Occasionally I post about my personal experience of butting up against the consequences of the removal of both common humanity and common sense from the administration of the systems which govern us. It is not that my experiences of this are worse, or more consequential, than those of anyone else. It is simply that I have a forum on which to rail against the contempt with which we all are treated.
Tomorrow we move home, within Edinburgh but about six miles away. Cameron has finished P5 at Royal Mile Primary School and will now be entering P6 at a new school. Hopefully. In Edinburgh there is no entitlement to a place in your local catchment area school if you move there after year 1.
About six months ago I phoned the primary school of our new catchment area to ask if they would have a place. They replied – in a rather brusque manner – that they could not give me any information and that I could not apply for a place until after we had moved. At that stage I had to send in a form direct to the school with a council tax demand plus utility bill as proof of address (making it impossible to apply until you have not only moved but received those bills).
As instructed, now we are moving I contacted the school again. It is closed for the school holidays. As Edinburgh schools restart on 14 August, I contacted Edinburgh Council. They reiterated that applications must be made straight to the school itself. They confirmed that applications cannot be made before moving and must be accompanied by a Council Tax bill and utility bill. They told me that school offices reopen on 12 August and I will then be able to apply for admission on 14 August. They told me that they hold no information on pupil numbers in schools beyond year 1 and that there is no entitlement to a place in the catchment area school after year 1.
So I have no idea where Cameron will go to school on 14 August – I suspect he will for a while end up not going anywhere – and no means of even beginning the process to find out before 12 August (which is the earliest I can submit the form, presuming I have somehow procured a utility bill after a fortnight). Doubtless there are people who do not worry about such things, and that may be admirable. But we, and I suspect many others put in this position, find it very worrying.
What is undoubtedly true is that this is a system formed around the convenience of bureaucrats which shows an utter contempt for the needs and feelings of parents and pupils. My small family problem is but an example of the deliberate hollowing out of normal human helpfulness from societal interaction which comes when you stop caring about people as individuals.
I’m a great believer in the idea that action speaks louder than words…
It was rumoured several weeks ago that Boris had a lead in the leadership election that meant he couldn’t be beaten, well before voting closed and the official result was announced. The final vote-share suggests that was probably true enough.
We can assume that Boris and his cohorts have a reasonably well defined plan as far as a deal with the EU goes. They’ve had years to think about it. And the evidence suggests they want something along the lines of ‘Canada plus plus’ or some such variation.
We can further assume that Boris has expressed this to the EU over the last few weeks, that’s there’s a communication line there, and we can guess how the EU might have responded; I think they’d have been receptive with conditions, and the biggest, most overarching condition would be that he assures them he can pass such a deal through Parliament before they attempt to hammer it out.
Corroborative evidence of the above was provided by Boris himself. He didn’t run to the EU. He didn’t make a hullabaloo about any discussions he had with them, yet he surely must have had discussion on some level. Instead, he ran to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The only explanation of Boris prioritising NI and Scotland is that he was looking to establish support for an anticipated deal; or, in the case of the SNP, he was most likely looking for them to agree to abstain. Parliamentary arithmetic suggests SNP abstention along with the support of the DUP and most of his own party, not to mention a few Labour MPs, would be enough to swing a vote in his favour,
Anyone who believes Boris ran up to Scotland or NI to tell the natives how much he loves them and the Union, is living in cloud cuckoo land — that official cover story was weak even by Westminster standards.
Majority now down to just one, other tory MPs are thinking of defecting to LibDems.
Might be a General Election, very soon indeed.
Brexiters always seem to believe that the EU is about to abandon its vital interests in order to give the Brexiters what they want, and that is again essentially what is represented in Hatuey’s comment.
The basic problem is, I think, the same as faced May. Johnson is as much a prisoner of the ERG as May ever was. He is not in fact free to act as he might wish. It is just that his reaction, as a testosterone-fuelled privileged white Etonian-educated male, is different from that of his predecessor. He goes full-speed and full-depth into supporting his masters demands, pretending that it is he who is in charge. I suspect he isn’t, and it is the lunatics who are running the hospital.
Laguerre, I am sure the E.U. Elite have no intention of abandoning their gravy train.
I hope you’re living on a nice secure pension; you are going to need it, when you achieve your dream of the collapse of the UK economy. I see you don’t mind Johnson and his Westminster cohort having their gravy train.
You will, of course, be immediately apprehended and, probably, your child confiscated because your child is – as a result of your ‘errors’ – no longer enrolled in the public education system. You have thus proven that you are unfit to be parents, and the state will automatically – without the intervention of any humanity – act in the ‘best interests’ of the child.
Your best bet would be to bundle your bemused family onto the next boat too…. anywhere else… never to return.
Bugger.
I am really fond of this blog. It is run by a principled man who believes exposing the truth is more important than personal ambition. It has been much more successful in breaking real news than all MSM put together.
What saddens me is that certain issues, major issues, issues in conflict with the MSM line, are consistently snuffed out. For some reason moderators have been instructed to remove comments that discuss certain topics. I presume it is moderators but have a suspicion that there is a body that sits above moderators capable of closing down this, and any other blog, should they choose. I won’t mention the topic but one vibrant thread has been completely closed down and leaves no outlet for discussion at a time when legal challenges in the USA are beginning to bear fruit.
Leaving that aside this weekend I am cycling again for sports equipment for Palestinian girls (Saturday)
https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/sports-for-girls-in-gaza-the-big-ride-2019/
And again on Sunday for a more local charity Myton Hospices, Warwick. It would have been my dad’s 102 birthday so I’m doing this to keep alive my memory of him. It covers 100 miles and includes 9 major climbs, one being the category 4 Saintsbury Hill, and going through the scenic Cotswolds before returning to Warwick. It’s all right I’ve been training. I can do it!
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-goss5
Best of luck John. Hope it is not too hot. I will make a contribution. It is a shame that only a third of the amount needed has been raised, so far that is.
On Sunday here, there are many closures for the Ride London/Surrey event. The locals do not like being kettled! Tomorrow there is also the Ride London event. An initiative of Johnson in 2013 when he was Mayor of London. Heavily commercial interests behind it now.
Thanks Sharp Ears. I was a bit late getting my act together this year.
As to the commercial interests it nearly always happens with very big events. But the sports gear for Palestinian girls has broadly the same committee as when it started 4 years ago. It grows yearly and there are more than 200 signed up for tomorrow’s event in Manchester. There was probably a similar number in London last week but I’ve not seen the figures yet.
Respect!
Thanks remember kronstadt.
I could not have put it better myself, John. There are some very fine people here.
Best of luck with your challenges. I’m sure you will succeed.
Thanks John2o2o.
Still fighting the good fight. Well done. I dedicate my donation to you and Anon1 who in different ways expose the vicious inhumanity of Zionism.
I tried to give something to your local charity too, but I gave up after about 10 minutes of battling through their cookie permissions labyrinth, then finding I had to subscribe to justgiving to donate. Sorry.
Thanks again Node. I know these thing can be a pain to navigate round. And of course they are big earners for the promoters. You do not have to give a percentage to Justgiving. These platforms must make an absolute fortune. Keep up the good fight yourself Node.
I identify with your situation. There is a continual problem from clerical minded individuals with the power to block the most simple and reasonable request. Assuming good will, basic intelligence and training all people responsible for assisting customers, public inquirers, doctors’ patients, tax payers and all folk with a legitimate concern should be given full assistance. Attitude is cental to the problem.there may be a cultural problem in some staff that a proffessional employer should correct by training. However, the system may be defective and the staff perplexed by it and incompetent managers.there is a need to steel ourselves to be alert to obstructive behaviour and defective replies and drive questions and complaints higher and further. If performance is unacceptable. It needs confronting. It is not easy and can be costly in time, energy and money. Not all battles are worth fighting and often we haven’t strenghth or rescources. I wish you well and everyone on both sides of the problem. Do not let the illegitimate grind you down!
Dear Craig
That is why we want a small state so it is not run for the benefit of the bureaucrats and mandarin class which offer little benefit to our society.
I hope your boy finds his place.
Remember small state equals happy lives.
It is a shame that the SNP do not understand this very simple relationship.
Tax lovers take note.
The systems do seem unnecessarily sclerotic. When we moved up to Scotland from London my wife had to home school the kids until we found a place to live. The council would not talk to us until we had moved in. In fairness it then gave us a choice of three primary schools and we visited two before falling in love with one.
In New Zealand I went to two temporary schools while moving and living in Motels. The first on arrival from Scotland and the second from an internal move from one end of the country to the other. NZ has a highly mobile population and thinks kids should be in school so you move, into school you go.
Edinburgh though is unique in Scotland in not having school zoning after P1 with the system heavily warped by so many choosing the private sector and where you went to school being so important in later life, even trumping university. Thankfully elsewhere in Scotland is different and the council has much more of a say. At least we only have one Academy school.