Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Fred - Hope planted a feather and thought a chicken would grow.:-)

Wow, I don't think the NHS is an ongoing failure, quite the opposite... Not sure how anyone could believe there's been a breakdown of education either.

Sure activities of the parties and further enquiry into financing is needed but I doubt we'll ever see full transparency.

so answer the questions then as you have pretensions to such a fund of knowledge

at least i have first-hand knowledge, so though i profess no great depth, at least i know what i write has unbiased truth attaching

Queue jumping with money happens in all walks of life. More money often produces better service and that is just a fact of life. People get pompous when it involves education or health. In fact the money takes the burden off public services. Even if you stop private education then people will buy houses close to the best schools and there is nothing you can do stop it. Near me there is a school which is possibly the best state school in London. The result is that houses are £2m+ in the catchment area. The catchment is just 500 yards from the school as a result. Every house close to the school has a family with children at the school. The houses opposite the school are £3m+.

fred+sticky - do you fly? ...... if so, do you pre-book your seat? ...... if not, is that because you are too mean, don't care if you sit at the very back of the plane so take an age to get through immigration, or have moral scruples (queue jumping) about paying a few pennies more for a decent seat (ideally an exit row)?

Maybe then I should try and poach the Head and some teachers for my local school.. It would do wonders for the price of my house as a result!!

It isn't all to do with the school. The parents clearly have money to live there. They care about education because that is why they moved there. The quality of the school and their exam success is a self fulkfilkibg prophecy as the kids are expected to well and there are no difficult kids in the school. A lit of the chattering classes live here plus a large number of actors and musicians.

When their kids have taken their exams the parents move and take their profit and a new load move in. That way they get a public school quality education for free.

RAF Typhoons being moved to Eastern Europe together with other NATO assets.

there are no difficult kids in the school.
bet there are, and it is a certainty that drink and drugs are also quite a problem ...... it matters not from which social group children come from, or even their familial input, for some will be found susceptible and easy targets

Drink, drugs, sex, porn, and various forms of violence exist in every school. They always have, because they're part of the society we live in...

It depends on what you mean by drink and drugs problem. The area attract a lot of liberal lefties and I know that many of the parents use weed. Like all middle class areas the parents also probably drink too much. I know a lot of the kids who go there and there seems to be no drink or drugs problem. There is a absolute zero tolerance at the school. The kids do not go out mid day and you have to agree to your child being randomly searched. There has never been an incident that I am aware of. The pupils are incredibly well behaved out of school and polite. Their idea of fun out of school apart from sport is to get together and have a meal in a restaurant. They are very sociable and pleasant company.

Well you can put all the arguments you want up against siding with private health care and private education but it doesnt sit well with me.

Just because you have money doesnt mean its right to gain an advantage at the start of your life with education and likewise going on towards the ends of your life why should your mother or father be seen before someone elses mother or father who may have been sick for a much longer time.

Its nothing but que jumping and high time it was ended in this country.

This is not responsible capitalism, in fact its 'playing with God'.

And the likes of Hays who use pathetic excuses for its existence should hang their head in shame. Its deeply moraly wrong, and this is supposed to be a country that believes in morals if you take note of the liar David Cameron.

sticky - that's very much your personal choice with which i don't happen to agree, or only marginally in places

but tell me about pre-booking your seat on a flight
do you?

=================

hays .... your write "you have to agree to your child being randomly searched", which by implication tells us that the school does indeed have its drink and drugs problems - all schools do (and probably paedophile teachers too), and day schools, for fairly obvious reasons, are the more prone

No I dont pre book a seat.

I can fall asleep on the town hall steps (and have done) (plus Rochdales) I have no fear of flying and can relax very easily. Her indoors is a bit nervy, but she'd rather sit at the side of me than someone else.........well most times.

so you don't have any objection to people who do spend a couple of shillings to pre-book their seat?

cynic
I think the searching is to prevent there being a problem. There are schools in the general area that do have problems, so it may be a reaction to that.

Cyners, yes, first come first serve service.

Must dash, just off to my local Trustle Food Bank, I hear they are giving out hot cross buns this evening.

Better hope Edwina isnt peeking in on me when I draw up in the Rover taxi.

Get a copy of today's Times if you can. Lots more details of the case against Farage. It looks like much more solid evidence from may whistleblowers. Farage expelled committee members who asked what was happening to substantial funds amounting to millions of pounds in donations.

This story will run and run. The Electoral Commission is now involved.

Hes innocent.

Just Tories want revenge for Miller.

It is looking like the original article is triggering further revelations from ex UKIP people. Today the Times has half the front page and all of page 6 devoted to Farage..