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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be pissed off the Team GB parade through London is on a Monday?

75 replies

HokeyCokeyPigInAPokey · 07/09/2012 11:50

what happened to inspiring a generation?

All the kids are back at school.

My dcs would love to go and see this as i am sure lots of others would who will be at school or working.

Surely this should be on a weekend?

OP posts:
TheLazyGirlBlog · 07/09/2012 16:09

That does sound like my DDs school Hokey during the Introduction meeting we had with the rest of the FS2 intake parents last year (told it would last 10 minutes, went on for well over an hour), unless we have a relatives funeral, then there is no excuse for taking time off. She includes hospital visits in this, so my DSs attendance (even for FS1 Nursery) was seen as a massive issue, as he has ongoing health problems. Kept being called in to -be patronised- have a chat about it every five minutes. I still see some other Mum's from DDs Nursery down the road, who go to another local school on the other side of town (we were no longer in the catchment area for it) who are allowed ten days a year off for "non medical" reasons.
The school only has an authorised absence for illness if they have had a sickness bug- coughs and colds are no excuse (also not good with son with Chronic Lung Disease who catches germs and ends up very ill on steriods and needs even more time off).

StripyShoes · 07/09/2012 18:01

blackberry sorry I meant to the paralympics!

SoupDragon · 07/09/2012 18:27

Personally, I don't think it would be a great experience for children, particularly smaller ones. It will be packed, hellish and they won't be able to see.

wherearemyGOLDsocks · 07/09/2012 18:40

I'm taking my dd1 out of school to go to it. She totally got into the whole thing and has been really inspired.

Pretty much all of the athletes have left London already, as have many of the games makers (those that don't live in London anyway), they will be travelling back for the parade anyway.

But they why couldnt they have started the Paralympics a day earlier and then finished on Saturday and done the parade on Sunday?

SoupDragon · 07/09/2012 19:00

Probably because they needed the time to set up the Olympic venues for the Paralympics.

wherearemyGOLDsocks · 07/09/2012 19:09

The venues were already built, what did they need to set up? I'm pretty sure when they built them they knew they would have to accommodate for different disabilities and so designed them accordingly.

SoupDragon · 07/09/2012 19:23

I imagine the accomodation needed changing and maintaining and they certainly did work sorting out the park. I imagine there were changes required for certan Paralympic events, especially those that are not Olympic ones.

SoupDragon · 07/09/2012 19:24

All the branding throughout the venues needed changing, the broadcasting equipment presumably needed changing from BBC equipment to C4?

TunaPastaBake · 07/09/2012 19:41

All the bedding needed changing !
They changed the Olympic Hockey pitches to the Paralympic football pitches.

wherearemyGOLDsocks · 07/09/2012 19:52

I'm still pretty sure they could have done all that in 16 days as easily as in 17 days.

wherearemyGOLDsocks · 07/09/2012 19:54

And the bbc and ch 4 have separate studios so they didn't need to change those.

voddiekeepsmesane · 07/09/2012 20:07

Our school is allowing an authorised day if we wish to take our child to the parade. Well done I say, though still trying to decide whether I actually want to take 8yo ds :)

SoupDragon · 07/09/2012 20:10

Well, obviously you are the expert on it. I'm sure you know better than the people who scheduled everything.

SoupDragon · 07/09/2012 20:12

I didn't realise that all the broadcasting equipment used in the stadium was actually in a studio. I feel so foolish.

wherearemyGOLDsocks · 07/09/2012 20:18

Sorry are you being sarcastic or did you really realise they use a studio?

And yes I am pretty good at logistics and organising and I'm pretty sure it would have been very possible.

YoullLaughAboutItOneDay · 07/09/2012 20:26

I suspect that they decided that 17 days was the quickest they could do the turn around. I love the idea of anyone who isn't intimately involved in the logistics feeling that they can express a view that of course it could have been done quicker. How can you possibly know?

If you want your children to go (and don't have work constraints yourself so that you can choose your holiday - I do have lots of sympathy for nurses and the like, although of course many shift workers wouldn't make Sunday), take them. Tell the teacher you are taking them, and take them. There isn't actually anything the school can or will do about a single day of absence, even if it is marked as unauthorised.

Original poster
HokeyCokeyPigInAPokey · 07/09/2012 20:44

Our school will fine you £50 per day per parent for unauthorised absence so it could cost me £100.00.

DD2 is not fussed so am thinking about letting dd1 have the day off. This is something i would never normally do and it doesn't sit easy with me but i do think it will be a once in a life time opportunity...i don't know.

OP posts:
wherearemyGOLDsocks · 07/09/2012 21:03

I suspect they traditionally hold the closing ceremony on a Sunday so that is why they are holding it on a Sumday and doing the parade on a Monday. I merely made a query, a suggestion, I don't understand why you seem to be getting so defensive about it.

YoullLaughAboutItOneDay · 07/09/2012 21:11

Do they actually issue the fines though? Round by me they threaten all the time, but I have yet to hear them actually do it to anyone for a single day or a holiday. They normally agree the authorised absence if you hold your ground (for a decent reason, like visiting overseas family) because they don't want it messing with their OFSTED figures. Maybe that is my area though. I have always assumed that other areas were total bluff on this too, so sorry if I was wrong.

heyannie · 07/09/2012 21:35

There's already been a shitload of child orientated Olympics events, within schools and during the holidays, not everything has to be geared around children. A Monday is better for crowd control too. The Olympics and Paralympics were organised by LOCOG, dates were presumably set in conjunction with IOC and IPC, and that was done many years ago. These organisations have nothing to do with parade, that's the Mayor of London's office, it was only announced recently and they do not have the power to change the Olympic and Paralympic schedules. It's really not that big a deal, kids can watch it on the telly at worst.

LongStory · 07/09/2012 21:38

grrr the parade is going past my office window but I don't work on Mondays so will be on school run duty grrrr again.

Original poster
HokeyCokeyPigInAPokey · 07/09/2012 23:06

I was fined years ago, we booked a holiday before the no holiday stance was taken.

They changed the policy and we were fined. I appealed on the basis that the policy was changed after I booked but I still had to pay.

OP posts:
wherearemyGOLDsocks · 07/09/2012 23:18

Don't really see how crowd control is easier on a Monday than a Sunday. Surely a Sunday is easier as they don't also after factor in commuters and is less traffic on the roads Confused

I will concede on the Monday though as I didn't really consider it being organised by Boris rather than LOCOG.

I will be taking my dd out of school and going to watch it, and I'll be going to work after.

heyannie · 07/09/2012 23:19

It's in the middle of the day, not commuting time. There will be more people at work and school so therefore a smaller crowd.

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