Thousands on the beach yesterday - Wednesday

Nor in the schools where I taught Lucca. Unfortunately, there are also some colleagues from hell who like to lie about others to make themselves look good.

I'm sure you've been working really hard at your job JenniferEccles to set a good example.

Where the heck did you read that the transmission rate is dropping by 4% day? In a book of fairy tales?

Callistemon

Oh dear. Well, they may have been speaking from personal experience of course. Most who I know of have been pulling their weight but it must be irksome to know of colleagues who may not be.
Of course, they are not furloughed anyway.

growstuff I think you're playing Devil's Advocate.
On a normal sunny day in June when people are at work and children in school, there are not usually half a million people heading to Bournemouth and causing a major incident.

Do you know that for a fact? On a normal sunny June day, going to the beach is not such a novelty.

I object to the people who claim to know for sure that these people are all furloughed, when they know no such thing.

maddyone

It’s obvious that if it’s safe to congregate on beaches, safe to demonstrate and riot, safe to hold street parties, and safe to celebrate in throngs after football matches, then it’s clearly safe to get back to work. The economy will be in terrible trouble at the end of all this. Yes, the furlough scheme was the right thing to do at the right time. And now is the right time to end it.

The economy doesn't have to be in terrible trouble. The Bank of England will push a couple of buttons and transfer money to the Treasury's balance sheet. The government will be doing an inter-government transfer.

The government does not have to borrow money like a household does. Eventually it will increase money supply and the government will use interest rates and taxation to control inflation.

The actual "wealth" of the country hasn't disappeared. Don't forget that government debt equates to private wealth anyway.

That doesn't mean that some individuals won't suffer, but that's up to the government to mitigate. It can can control who is supported and how money circulates.

Lucca

MerylStreep

I see a teacher has been suspended for saying ( on the radio) that 'some' teachers have just been sitting at home doing nothing and not pulling their weight.

It sure how this relates to the Bournemouth beach incident ?
But the thing is that I’d guess in any job, profession etc there are those who don’t pull their weight. All I can say is you wouldn’t have got away with it in the school(s) i taught in

There are bitches in teaching just as there are everywhere else.

I've just been reading about this woman. She seems like a person who's very keen on watching her own back and blaming everybody else.

Unfortunately, there are too many people like that in all walks of life.

Have a look at what happened at Ogmore-by-Sea in Wales, growstuff, I'm sorry I can't do links on here.

Yes, I do know that for a fact, growstuff.

I have no idea why you keep defending these selfish, stupid people.

Re the teacher:

Which is just what we said!!

Callistemon I'm not sure what you mean re the teacher.

I followed up the case and there are more details in Schoolsweek.

The headteacher had already handed in her resignation in January and was concerned that her reputation would be "tainted", so she hit back.

The school has over 200 pupils, but the school's Facebook page shows that only five pupils out of Years R, 1 and 6 returned on 8 June, so only a handful of teachers were needed in the building.

The woman complained that some of her own staff wouldn't work in school for three days (rather than the two days they were already there) because they had childcare issues. She didn't say who they were, but they could easily be identified because most of the staff work part-time and a third of the staff is leaving at the end of the year anyway.

Crucially, these staff weren't required to be in school to teach children, but to prepare for their appraisal, which could easily be done at home and/or via Zoom.

When the interviewer on the radio programme pointed out that she, as manager, was accountable, she went off on a rant about HR rules and the unions.

She behaved totally unprofessionally and the governors were absolutely right to suspend her. If she had issues with individual staff, this should have been dealt with internally. Quite obviously, she had a political point she wanted to make.

She has now "tainted" the reputation of the staff involved, without going through any procedures. They can't respond because they are behaving professionally.

Without knowing the full details, this headteacher sounds like a control freak and a bully. The staff didn't need to be in school and did seem to have genuine reasons for not being able to return to physical working at short notice. It was up to the headteacher to give them tasks which could be done at home. It's obvious from the school's Facebook page that staff have been working hard to provide pupils with home learning packs and trying to keep in touch with their pupils.

Callistemon

Have a look at what happened at Ogmore-by-Sea in Wales, growstuff, I'm sorry I can't do links on here.

Yes, I do know that for a fact, growstuff.

I have no idea why you keep defending these selfish, stupid people.

I don't know where you get the idea I'm defending stupid, selfish people. I'm not. I think emergency powers should have been put in place to stop all people going to beaches.

What else do you expect when Johnson told Brighton and Hove's MP:

“I will be calling on local representatives such as himself to show some guts and determination and champion their communities as venues for people to return to and support."

My objection was (and is) to people who seem to know for a fact that the people on the beach were all furloughed (ie sponging on taxpayers). Nobody knows for a fact the personal situations of any of these people.

The argument seems to be that everybody can go back to work because they go to the beach anyway. Well, no! The people who didn't go to the beach and are possibly still shielding themselves are putting themselves at danger, unless their workplace and journey to work is safe.

It's a flawed argument.

Maybe all those who crowded our beaches this week will now be content with their fortnight in Spain or the likes and leave it at that.

EDIT "any of these people" shpuld read "all these people".

Ellianne

Maybe all those who crowded our beaches this week will now be content with their fortnight in Spain or the likes and leave it at that.

And not quarantined when they return! That doesn't sound very sensible.

They aren't sensible in the first place growstuff.
In NZ those quarantined are put into 1st class hotels, fed 3 meals a day plus snacks, have doctor and nurses with them, are taken out for exercise, all for free. Try doing that in the UK!

Ellianne I couldn't agree more.

It's difficult to convey sarcasm/irony online.

growstuff

Even in NZ, a British couple who tested positive somehow or other got through the net. If I were a New Zealander, I'd be absolutely livid with them for showing such arrogance and stupidity.

In the UK, we don't even seem to be trying.

I think they were allowed out of quarantine early to grieve with another relative for a deceased parent. One ommitted to say she was feeling unwell, so goodness knows how many she gave it to on the flight.
And that is the problem, no one will want to admit they are feeling ill if it upsets their plans.

I know. Unfortunately, people have to make difficult decisions throughout life. That's why I truly believe that draconian measures are needed.

Thousands of people have been unable to grieve with friends and family. I don't see that this person was any different. He/she obviously didn't think of all the others who could be infected and could possibly die.

That's why it must be made as easy as possible for people to self-isolate. Losing money from work is obviously going to be a real concern for some. Some won't have the space to self-isolate. Therefore, the government must intervene to provide comfortable alternative accommodation and to provide all essential services. There are times when tough love is needed.

It’s ridiculous all these people and children who should be in school it doesn’t make sense at all ! Why oh why do they not see the danger people have lost lives and jobs and they go to the beach!

Harris27 maybe they think they are invincible, they all looked pretty young on the whole.

growstuff It appears you get some sort of silly pleasure in repeatedly having a dig at me whenever I make a comment on a thread regarding people working but it’s getting so tedious now so please stop.

I know it irritates you when I comment on workers as you obviously remember me saying ages ago on another thread that I gave up work when I had my children (as of course did hundreds of thousands of my generation).

According to you that means I am not entitled to comment on work related issues being discussed on any thread, ridiculous as that must sound.

To everyone else on here, sorry for de-railing the discussion but as I said I am getting fed up with the constant digs from the aforementioned poster.

People who have not juggled being a parent and child care are in no position to criticise those who do. Also if you haven’t relatively recent experience of employment, you are in no position to criticise those who have. Those who can afford second homes are also in no position to pass judgement on those who struggle financially

Just a little unfair to suggest that people with wealth now have no understanding of being poor suziewoozie. People may have worked long and hard for whatever they have and not necessarily had a silver spoon from birth!

Yes, hundreds and thousands of our generation did give up work for a few years to bring up our children, even though it was a real struggle financially. However, there weren't so many single parent families then, but of those who did do so, I only know of a couple of friends who never went back to work as soon as children were settled in school.
There was not the childcare available in those days as there is now.

Pantglas I agree. Perhaps being brought up in relative poverty gives some people the spur to want to succeed whereas others accept their lot.