Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
[guilty] or not guilty
The task is simple, the answers not so simple. Not a quiz but an opinion poll. The question is:
Were these people really guilty or not?
Were these people really guilty or not?
Rocky and the Rainbow Bridge
Rocky and the Rainbow Bridge
"I've larked about with Rocky lots of times in the park and he's fab! We chase each other and have a ball... I'm glad he's not off to Rainbow Bridge just yet... I'd miss him!
Jezbo, Hull
commented on 12-Sep-2008 11:41".
I Googled the Rainbow Bridge and found this enchanting poem.
The Rainbow Bridge (audio and visual version).
[trips abroad] fraught business today
I used to run holidays for our school groups in the 90s and it's clear the situation has changed:
When I was involved in a lot of travel, Britain was known for its many tour firms which catered for schools, as well as the "bucket shops" where one could find a good flight to Australia for £650, as against the major airlines' £1950. All this appears to have gone by the board now.
Operators still seem to be in business and the prices look quite reasonable, all told but there is difficulties these days, including safety and litigation.
The Norfolk Blogger ran a piece on this in 2006, giving some sound reasons why teachers just won't touch these trips any more. In addition, there is the nature of the teenager in the school now and the changing culture in which he/she is growing up. The IPPR report was given the Daily Mail treatment but much of it still holds water.
Incidents I recall from two trips in the past:
There was a primary age child in our party and she was skiing towards the base of the hill where the piste narrowed to a little footbridge. The way we worked it was that one leader would ski up and down any hill where we knew our kids were and this gave them some freedom of movement but not a lot.
On this particular afternoon, I was just approaching her from further up the hill, shouting for her to get off the bridge, when two Germans [as we found out later] shot past and went straight across that bridge, knocking the girl over the parapet, into the shallow gully. She and I were lucky in that she was a tough little lady and it was the shock more than anything but still - it illustrates the problem.
Another was when one of our leaders who lacked confidence agreed to go down a blue slope with me and it was a case of snowploughing ahead of her, then stopping and waiting for her to ski across, then turning and repeating to the other side and so on. She became progressively happier about it as she went and so it continued until suddenly she lost all confidence, her skis turned down the hill, she panicked and took a tumble, falling awkwardly and injuring her leg, which put her out of the trip. This put a dampener on everything.
Imagine that today.
A statement on the XL group's website said: "The company's entered into administration having suffered as a result of volatile fuel prices, the economic downturn, and were unable to obtain further funding."
Bob Atkinson, of the price comparison website Travel Supermarket said XL's troubles would be a blow for the travel trade. He said: "They are a very large operator and this will send serious shock waves through the industry."
When I was involved in a lot of travel, Britain was known for its many tour firms which catered for schools, as well as the "bucket shops" where one could find a good flight to Australia for £650, as against the major airlines' £1950. All this appears to have gone by the board now.
Operators still seem to be in business and the prices look quite reasonable, all told but there is difficulties these days, including safety and litigation.
The Norfolk Blogger ran a piece on this in 2006, giving some sound reasons why teachers just won't touch these trips any more. In addition, there is the nature of the teenager in the school now and the changing culture in which he/she is growing up. The IPPR report was given the Daily Mail treatment but much of it still holds water.
Incidents I recall from two trips in the past:
There was a primary age child in our party and she was skiing towards the base of the hill where the piste narrowed to a little footbridge. The way we worked it was that one leader would ski up and down any hill where we knew our kids were and this gave them some freedom of movement but not a lot.
On this particular afternoon, I was just approaching her from further up the hill, shouting for her to get off the bridge, when two Germans [as we found out later] shot past and went straight across that bridge, knocking the girl over the parapet, into the shallow gully. She and I were lucky in that she was a tough little lady and it was the shock more than anything but still - it illustrates the problem.
Another was when one of our leaders who lacked confidence agreed to go down a blue slope with me and it was a case of snowploughing ahead of her, then stopping and waiting for her to ski across, then turning and repeating to the other side and so on. She became progressively happier about it as she went and so it continued until suddenly she lost all confidence, her skis turned down the hill, she panicked and took a tumble, falling awkwardly and injuring her leg, which put her out of the trip. This put a dampener on everything.
Imagine that today.
[survey] please answer six questions
You might notice the survey of this blog at the top of the left sidebar, with the pic of the puzzled chap.Please, if you can spare a few minutes [and some have already done so] take the time to click answers to the six multiple choice questions. There is a panel to comment as well if you wish.
This would help me immensely and I notice that the last one I ran was a year ago now, so time flies.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
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