AnAir, if he can join a union, it can be very helpful protection, and is also good "socially", as members come from across departments. If he's experiencing any bullying, the extra people in his life will not only make him look less exposed; he won't feel as lonely anf demoralised.
Seven, hope the cliquey mums have all retired from the baby group now 
. BTW, I never congratulated you on your pregnancy! When are you due?
(Gary, were you, er, AWCH? Congrats to you, too! )
Northern, what is it with these cutters, that makes them want to move deadlines forward 
?! Have you ever heard of Death March projects? They're wellbknown in IT, but when I read DH's copy, I instantly saw "cross sector applicability" - just like some of my jobs, in fact! From what I remember, Death March projects are 50% or so under-resourced in time, budget or manpower. Project managers are probably going yo lose their jobs over not delivering, while team members are just best off resigning. The only one with any power is the potential new project manager, wooed by management to take over: the authors advise him/her to use management's desperation to reduce the project's specs or extend the deadline to something more manageable. It sounds depressing reading, but it's not entirely: I read it with the joy of discovering that someone else besides my colleagues knew exactly what I was going through. The sense of bitching with someone who understands was a bit like solidarity (see my union comments, above).
DD's just had diarrhoea since about Sat, with no temperature and not much vomiting, so I'm a bit confused. Rang NHS Direct today and satisfied them that she didn't have meningitis, but otherwise just have to feed it out of her, I guess.
We were given notice today by the house agents - guess they didn't want a 3 minth extension (we're waiting for "our" house sale to go through. BTW, gad to hear yours is still in progress, aethel! I remember your dropping magnolia paint outside your house, to work on its "kerb appeal" 
)