Anti-dementors are driving round the Arc de Triomphe

[SockYarn]

new thread :-)

Schools to get final say on extra week of term in Wales

That's possibly not good news for us - could well be down from four mornings to three. But yea - schools are back open .

@Drivingdownthe101, I am glad I am not alone in my feelings about masks. Also, my specs fog up so I can't see and it makes me clumsier than normal.

@MagdaS, what exactly does a town planner do? I don't think I have ever properly understood what it entails.

and no the A19 isn’t closed they’re widening it, and yes ..nightmare

The silver lining in WFH. Dreading going back to work, I can't imagine the chaos that will ensure southbound on a morning.

Did you hear about the drunk lorry driver going the wrong way through the roadworks? The family reported that the poor driver of the car going the right one was "shaken up" understatement of the year, I'd be a lot more than that if a 44 tonne lorry was heading straight towards me with barriers on both sides.

@MagdaS it's Sport England that are frustrating me not the planners, to be honest. But gaaahahahhhhhhhh

I see they've given Test and Trace to Apple and Google. Surely that was the most logical thing to do from the start? Not ethically, necessarily but from a logistical perspective?

@AnxiousElephant77

I see they've given Test and Trace to Apple and Google. Surely that was the most logical thing to do from the start? Not ethically, necessarily but from a logistical perspective?

Yes! But of course they knew better than Foreigners....

How much money has been wasted on yet another bloody this fiasco?

[quote rookiemere]@Willow2017 you can now use someone else's toilet from tomorrow. Although it says rather sternly -Hygiene measures are essential- so as long as you don't spread faeces and urine on the wall , and remember to flush - you should be ok.[/quote]
I can't use hers as she is shielding (91) got all excited till i reread the damm speech.😤
We are desperate to see her, usually visit fairly regularly for a great day out.

@torydeathdrug

We’re having an impossible time with ds1 & his ECHP atm. I had an incredibly upsetting conversation with my mum about it this morning.

I try to avoid talking about it because it’s complex & suggestions are nearly always unhelpful - but after having spent a few hours listening to my unbelievably lucky sister throw the ‘only sacrifice we’re being asked to make is being stuck on the sofa watching Netflix’ and furlough gives her “time to work on my screenplay” etc with a thick dose of BLM but only when it’s social media performance not real things like opening schools so BAME kids aren’t further screwed - I was actually upset.

Anyway I’m not trying hard enough - I should be able to defeat the combined forces of the LA, schools, CAHMS, and NHS all downing tools “cos there’s a pandemic & it’s not safe & it isn’t a priority” by strategic letter writing & complaints. I honestly don’t think I could feel any crapper right now.

And I have to be kinder to dsis because she’s just naive & scared (she’s a 25 year old archetypical poor little rich girl SJW). Dh & I are on our knees but we need to try harder and be nicer and make more allowances.

I've still got a blank EHCP apllication form. We only got diagnosis of his ASD in December, added to last summer's dyspraxia and dyslexia, and I hadn't got my head into gear to deal with it before lockdown happened. He's y4 and I was hoping that it would be dealt with for secondary transition, particularly as our catchment secondary is not the best on pastoral/ SEN and we need a good balance of nurture anc gently pushing his strengths. At the moment he masks through school and they don't see the cracks. He's very bright and at least school have always been open to the fact that he genuinely struggles with literacy and his strengths and difficulties are quite disparate, and at least not dismissed as lazy (although with homeschool there is a lot of disgruntled scribble wtiting which I know is not a fair effort, I know the difference between his best scruff and totally illegible scrawl.

He's OK with a tedious existence at home...the challenge will be integrating back into school and real life. DS2 is more subdued now but will bounce back out of school back in his prime.

The mask thing drives me nuts. I have to use public transport and there is a fairly equal mix of non wearers looking nervous, those who put a scarf Or mask on properly until sat down and when getting off who have a slightly resigned air, and those wearing full proper med masks looking terrified at everyone around them.

That level of fear must be utterly draining.

I do not like the idea of masks either. I just wouldn't go on a bus, or would wear as a one off a scarf and pull it up - really don't like the thought of it and think it would make me panicky.

Yep that went well didn't it? We have our own speshul T&T only problem is we cant contact people on it, just a minor blip, nothing to see here...

[quote rookiemere]@Willow2017 you can now use someone else's toilet from tomorrow. Although it says rather sternly -Hygiene measures are essential- so as long as you don't spread faeces and urine on the wall , and remember to flush - you should be ok.[/quote]
Stopping dirty protests is an outrageous infringement of liberty.

Freedom to protest must be protected above all others.

Well now I have elderly dad in one end of Scotland and elderly mother in another and she is quite relate so arranging online shopping from England for her. Not very easy. he bus service has been stopped too so she can't reach civilisation at all even in a mask. and is kind of housebound.

it was a nightmare getting any type of delivery as well till more recently. It feels pretty stressful to deal with as well as isolating for them.

remote

wise words here.

@anxiouselephant the ineptitude drives me insane. I know my strengths, but more importantly I know my weaknesses. Why did they think they could make a better job of it that, oh I dunno, organisations that have more wealth than many countries because they're quite good at stuff like this. Outsourcing has its place and this is a good example.

@ISaySteadyOn erm, difficult to explain briefly.

Planners who work for Councils write the development plan which sets out how development might take place in an area and determine planning applications. They usually specialise in one or the other but because I’m a glutton for punishment I am currently doing both.

In the private sector they will represent developers and other clients putting in applications and writing supporting statements and supporting land allocations.

It is all a bit more complicated than that and there is loads of detail but that’s it in a nutshell. You have to know a bit about all sorts of things - heritage, highways, drains, townscape impact, housing projections, retail analysis.

It’s a brilliant job though and I absolutely love it.

@NothingIsWrong Sport England aaaaaaaargh!

BogRollBOGOF It’s exhausting isn’t & no one gets it. I can’t make people do their jobs & I am bad to try because they are tired or something.

Ds is nearly 14 - out of school/EHE because there is no suitable provision for him. He has a bucketful of diagnoses & has regressed so much in the last three months. I have no respite or support, I’m completely desperate. He needs new assessment for the EHCP but no one will see him - he’s had paeds, OT, SALT, Ed psych & even GP appointments that we have spent months arguing for completely cancelled. No option to rebook - SALT offered zoom - he has moderate fucking ASD - it could not be more inappropriate.

@MagdaS

I currently work for a housing developer. I am therefore obligated to tell you that I both love you and hate you all at the same time.

(seriously though I am dealing with a site that has sport England, natural England AND an active residents pressure group involved..... I kinda want to jump off a bridge)

I'm an architect, and I too have a love-hate relationship with town planners. They all do a great job, but sometimes it doesn't chime with my line of work. We all get along at the end of the day though, especially at the pub.

And, my lord, they love newts and bats

DH was glad when he changed job and no longer had to do the tees flyover, daily. He still fell foul of the eternal Wolviston roadworks, though. And he's quite keen to not go back to the office any more than he has to since New Elvet bridge in Durham is going to be closed for 14 months. Anyone who knows Durham will be all too aware that getting from one side to the other inevitably involves squeezing across one or both of two City centre bridges, or a long detour via a very narrow, meandering road with its own very narrow bridge, or an even longer detour via the A1. Oh and you can sort of loop around the A167 but then you have to wave at the Cummingses before crawling through the University area which, at rush hour, is home to the mile long queue for the bridge that's closing.

@torydeathdrug (and others) I feel your pain. I'm sure you've all seen this, but just in case this is (I think) the latest list of excuses guidance on EHCPs. They're just fucking off all the statutory timescales obligations (for example 6 weeks to even decide whether to assess) and changing everything to "reasonably practical". There are some useful bits to quote at people though eg

These temporary changes to the law only affect various statutory timescales for processes relating to EHC needs assessments and plans. All of the other requirements of the EHC needs assessments and plan processes remain unchanged, including the following....

reviews and re-assessments of EHC plans must still take place (although there can in some circumstances be flexibility over the timing of an annual review that does not relate to a transfer between phases of education, see below)

I do actually understand why some provision is unavoidably delayed (eg one of our support staff is shielding) but unfortunately we know from experience if any agencies can wriggle out of anything anyway they love it, and the current situation is heaven sent for this, isn't it? especially for assessments and reviews which are slower than molasses in January at the best of times.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-law-on-education-health-and-care-needs-assessments-and-plans-due-to-coronavirus/education-health-and-care-needs-assessments-and-plans-guidance-on-temporary-legislative-changes-relating-to-coronavirus-covid-19

I put some newt fencing round a balancing pond once, and a friend remarked how nice it was that we were protecting the beets and was outraged when I said it was to stop the bastard things getting in there so we didn't have to worry about them.

Newts obviously. No one protects beets

All the formatting and quote editing disappeared from my post I hope it makes sense e