We had an interesting mealtime incident the other day. We were celebrating a family birthday with a fondue at home. At the end of the meal, one of the children present at the table looked at the fondue pot and commented, 'That's Le Creuset, isn't it?'
It was.
It struck me as amusing somehow that this young person was familiar with Le Creuset tableware. I mean, how middle class is that?!
25 July, 2015
18 July, 2015
The end of term -- and the end of primary school
We finally reached the end of term on Friday. Not only was it the end of term, but it was also the end of primary school for my youngest. So, no more primary school, ever. Hurrah!
However, it's been a hectic run up to the end of primary school. Over the past two weeks, we have had the following: the school disco, sports day, the leavers' performance (two nights), Fun on the Field (a social event that takes place on the school field on a Saturday evening and involves brining a picnic supper and listening to local bands playing), the leavers' picnic, the leavers' service, and the leavers' party (an evening event at the local open air pool, requiring a parent to be present with each child).
I think we're going to need the six weeks' break to recover from the welter of primary school leaving events... Here we come, secondary school -- refreshed, I hope!
However, it's been a hectic run up to the end of primary school. Over the past two weeks, we have had the following: the school disco, sports day, the leavers' performance (two nights), Fun on the Field (a social event that takes place on the school field on a Saturday evening and involves brining a picnic supper and listening to local bands playing), the leavers' picnic, the leavers' service, and the leavers' party (an evening event at the local open air pool, requiring a parent to be present with each child).
I think we're going to need the six weeks' break to recover from the welter of primary school leaving events... Here we come, secondary school -- refreshed, I hope!
11 July, 2015
Roll up for the circus!
Around this time last year, we went to Giffords Circus for my daughter's birthday. That was our first time at Giffords and we loved it. I wrote a blog post about it at the time.
We now seem to have become regulars, and we went to Giffords Circus again last weekend, this time to celebrate my husband's birthday. We found the show to be as good as last year, if not better. Many of the acts had changed and there were lots of new stunts to thrill and amaze. We particularly enjoyed the acrobatic troupe from Ethiopia, and the "girl with the golden rings". Clown Tweedy remains a constant and he really is fabulous, bringing something quite unique to the role of circus clown, a far cry from the humdrum, tired jokes that usually go with the turf.
After thoroughly enjoying ourselves at the circus, we wandered across the park to the Cotswold Lodge Hotel for a cream tea in the sunshine on their terrace. Lovely!
We now seem to have become regulars, and we went to Giffords Circus again last weekend, this time to celebrate my husband's birthday. We found the show to be as good as last year, if not better. Many of the acts had changed and there were lots of new stunts to thrill and amaze. We particularly enjoyed the acrobatic troupe from Ethiopia, and the "girl with the golden rings". Clown Tweedy remains a constant and he really is fabulous, bringing something quite unique to the role of circus clown, a far cry from the humdrum, tired jokes that usually go with the turf.
After thoroughly enjoying ourselves at the circus, we wandered across the park to the Cotswold Lodge Hotel for a cream tea in the sunshine on their terrace. Lovely!
04 July, 2015
Partners for life
I heard two women chatting in a cafe the other day. They were talking about a friend who was changing her hours at work. One option for the friend was to work on Friday mornings, but not Friday afternoons. She declined this option, however, because her husband didn't work on Friday afternoons and she "didn't want to spend any time with him".
Similarly, I remember years ago, when I was doing a holiday job at the Royal Mail sorting office, getting talking to a female co-worker who worked full time at the sorting office. She worked nights. Her husband worked there too, but he worked days. She commented that they were like ships passing in the night, but that this situation suited her perfectly as she didn't want to spend time with her husband.
I wonder how people end up in such sad, unsociable relationships, especially in this day and age when it is usual to test the waters by living together first. I am lucky enough to have a husband who I actively enjoy spending time with -- and that seems to me how things, ideally, should be. After all, your spouse is meant to be your partner for life and someone who you don't talk to and don't want to spend time with isn't much of a partner. I know that my life would be much less rich in the absence of the relationship that I have with my husband.
Similarly, I remember years ago, when I was doing a holiday job at the Royal Mail sorting office, getting talking to a female co-worker who worked full time at the sorting office. She worked nights. Her husband worked there too, but he worked days. She commented that they were like ships passing in the night, but that this situation suited her perfectly as she didn't want to spend time with her husband.
I wonder how people end up in such sad, unsociable relationships, especially in this day and age when it is usual to test the waters by living together first. I am lucky enough to have a husband who I actively enjoy spending time with -- and that seems to me how things, ideally, should be. After all, your spouse is meant to be your partner for life and someone who you don't talk to and don't want to spend time with isn't much of a partner. I know that my life would be much less rich in the absence of the relationship that I have with my husband.
26 June, 2015
HMRC and telephone targets
I listened with interest to the article on the news this morning about HMRC failing to answer more than a quarter of phone calls last year. I have to do the dreaded self-assessment tax return each year and so have, on a number of occasions, called up HMRC. Luckily, I have always managed to get through quickly and have had my questions answered -- although I haven't generally been ringing at peak times, e.g. just before the deadline for self-assessment.
What interested me most in the article, though, is that HMRC has set itself a target to answer 80 per cent of calls in the future. This just struck me as bizarre. Surely the target should be to answer 100 per cent of calls!
Part of my day job involves responding to (often very complex) queries that come in relating to academic research and ethics. Admittedly, this is on a tiny scale compared to the queries that HMRC receives. However, we manage these queries with two part-time, overworked members of staff and we answer (note: do answer, not aim to answer) one hundred per cent of those queries. I can't imagine how our employer would react if we said we were setting ourselves the target of replying to 80 per cent of queries in the future!
But back to HMRC. What are the remaining 20 per cent of people whose calls aren't answered meant to do? Not pay their tax bills? I can't quite see that one flying with HMRC...
What interested me most in the article, though, is that HMRC has set itself a target to answer 80 per cent of calls in the future. This just struck me as bizarre. Surely the target should be to answer 100 per cent of calls!
Part of my day job involves responding to (often very complex) queries that come in relating to academic research and ethics. Admittedly, this is on a tiny scale compared to the queries that HMRC receives. However, we manage these queries with two part-time, overworked members of staff and we answer (note: do answer, not aim to answer) one hundred per cent of those queries. I can't imagine how our employer would react if we said we were setting ourselves the target of replying to 80 per cent of queries in the future!
But back to HMRC. What are the remaining 20 per cent of people whose calls aren't answered meant to do? Not pay their tax bills? I can't quite see that one flying with HMRC...
06 June, 2015
The changing meaning of the verb 'to revert'
I do a lot of work for the publishing industry. My husband works in the IT industry. Between us, we have plenty of experience working with Indian colleagues. And the one thing that we both really notice is the phenomenon of Indian English,
There are certain phrases that are used regularly in Indian English but are not correct, at least traditionally, in British English. One of our favourites is the word 'revert'. In Indian English the phrase: 'Please revert to me' is commonplace. This is used to mean 'please refer to me', as in 'if you have any questions, please refer to me'. Or, in Indian English, 'if you have any questions, please revert to me'. Although we understand perfectly well what is meant by the phrase in Indian English, it is a non-starter in British English. In British English, 'please revert to me' would mean 'please turn back into me' -- which makes no sense at all!
What's interesting, though, is that this phrase now appears to be entering British English and, increasingly, is being used between speakers of British English. Only the other day, I received an email from a journalist saying '...I will revert to you or to Kate, depending on your instructions'.
The phrase 'to revert' in the sense of 'to refer' already appears in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, albeit under the category of Indian English. My guess is that it won't be long before it appears in other more pedestrian dictionaries of British English as well.
There are certain phrases that are used regularly in Indian English but are not correct, at least traditionally, in British English. One of our favourites is the word 'revert'. In Indian English the phrase: 'Please revert to me' is commonplace. This is used to mean 'please refer to me', as in 'if you have any questions, please refer to me'. Or, in Indian English, 'if you have any questions, please revert to me'. Although we understand perfectly well what is meant by the phrase in Indian English, it is a non-starter in British English. In British English, 'please revert to me' would mean 'please turn back into me' -- which makes no sense at all!
What's interesting, though, is that this phrase now appears to be entering British English and, increasingly, is being used between speakers of British English. Only the other day, I received an email from a journalist saying '...I will revert to you or to Kate, depending on your instructions'.
The phrase 'to revert' in the sense of 'to refer' already appears in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, albeit under the category of Indian English. My guess is that it won't be long before it appears in other more pedestrian dictionaries of British English as well.
29 May, 2015
Springtime sandal shopping
It's spring which means...time to shop for sandals for the kids again.
I have never been a great fan of shoe shopping for myself -- a legacy of having large feet and it being impossible to find shoes in my size when I was young. I have memories of being dragged from shop to shop with assistants making increasingly cutting remarks about the size of my feet. That wouldn't happen these days, of course -- people actually seem to care about kids and their feelings now! But not so back in the 70s.
My kids have quite large feet too, but at least shops have now tumbled to the fact that not all girls possess petite tootsies and it is possible to purchase larger sizes. However, my oldest is now at the age where Clarks is a no-no and Schuh is much more the thing, whereas my youngest still prefers the offering from Clarks, so we now have to visit twice as many shops. Schuh is also expensive, which rather limits the choices for my oldest, as I (perhaps unreasonably?) baulk at paying over £40 for a pair of kids' sandals.
So, we headed into our local town a couple of days ago and visited the requisite shops. My oldest identified some sandals that she liked, but which were expensive. My youngest was measured up in Clarks, but when the assistant returned from the stock room she declared that they had no sandals whatsoever in my daughter's size. So, we came home empty handed on both fronts.
The problem is that the kids still need their sandals. So, I started up my laptop and managed to find the expensive sandals for sale significantly cheaper with a reputable online supplier. Hurrah! And we managed to find some sandals that my youngest liked the look of in the Clarks online shop. These are now on order for delivery to our local store.
Let's just hope they fit when they arrive, otherwise it'll be back to the drawing board again!
I have never been a great fan of shoe shopping for myself -- a legacy of having large feet and it being impossible to find shoes in my size when I was young. I have memories of being dragged from shop to shop with assistants making increasingly cutting remarks about the size of my feet. That wouldn't happen these days, of course -- people actually seem to care about kids and their feelings now! But not so back in the 70s.
My kids have quite large feet too, but at least shops have now tumbled to the fact that not all girls possess petite tootsies and it is possible to purchase larger sizes. However, my oldest is now at the age where Clarks is a no-no and Schuh is much more the thing, whereas my youngest still prefers the offering from Clarks, so we now have to visit twice as many shops. Schuh is also expensive, which rather limits the choices for my oldest, as I (perhaps unreasonably?) baulk at paying over £40 for a pair of kids' sandals.
So, we headed into our local town a couple of days ago and visited the requisite shops. My oldest identified some sandals that she liked, but which were expensive. My youngest was measured up in Clarks, but when the assistant returned from the stock room she declared that they had no sandals whatsoever in my daughter's size. So, we came home empty handed on both fronts.
The problem is that the kids still need their sandals. So, I started up my laptop and managed to find the expensive sandals for sale significantly cheaper with a reputable online supplier. Hurrah! And we managed to find some sandals that my youngest liked the look of in the Clarks online shop. These are now on order for delivery to our local store.
Let's just hope they fit when they arrive, otherwise it'll be back to the drawing board again!
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