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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think Argyll and Bute Council are a gang of morons

134 replies

DreamingofSummer · 15/06/2012 12:55

www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/15/girl-photos-school-meals-blog

So incompetent your couldn't make it up

OP posts:
GeneHuntsMistress · 15/06/2012 14:03

Just on radio 4 that they have overturned the ban now

habbibu · 15/06/2012 14:06

Yy, suchprospects. Amateurish is right, and naive.

HmmThinkingAboutIt · 15/06/2012 14:08

Its the council staff that should loose their jobs over the handling of this.

The council should have been delighted by Martha's enthusiasm and approval rating of dinners and that said that the staff were therefore doing a good job.

That would have been a pretty good press release and would have reassured staff.

Instead they punish Martha... Go figure. Its not rocket science to work out what was going to happen.

I'd love to know how they handle staff dispute and other issues which don't get as much press coverage.

somebloke123 · 15/06/2012 14:09

From looking through her blog most of the entries seemed quite complementary to me, and the photos quite flattering and well done.

I'd have thought that the Council should have been pleased with the favourable publicity. What an own goal. (Though excellent for the blog though, now the ban has been lifted.)

ReelAroundTheFountain · 15/06/2012 14:30

I loved seeing the school dinners from around the world - some of them looked really appetizing. I agree that she was quite positive about her own school lunch but I do think that inadvertantly by showing the international ones it made hers look worse. I can see no reason at all why in the UK we can't also produce similar options Confused

It made me realise just how far we have still to go...

Tigerbomb · 15/06/2012 14:37

Updated statement from Argylle and Bute council

www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/news/2012/jun/statement-school-meals-argyll-and-bute-council

HmmThinkingAboutIt · 15/06/2012 14:41

I have therefore requested senior officials to consider immediately withdrawing the ban on pictures from the school dining hall until a report can be considered by Elected Members.

Erm, so has the ban been lifted or not? Being told to consider is very different to ACTUALLY lifting it. Hmm

ClaireDeTamble · 15/06/2012 14:51

No, it's lifted. If the leader of the Council asks you to 'consider' something you are not really being asked to consider it, you are being told to do it and do it pdq!

BreastmilkDoesAFabLatte · 15/06/2012 14:55

I think the council leader just cycled into a lamp post from backpeddling too fast.

JosephineCD · 15/06/2012 14:59

Sack the council leader immediately.

ClaireDeTamble · 15/06/2012 15:01

I don't think it was the council leader that put out the original statement, it would have been senior officials in the education department that made the original decision.

The council leader has done what any half decent elected public official would do - heeded the criticism and instructed his officers to act immediately in order to rectify the situation.

TBF, he is most likely doing it from a political perspective (protecting votes) and for once, the right decision and the politically expedient one are the same - all too often they are not and poor decisions are made simply because they are popular with voters and not because they are 'the best' course of action.

drjohnsonscat · 15/06/2012 15:02

Utter incompetence and they do deserve to be shamed into action for what they make available to these children. They are children and it shouldn't be possible for them to choose potato croquettes and a lollipop for their lunch. The choices should be from a range of healthy stuff. This is so mind bogglingly obvious I can't believe they are still not managing to do it.

We had a healthy living day at our primary school yesterday (state school in Westminster) and the parents went in for the day to eat the school lunches with their children. It was great - all good, all healthy options, no possibility of children choosing a piece of bread and an ice lolly. They do have the occasional unhealthy thing on the menu but it's, say, once a week, and served with salad, rather than offered up with other unhealthy options every single day. The children only get to choose within a range of reasonably healthy things. It's not rocket science.

TwoIfBySea · 15/06/2012 15:02

The council have been getting an utterly justifiable pasting on Twitter since last night. An amazing PR disaster although not the first from Argyll and Bute council.

There was talk that the catering staff feared for their jobs. Here is one of my bug bears, which I mentioned in the thread last night, are caterers cooks or just heating up pre-cooked food? My friend's mum was one of our dinner ladies and our primary school dinners were always really good (70s/80s Scottish school).

drjohnsonscat · 15/06/2012 15:03

Also who cares about the ban. Sort the bloody food out you idiots.

pattercakes · 15/06/2012 15:04

Children would not be allowed to take photos inside many schools. Nor would employees in many businesses/ Children dont run schools. Nor do employees run their places of work. Rightly or wrongly there always seems to be restrictions.

JosephineCD · 15/06/2012 15:09

Far too many councils are stuck in the 70s in all respects. They have a view that they are in charge, when in fact they are the servants of the public.

niceguy2 · 15/06/2012 15:09

Also who cares about the ban. Sort the bloody food out you idiots.

Exactly. The council worker who decided a ban was a good idea was treating the symptom, not the cause. That never ends well.

Those poor dinner ladies who 'feared for their jobs' probably didn't feel that their management would back them up. And judging by the amateurish way this whole thing has been handled, you can see why. Since when was it the dinner ladies fault what is being served on the menu? These things are decided centrally by the council. The dinner ladies cook/reheat what they are told to.

JosephineCD · 15/06/2012 15:10

"Doing what you are told to do" is no excuse. It didn't work for the Nazis, and it won't work for these dinner ladies either.

manticlimactic · 15/06/2012 15:15

How old is Veg?Does she write her own blog?

JosephineCD · 15/06/2012 15:16

She's 9 and yes.

civilfawlty · 15/06/2012 15:18

Decision has been revoked

meredeux · 15/06/2012 16:33

Is that how much food they get for school lunches?! Maybe ok for a 4 year old but its not nearly enough for an 11 year old active child. No wonder DS is always hungry when he gets home...!

Wow! She's a very clever little girl doing a blog like that.

sherbetpips · 15/06/2012 16:56

the council have backed down and the blog is now allowed again due to a twit campaign - sorry twitter

AndWhenYouGetThere · 15/06/2012 17:07

Well she's exceeded her Mary's Meals target 500 x !

CheerfulYank · 15/06/2012 17:48

What a great kid! :)

Some of the meals don't even look that bad.