason? It was just after they launched their new balloon ident IIRC.
It was put out as a charity single after they got a load of artists who owed at least part of their exposure to the BBC to record bits of it.
"In response to accusations from commercial competitors that the corporation had wasted vast sums on the film it was revealed that each artist received a "token" £250 because of their belief in the BBC."
"Whatever your musical taste, it is catered for by BBC Radio and Television. This is only possible thanks to the unique way the BBC is paid for by you. BBC. You make it what it is."
Guaranteed to induce rage among the PB Tea Party Tories. They'd be even more angry if they knew the song was about heroin.
Funny you should mention that, one of my favourite Velvet Underground songs is Heroin:
Sad news about Lou Reed. Storm's coming. Nothing much happening in the world of politics. Two entrenched voting blocs and nothing is budging them at the moment. Good night, comrades.
The price freeze will benefit the big suppliers as they have the cash reserves and hedging ability to mitigate their risks. Smaller companies are more exposed. In the longer run my SSE shares look good!
>> This is only possible thanks to the unique way the BBC is paid for by you.
We discussed this last evening. The 'unique way' is by forcing people to pay for a 'licence' to watch TV with the threat of prosecution if you don't. It's an idea whose time has long gone.
Somebody yesterday opined that providing factual information was important enough to need taxpayer funding.
Government funded sources of 'factual information' are usually the last place you would go for impartial innformation.
The classic of this is the (probably apocryphal) story of Nixon and Kruschev playing golf. Pravda reported that Kruschev came in second, while Nixon was next to last. It's factual, accurate, and completely misleading.
The other 'ferret rouge' being peddled is the idea that it's either licence fee or no BBC. That's not true either.
The price freeze will benefit the big suppliers as they have the cash reserves and hedging ability to mitigate their risks. Smaller companies are more exposed. In the longer run my SSE shares look good!
It may be an urban myth that Inuit have 100 words for snow, but people who live in the South East have one sentence that covers small amounts of snow, rain or wind. "can I go home early please I'm going to wet myself"
They probably do have 100 words for snow, like we have Lord knows how many words for rain, e.g. drizzle, shower, spitting.
How many can we think of?
Tipping it down its siling cats and dogs its biblical
It may be an urban myth that Inuit have 100 words for snow, but people who live in the South East have one sentence that covers small amounts of snow, rain or wind. "can I go home early please I'm going to wet myself"
They probably do have 100 words for snow, like we have Lord knows how many words for rain, e.g. drizzle, shower, spitting.
How many can we think of?
Tipping it down its siling cats and dogs its biblical
Stair rods.
The great Terry Pratchett description of heavy rain: "A vertical sea with slots in it".
Personally I think 11 is the best possible age to assess a child's potential for the future, far better than other ages such as 16, 18 or 21. I know that isn't a politically correct thing to say.
Top Geezer.... we did rather well out of his Hawley group which was then ADT when he was the man, now his great polling and now this...
Lord Ashcroft@LordAshcroft3h Very scrappy match at Spurs but enjoyed hearing about the impressive plans for a new stadium .
Apparently they are going to build a 65,000 seater stadium and share it with an NFL franchise, think the NFL teams would rather play in Harlem than Tottenham
Grammar schools were abolished on the principle that if everyone can't have something then no-one should be able to have it.
Just as a certain sort of socialist hates nothing more than poverty, apart from affluence, the same sort hate nothing more than some children receiving a bad education, apart from others getting a good one.
No we don't. We need to provide a good education for all our children, not try to write off a lot of children at 11.
So sad to see you adhering to the principle of lowest common denominator in education. The comprehensive experiment has been a disaster for education in Britain and the sooner we return to selection based on ability the better.
I went to a grammar school. In a part of the country where the local County Borough "generously" granted a couple of dozen grammar school places to the surrounding County primary schools. The difference in "pass level" between the primary school I attended, and others in the same area, and those across the border in the Borough was remarkable.
I'm totally with Mr Fox, viz, There is nothing wrong with Comprehensive education if the schools are run well.
Is there any analysis that convincing demonstrates that selection into an academic school is better than streaming or setting. My preference is for the latter as it offers the most flexibility (eg I was great at maths and history and cr*p at languages). It also offers the ability to move people up or down from year to year - kids develop at different rates.
Much harder to do if you have them in separate schools.
For once, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Being a mother of three probably has helped you come to this view. I have nothing against aspiration and training for life an dall that jazz.
But 11 is not the age to decide if your life will be a success or not !
Richard, I don't adhere to the lowest common denominator at all. I just happen to disagree with your prescription for improving education standards for all children through grammar school system. We didn't go big on grammar schools up here in Scotland, and yet we still managed to see education improve for all through streaming without them.
No we don't. We need to provide a good education for all our children, not try to write off a lot of children at 11.
So sad to see you adhering to the principle of lowest common denominator in education. The comprehensive experiment has been a disaster for education in Britain and the sooner we return to selection based on ability the better.
For once, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Being a mother of three probably has helped you come to this view. I have nothing against aspiration and training for life an dall that jazz.
But 11 is not the age to decide if your life will be a success or not !
I always thought Fitalass was a mum of two (boys) not three?
For once, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Being a mother of three probably has helped you come to this view. I have nothing against aspiration and training for life an dall that jazz.
But 11 is not the age to decide if your life will be a success or not !
I always thought Fitalass was a mum of two (boys) not three?
For once, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Being a mother of three probably has helped you come to this view. I have nothing against aspiration and training for life an dall that jazz.
But 11 is not the age to decide if your life will be a success or not !
I always thought Fitalass was a mum of two (boys) not three?
For once, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Being a mother of three probably has helped you come to this view. I have nothing against aspiration and training for life an dall that jazz.
But 11 is not the age to decide if your life will be a success or not !
Why would your life be a failure if you didn't pass the eleven plus? My eldest granddaughter didn't and she is in the last year at one of the best dance colleges in London, Urdang Academy, where she won a scholarship.
Surely if you are not academic it's better to be in a vocational school or college.
The race to the bottom has been a disaster from Wilson through Thatcher to Cameron, though at least Gove is trying something different.
I simply do not understand how life is a failure if you do not pass the eleven plus, utter rubbish
>> Apparently they are going to build a 65,000 seater stadium and share it with an NFL franchise
I doubt it - that's way way too small for an NFL stadium
It's probably about right given it's in England - not a nation known for its fanatical American Football support (although I understand it has a niche set of fans here)
For once, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Being a mother of three probably has helped you come to this view. I have nothing against aspiration and training for life an dall that jazz.
But 11 is not the age to decide if your life will be a success or not !
I always thought Fitalass was a mum of two (boys) not three?
My apologies Fitalass - I am also one of three boys so I ought to have noted that!
Government funded sources of 'factual information' are usually the last place you would go for impartial innformation.
I think diversity helps. One factor that made nuclear power in Japan more dangerous and contributed to the Fukushima accident was that the energy companies did a lot of paid TV advertising (oddly since they had regional monopolies and it wasn't like we were all going to run our computers on Duracell batteries) which made broadcasters that depend on ad revenue - which includes the official broadcaster NHK who apparently can't survive on just the license fee - reluctant to criticise them.
You certainly wouldn't want government-funded news to be the _only_ option, but I think it's good to have some in the mix.
That said, what I think government-funded news should be doing is providing more raw data that lets other people edit and report.
Is there any analysis that convincing demonstrates that selection into an academic school is better than streaming or setting. My preference is for the latter as it offers the most flexibility (eg I was great at maths and history and cr*p at languages). It also offers the ability to move people up or down from year to year - kids develop at different rates.
Much harder to do if you have them in separate schools.
Yes there is. The only major study that has been carried out into selective education in the last decade or so found that those areas with the grammar school system saw a measurable improvement in results amongst those selected with no corresponding drop (in fact no drop at all) in the non selective schools as a result compared to those areas without selection. Overall standards improved.
Funnily it was Tim who first directed me to this study a couple of years ago after he had thoroughly misrepresented its findings in a previous discussion on the subject.
Richard, I don't adhere to the lowest common denominator at all. I just happen to disagree with your prescription for improving education standards for all children through grammar school system. We didn't go big on grammar schools up here in Scotland, and yet we still managed to see education improve for all through streaming without them.
No we don't. We need to provide a good education for all our children, not try to write off a lot of children at 11.
So sad to see you adhering to the principle of lowest common denominator in education. The comprehensive experiment has been a disaster for education in Britain and the sooner we return to selection based on ability the better.
But the lowest common denominator is exactly what has happened to our education system since the epic failure of the Comprehensive system was introduced.
I have three daughters, two granddaughters and four grandson (so far).
Of the grand kids some are bright the others not so, I live in Buckinghamshire where we still have grammars. Of the five grand kids still to take the eleven plus I reckon three will pass, there is no point spending money coaching the other two as if they did pass they would only struggle. Much better to find what they are good at and enjoy, which seems to be sport and art, and encourage them.
Surely that must be the best way, just don't understand why people think life is all over if you fail the eleven plus
Is there any analysis that convincing demonstrates that selection into an academic school is better than streaming or setting. My preference is for the latter as it offers the most flexibility (eg I was great at maths and history and cr*p at languages). It also offers the ability to move people up or down from year to year - kids develop at different rates.
Much harder to do if you have them in separate schools.
That's my view too. Interesting to see the discussion cross party lines here this evening - makes the discussion better than the usual trench warfare. I wonder if politicians of all parties have spent too much time worrying about school structure, compared with what goes on inside? There's clearly an interaction, but ut's far from the only factor.
That is just it, that hasn't been the case up here in Scotland in the past. We had streaming and a flexibility that really helped motivate children through out secondary school so they could reach their full potential.
Richard, I don't adhere to the lowest common denominator at all. I just happen to disagree with your prescription for improving education standards for all children through grammar school system. We didn't go big on grammar schools up here in Scotland, and yet we still managed to see education improve for all through streaming without them.
No we don't. We need to provide a good education for all our children, not try to write off a lot of children at 11.
So sad to see you adhering to the principle of lowest common denominator in education. The comprehensive experiment has been a disaster for education in Britain and the sooner we return to selection based on ability the better.
But the lowest common denominator is exactly what has happened to our education system since the epic failure of the Comprehensive system was introduced.
I am not a big fan of Rifkind but in this case he is absolutely right. Decimating (or near decimating using the classical measure of losing 1 in 10) the army in the vague hope that reservists will be able to take up the slack was always a very dangerous idea.
>> It's more people than have viewed any of, say, Jacksonville's, home games this year.
There's a growing view that the NFL is 31 teams plus the Jags. The team is terrible. It's galactically bad. Even the Tampa Bay Bucs are better (owned by the same folks that own Man U).
The team has committed to play a game in London each of the next 4 years. The fact that the team's owner also owns Fulham in the premier league may have something to do with this.
The Jags are also the favorite in the 'which team relocates to London' sweepstakes.
One of the more intriguing stats is that over a million pounds worth of NFL merchandise is sold at each of the Wembley NFL games.
TV ratings of the NFL in the UK are way up and all the Wembley games sell out.
The NFL currently expects a Super Bowl in London and a London based team within a decade.
Personally I'm not sure if the game in the UK has progressed beyond novelty to real fans yet.
Is there any analysis that convincing demonstrates that selection into an academic school is better than streaming or setting. My preference is for the latter as it offers the most flexibility (eg I was great at maths and history and cr*p at languages). It also offers the ability to move people up or down from year to year - kids develop at different rates.
Much harder to do if you have them in separate schools.
Yes there is. The only major study that has been carried out into selective education in the last decade or so found that those areas with the grammar school system saw a measurable improvement in results amongst those selected with no corresponding drop (in fact no drop at all) in the non selective schools as a result compared to those areas without selection. Overall standards improved.
Funnily it was Tim who first directed me to this study a couple of years ago after he had thoroughly misrepresented its findings in a previous discussion on the subject.
But that's not what I asked.
In a forced choice of grammar vs non-selective I would go for grammar. I asked about selective schools vs setting vs streaming.
I personally believe education is about more than just academic achievement (thank Eric, thanks Joe, for teaching me that). All kids benefit from the academically smartest being part of the main scholastic corpus
Best of luck PBers who might be affeced by the storm
We are all stocked up with matches, torches, candles and I've got emergency 4G WiFi if we lose power and the house WiFi goes off.
I am thankfully up in Aberdeen at the moment but am just a tad concerned for the family down in Lincolnshire - mostly as there are a couple of large trees I am not absolutely confident about
More importantly I am monitoring some of the southern North Sea offshore installations which are right in the path of the storm.
Why is it that the countries above us in the OECD rankings so often run Comprehensive systems, such as New Zealand, Sweden and Finland?
The obsession with academic selection at 11 seems a particularly British phenomenon.
Or is it that Sweden and Finland actually run their schools well?
The reason that the abolition of the 11 plus was so popular with both Labour and Conservative parties in the sixties and seventies was because the old system was a long way off perfect.
Richard, I don't adhere to the lowest common denominator at all. I just happen to disagree with your prescription for improving education standards for all children through grammar school system. We didn't go big on grammar schools up here in Scotland, and yet we still managed to see education improve for all through streaming without them.
No we don't. We need to provide a good education for all our children, not try to write off a lot of children at 11.
So sad to see you adhering to the principle of lowest common denominator in education. The comprehensive experiment has been a disaster for education in Britain and the sooner we return to selection based on ability the better.
But the lowest common denominator is exactly what has happened to our education system since the epic failure of the Comprehensive system was introduced.
Best of luck PBers who might be affected by the superstorm
We are all stocked up with matches, torches, candles and I've got emergency 4G WiFi if we lose power and the house WiFi goes off.
Indeed, good luck to all those who may be in the path of the storm. The infrastructure is somewhat different here, but the once or twice a year when we get 12-18 inches of rain in a day and 50-80mph winds, usually results in the cell phone network failing first, then power goes out, but only rarely does the regular phone network fail.
It's therefor somewhat ironic that fewer and fewer people here have a land line.
Here in London it is raining. On watching the news, youngest son says: "Are they going to do this every time there's a light drizzle?"
I took work home on Friday "just in case"
good job really as they have decided no trains before 9am from here.
I find the general hysteria every time there's a bit of bad weather pathetic. I remember the 1987 storm: slept through the entire thing, plant pots on window sills completely untouched, got into the office to be told "What are you doing here?" to which my reasonable reply was that it was a weekday, where the hell else did my boss think I was going to be. It was only at that point that I realised there had even been a storm.
Same for all the dreadful snow in London in recent years: no worse than the snow we regularly had as children and which we enjoyed traipsing through on our way to school. Whereas now - half a centimetre of snow - and we behave (some of us) as if the End of the World Was Nigh....
Would like to second that, stay safe everyone. I just hope that the storm doesn't turn out to be as severe as predicted, better to be over prepared rather than under prepared for a weather event like this.
Why is it that the countries above us in the OECD rankings so often run Comprehensive systems, such as New Zealand, Sweden and Finland?
The obsession with academic selection at 11 seems a particularly British phenomenon.
Or is it that Sweden and Finland actually run their schools well?
The reason that the abolition of the 11 plus was so popular with both Labour and Conservative parties in the sixties and seventies was because the old system was a long way off perfect.
Germany and Australia both have selective systems and again both select at around the same age as the UK.
Also not sure why you pick Sweden as an example of a good system given that they are 26th in Maths and 19th in Literacy in the PISA standings.
>> It's more people than have viewed any of, say, Jacksonville's, home games this year.
There's a growing view that the NFL is 31 teams plus the Jags. The team is terrible. It's galactically bad. Even the Tampa Bay Bucs are better (owned by the same folks that own Man U).
The team has committed to play a game in London each of the next 4 years. The fact that the team's owner also owns Fulham in the premier league may have something to do with this.
The Jags are also the favorite in the 'which team relocates to London' sweepstakes.
One of the more intriguing stats is that over a million pounds worth of NFL merchandise is sold at each of the Wembley NFL games.
TV ratings of the NFL in the UK are way up and all the Wembley games sell out.
The NFL currently expects a Super Bowl in London and a London based team within a decade.
Personally I'm not sure if the game in the UK has progressed beyond novelty to real fans yet.
>> It's more people than have viewed any of, say, Jacksonville's, home games this year.
There's a growing view that the NFL is 31 teams plus the Jags. The team is terrible. It's galactically bad. Even the Tampa Bay Bucs are better (owned by the same folks that own Man U).
The team has committed to play a game in London each of the next 4 years. The fact that the team's owner also owns Fulham in the premier league may have something to do with this.
The Jags are also the favorite in the 'which team relocates to London' sweepstakes.
One of the more intriguing stats is that over a million pounds worth of NFL merchandise is sold at each of the Wembley NFL games.
TV ratings of the NFL in the UK are way up and all the Wembley games sell out.
The NFL currently expects a Super Bowl in London and a London based team within a decade.
Personally I'm not sure if the game in the UK has progressed beyond novelty to real fans yet.
I guess time will tell.
Anyone remember the NFL highlights back in the 80's on Channel 4 (I think), as I recall the DJ Nicky Horne was the presenter.
Quite an appropriate name for a DJ given the recent revelations, though Kid Jensen is the best!
Best of luck PBers who might be affected by the superstorm
We are all stocked up with matches, torches, candles and I've got emergency 4G WiFi if we lose power and the house WiFi goes off.
Raining steadily in east London at the moment. Winds not too strong so far. Too many trees along our street to worry about. If they get blown over so be it. Back in 1987, a few did get blown over a short distance away but can't remember too much damage to cars and buildings.
>> They are still peanuts. Ratings for Sky Sports Sunday games:
I have no illusions that the NFL is going to challenge rugby, cricket or soccer in the UK. But it doesn't need to. The NFL sells TV rights as a league. If, for the sake of argument, Jacksonville moves to the UK and earns more than it does now, the league will be happy. No, I have no idea how the logistics will work.
It's like the Premier League in this country. NBC Sports Network is reckoned to have paid about a 50% premium for the entire US TV rights. They paid about $83 million per season. Given their advertising rates, they will be lucky to recoup that. ESPN and Fox chose not to compete, saying that those rates didn't fit their business model.
That compares to ESPN paying over $115 million for EACH Monday Night Football game. Yes that's per game, not per season. But worry not, ESPN is making a killing on it.
Best of luck PBers who might be affected by the superstorm
We are all stocked up with matches, torches, candles and I've got emergency 4G WiFi if we lose power and the house WiFi goes off.
Light drizzle in north London at the moment, no special winds. Stormageddon tweeters still generally ostentatiously nonchalant ("In New Cross it is currently windy enough to make reading a broadsheet newspaper on a park bench mildly inconvenient ") but those in the far south do say rain is intense and the wind's picking up, just as predicted. Trains to Gatwick cancelled, though if you magically get there then the flights aren't cancelled yet, which seems odd - aren't trains more resistant than planes?
We shan't really know how it's turned out till mid-morning. Sleep well all.
It's difficult to believe that someone allowed a 14 year old boy to go swimming off Newhaven when that area is about to experience some of the worst winds for 25 years:
Would like to second that, stay safe everyone. I just hope that the storm doesn't turn out to be as severe as predicted, better to be over prepared rather than under prepared for a weather event like this.
Best of luck PBers who might be affected by the superstorm
We are all stocked up with matches, torches, candles and I've got emergency 4G WiFi if we lose power and the house WiFi goes off.
But...........Where is this super storm? They say it's coming but no one knows where it is. In London it's wet, however the wind has dropped and it's as calm as a lily pond. Is this a cry wolf moment?
Here in London it is raining. On watching the news, youngest son says: "Are they going to do this every time there's a light drizzle?"
I took work home on Friday "just in case"
good job really as they have decided no trains before 9am from here.
I find the general hysteria every time there's a bit of bad weather pathetic. I remember the 1987 storm: slept through the entire thing, plant pots on window sills completely untouched, got into the office to be told "What are you doing here?" to which my reasonable reply was that it was a weekday, where the hell else did my boss think I was going to be. It was only at that point that I realised there had even been a storm.
Same for all the dreadful snow in London in recent years: no worse than the snow we regularly had as children and which we enjoyed traipsing through on our way to school. Whereas now - half a centimetre of snow - and we behave (some of us) as if the End of the World Was Nigh....
I know what you mean.
But in 1987 I was living down in Kent and it was really bad where we were.
Absolutely no way of sleeping through it and power out in the middle of the night.
The noise of it all was just amazing.
I could walk in to work back then and there were trees down everywhere, roofs off or badly damaged, walls knocked over.
We also had an amazing fall of snow in January of the same year I think, perhaps the year before.
Worked in London then and I think I could not get in for days. Spent the afternoons in a pub instead, happy days!
"The reason that the abolition of the 11 plus was so popular with both Labour and Conservative parties in the sixties and seventies was because the old system was a long way off perfect."
Abolishing grammar schools was indeed very popular with a lot of people because it meant that if their children turned out to be not as bright as they hoped they'd be they could get them into a better school by paying for a house in a different catchment area with better comprehensives. In other words, it became all about money, which of course disadvantaged bright children from poor families.
Where is this superstorm? Down here in Sussex - the forecast is windy 40km and gusts up to 100km - that's not the end of the world. It was wild last night, I left the bedroom open a bit and got wet as it blew in 8ft across the room.
I may of course regret my nonchalance in the morning.
Comments
e.g. drizzle, shower, spitting.
How many can we think of?
The traditional GCSE grading system is facing the axe as part of sweeping reforms designed to toughen up qualifications for 16-year-olds.
however, Sunil, for your information, trains out of kings x are dire tonight.
its siling
cats and dogs
its biblical
He's spot on and right to challenge us to do better. Mind you after the Spanners debacle, no wonder we were jumpy today!
Having said that we've only played well for 1 1/2 vs Chelsea so far this season, scored the same no of goals as Fulham and yet unbelievably we're 4th due to umpteen clean sheets (seriously not Spurs-like)....
Onwards and upwards!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-24691465
First of the many to fail tonight.
Almost as useful as the chocolate teapot.
A purple dog that wears spats "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMYRegDfUJ0
Precipitation
misting
chucking it down
BTW Portillo's brand new series on Great Continental Railway Journeys about to start on BBC2.
Is the Spanish Government, which I think has indicated it doesn't consider the referendum on independence to be valid, going to actually try and stop it, or let it go ahead?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2477192/BBC-staff-revolt-freelance-deals-axed-tax-row-Corporation-phase-contracts-allow-workers-taxed-companies-individuals.html
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xagx6v_heroin-the-velvet-underground-music_shortfilms
This is my favourite though with Nico:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xagx6v_heroin-the-velvet-underground-music_shortfilms
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FjjDmX9Tkss&desktop_uri=/watch?v=FjjDmX9Tkss
Storm's coming.
Nothing much happening in the world of politics.
Two entrenched voting blocs and nothing is budging them at the moment.
Good night, comrades.
We discussed this last evening. The 'unique way' is by forcing people to pay for a 'licence' to watch TV with the threat of prosecution if you don't. It's an idea whose time has long gone.
Somebody yesterday opined that providing factual information was important enough to need taxpayer funding.
Government funded sources of 'factual information' are usually the last place you would go for impartial innformation.
The classic of this is the (probably apocryphal) story of Nixon and Kruschev playing golf. Pravda reported that Kruschev came in second, while Nixon was next to last. It's factual, accurate, and completely misleading.
The other 'ferret rouge' being peddled is the idea that it's either licence fee or no BBC. That's not true either.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2654710
http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/6692041
http://mippr.co.uk/2013/10/britain-needs-a-grammar-school-renaissance/
My brother joined aged 16.
We both went to Oxford.
And in the years we weren't at a grammar school, we were in the comprehensives which were above the national average even with the top 5% skimmed off.
But I'm sure that's just an anecdote and the existance of grammar schools was of deep and lasting damage to those cruelly rejected.
"Cllr John Ferrett @John_Ferrett 4h
There's only one thing to listen to this evening - Transformer one of the all-time great albums by one of the all-time greats #loureed RIP
Expand"
https://twitter.com/John_Ferrett
Top Geezer.... we did rather well out of his Hawley group which was then ADT when he was the man, now his great polling and now this...
Lord Ashcroft@LordAshcroft3h
Very scrappy match at Spurs but enjoyed hearing about the impressive plans for a new stadium .
There is nothing wrong with Comprehensive education if the schools are run well.
There is everything wrong with schools of any sort, Comprehensive, Grammar or Secondary Modern if run badly.
I doubt it - that's way way too small for an NFL stadium
I'm totally with Mr Fox, viz, There is nothing wrong with Comprehensive education if the schools are run well.
Is there any analysis that convincing demonstrates that selection into an academic school is better than streaming or setting. My preference is for the latter as it offers the most flexibility (eg I was great at maths and history and cr*p at languages). It also offers the ability to move people up or down from year to year - kids develop at different rates.
Much harder to do if you have them in separate schools.
But 11 is not the age to decide if your life will be a success or not !
You certainly wouldn't want government-funded news to be the _only_ option, but I think it's good to have some in the mix.
That said, what I think government-funded news should be doing is providing more raw data that lets other people edit and report.
Funnily it was Tim who first directed me to this study a couple of years ago after he had thoroughly misrepresented its findings in a previous discussion on the subject.
I have three daughters, two granddaughters and four grandson (so far).
Of the grand kids some are bright the others not so, I live in Buckinghamshire where we still have grammars. Of the five grand kids still to take the eleven plus I reckon three will pass, there is no point spending money coaching the other two as if they did pass they would only struggle. Much better to find what they are good at and enjoy, which seems to be sport and art, and encourage them.
Surely that must be the best way, just don't understand why people think life is all over if you fail the eleven plus
There's a growing view that the NFL is 31 teams plus the Jags. The team is terrible. It's galactically bad. Even the Tampa Bay Bucs are better (owned by the same folks that own Man U).
The team has committed to play a game in London each of the next 4 years. The fact that the team's owner also owns Fulham in the premier league may have something to do with this.
The Jags are also the favorite in the 'which team relocates to London' sweepstakes.
One of the more intriguing stats is that over a million pounds worth of NFL merchandise is sold at each of the Wembley NFL games.
TV ratings of the NFL in the UK are way up and all the Wembley games sell out.
The NFL currently expects a Super Bowl in London and a London based team within a decade.
Personally I'm not sure if the game in the UK has progressed beyond novelty to real fans yet.
I guess time will tell.
We are all stocked up with matches, torches, candles and I've got emergency 4G WiFi if we lose power and the house WiFi goes off.
In a forced choice of grammar vs non-selective I would go for grammar. I asked about selective schools vs setting vs streaming.
I personally believe education is about more than just academic achievement (thank Eric, thanks Joe, for teaching me that). All kids benefit from the academically smartest being part of the main scholastic corpus
good job really as they have decided no trains before 9am from here.
More importantly I am monitoring some of the southern North Sea offshore installations which are right in the path of the storm.
The obsession with academic selection at 11 seems a particularly British phenomenon.
Or is it that Sweden and Finland actually run their schools well?
The reason that the abolition of the 11 plus was so popular with both Labour and Conservative parties in the sixties and seventies was because the old system was a long way off perfect.
13 Oct:
Saints/Patriots - 88,000
6pm game not listed - ie it got less
6 Oct:
Ravens game - 80,000
Broncos game - 80,000 ( ie the same - no typo)
It's therefor somewhat ironic that fewer and fewer people here have a land line.
Same for all the dreadful snow in London in recent years: no worse than the snow we regularly had as children and which we enjoyed traipsing through on our way to school. Whereas now - half a centimetre of snow - and we behave (some of us) as if the End of the World Was Nigh....
Also not sure why you pick Sweden as an example of a good system given that they are 26th in Maths and 19th in Literacy in the PISA standings.
Quite an appropriate name for a DJ given the recent revelations, though Kid Jensen is the best!
Stay safe everyone.
I have no illusions that the NFL is going to challenge rugby, cricket or soccer in the UK. But it doesn't need to. The NFL sells TV rights as a league. If, for the sake of argument, Jacksonville moves to the UK and earns more than it does now, the league will be happy. No, I have no idea how the logistics will work.
It's like the Premier League in this country. NBC Sports Network is reckoned to have paid about a 50% premium for the entire US TV rights. They paid about $83 million per season. Given their advertising rates, they will be lucky to recoup that. ESPN and Fox chose not to compete, saying that those rates didn't fit their business model.
That compares to ESPN paying over $115 million for EACH Monday Night Football game. Yes that's per game, not per season. But worry not, ESPN is making a killing on it.
We shan't really know how it's turned out till mid-morning. Sleep well all.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-24697520
Only until the wrong kind of leaves turn up :-)
But in 1987 I was living down in Kent and it was really bad where we were.
Absolutely no way of sleeping through it and power out in the middle of the night.
The noise of it all was just amazing.
I could walk in to work back then and there were trees down everywhere, roofs off or badly damaged, walls knocked over.
We also had an amazing fall of snow in January of the same year I think, perhaps the year before.
Worked in London then and I think I could not get in for days. Spent the afternoons in a pub instead, happy days!
Abolishing grammar schools was indeed very popular with a lot of people because it meant that if their children turned out to be not as bright as they hoped they'd be they could get them into a better school by paying for a house in a different catchment area with better comprehensives. In other words, it became all about money, which of course disadvantaged bright children from poor families.
I may of course regret my nonchalance in the morning.