Sunday....watched the end of Andys match.......and watched the final match on and off....started well, but he was a bit lightweight and overpowered by a far bigger player......losing not a problem.....but against the Argentinians disappointing.
I can't get excited about tennis somehow. It was never designed to be a smash and grab game in the beginning but these days it's more about the serve than anything else. Yes they do a bit in the rallies but it's still all about power. You said it above plym. "overpowered by a far bigger player" "but he was a bit lightweight".
Off to the Hoe tomorrow. My daughter is getting her diploma thingy for her Masters degree. I'm there to be the proud dad and indeed it won't be difficult. She has worked hard as well as keeping a job going and a family at the same time. We are going out for dinner after and a few drinks. (Must remember to take that straw with me)
Congratulations on your daughters MD.....I assume they've got the big tent set up like last year when we came down for the Rovers game ?
They have indeed. I think it's supposed to rain tomorrow as well so hope it doesn't when I have to walk up there.
Peter Hartley has played in all but one match for Bristol R and scored two goals so far.....Rovers finding it tough at the moment although they have a game in hand.....4th from bottom at present W1.....D4.....L2.
Not that kean on Rovers supporters who I find a tad aggresive at times. Don't care if we pass them in opposite directions. Back from the Hoe and it was a proud dad lump in throat moment. Actually one moment really was. They awarded a postumous degree to somebody who died between qualifying and the ceremony. The girls mom was there to collect the certificate with the girls son who was a little todler about 18 months/2 years old. They of course got a standing ovation and it did bring a bit of a tear to my eye if I'm honest. Lot of young people at the ceremony who clearly do care about other things than drinking swearing and having a ball. Nice meal after and a few sherberts.
She's 38 years old notdistant and decided that her brother had all the bragging rights about Uni so decided to do something about it. She worked hard to get her degree as well as holding down a job and raising her son. Having got one she then thought why not out do him and go for the masters. Well she cracked it and I have to say I'm a proud bunny. She does research for a living and her boss wants her to go for the PhD. Not sure she will but then again............... Apart from giving her the brains, this was all down to her so any congratulations are her's alone.
Talk of Newcastle willing to pay out £10 million for Argyles 5th best loanee signing (Herald)....Alan Judge 27 yrs old....who at present is playing for Brentford....this includes a £2 million sell on to former club Blackburn......Judge was with Argyle for a season and a half around 2009/10 period.
Sensible, congrats from me also to your daughter.. She must have got it all from you. My previous post about woman in jobs, well i have had a young lady in for a trial and we have today decided to take her on as a Plumber Apprentice at 24.. so it will be interesting.. so we have to invest in the future as some of the lads we had come in.. say no more!
Thanks Joe. In my experience there are equal numbers of idiots both male and female in the young person category. Having said that there are also equal numbers who have a bit of get up and go as well. Even though it was a long time ago now, I think a lot depends on who you have as a sort of mentor when you are younger. I was a bit of a loser as a baby sailor until I got taken under a wing by a boss who only knew one way to do stuff which was the right way. No half measures, no short cuts just do it properly. Once I'd learned the idea of that the rest was quite simple really and my progress was quite fast up the ladder for the time. I took his philosophy with me and found it worked really well. You then rub off on others even if you don't think you do. Sermon ended.............
Many congrats Sensible- I know from personal experience how difficult it is to balance work, family life and studying so it is a real credit that she stuck with it and achieved her Masters. I did too a couple of years ago but came very close to quitting (studying) a few times. Just a point about females in jobs........I have to say that over the last 10 years the quality of female Marine Engineers that worked for me was far better than the blokes. Whether they think they still have something to prove I am not sure, but in general they were harder working, more reliable and often better engineers.
Thirty minutes yesterday outside peak hours to get from Manadon to the George park-and-ride junction. I assumed they'd started the "improvements" to Tavistock Road at the Derriford roundabout, but no, it was 4 blokes armed with a set of traffic lights cutting down a hedge. What will it be like when the real roadworks begin? Who thinks the improvements will: Be of benefit to all the citizens of Plymouth's fair city Be of benefit to largely empty buses and taxis Be of benefit to nobody
I started school just before the war finished (WW2 that is sensible).....with my father on the move all the time as an RAF, SWO helping to put RAF Stations back to a peace time footing meant my schooling was at the local village school....which generally meant under eights in one class over eights in the other class.....and quite often I was moving school every year or so. I had been about to take the eleven plus exam when we moved yet again....my parents never followed that up at my new school....in a mock exam before leaving my old school I had come fourth in the class....so maybe things might of been different for me if I had taken the exam.....but being on the move all the time made things hard.....no wonder service personnel quite often put their kids into boarding schools to avoid continual movement. Education had not been high up my parents agenda for me....so I eventually left school at fifteen with a very basic education in 1954. I only mention that because I always wondered how my education would have developed under other circumstances. In my early sixties I decided to enrol in the Open University and started studying for a BA....which over six years of accumulating points led me to finally achieving my goal.......the satisfaction of receiving my degree at the Barbican Theatre in London was I felt a point proved, that education achieved at a younger age could have sent my life on a different path than it did and maybe financially a more secure future and retirement.
I've always believed that when the council did such things in-house in the past it worked better.....now everything is contracted out generally to the cheapest quote. 1.....When the Council had their own Parks Department and their own Nursery to bring on their own plants....we had had excellent flower displays and well kept parks. 2.....When the Council did their own road repairs....they got on with it and things where done quickly causing minimum disruption.....now you can get traffic light put up by one lot ...later the road is dug up..... and you can spend minutes Queueing to pass road works with no sign of any workers there......when work is eventually finish....the traffic lights can still be in place for hours until another mob turn up to remove them. 3.....Dustbins emptied by a French company...why?.....cheaper I expect. 4.....You do wonder where your Council tax goes....the Council seems to just be the middle man. PS.....These facts are based on the London Borough of Bromley........do you find it different in Plymouth.
There's a big sign at the Derriford roundabout showing the finished layout. Only thing you really notice is the bus lane...
The simple answer to the above is Council Tax goes to pay for the 1001 jobs the Council is responsible for. They may not do the job to the satisfaction of the citizens but it all costs nonetheless. The one fact that always sticks in my mind having worked within is that 90% of the stuff they pay for is created by these citizens in the first place. Street sweeping should not be needed when you think of it for example. Put in a bin it only takes one man to empty a bag and replace it. Dumping rubbish otherwise known as fly tipping should not require people employed to remove it. Repairing pavement slabs caused by motorists parking where they shouldn't and driving over them is another one. I could go on and on and some might say I often do. Many of the Services they give are often not seen by the majority but have to be there. Childrens services for example. The Government rules on how much they can collect in taxes to do the 1001 jobs the Government makes Councils do. They continually reduce the subsidies they used to give Councils and increase the 1001 jobs making them compulsory. It's not a wonder they are seen to be sparing work on X because Y needs doing. It's fire fighting most of the time to stand still. Almost all of the citizens complain about the amount of Tax they have to pay whilst demanding more and more for it. Whilst no council is perfect by a long way it aint easy.
