Saturday 28 September 2013

time flies when you are having fun

Well, time has just whizzed past, lots has been going on especially around young G.

Fair play, she is not as other school refusers we have known, she does her school work. She has also impressed a local riding school enough to be offered an NVQ in horseology which she has got really stuck into.

That's the good news, she should be getting 25 hours of education based activity, which is not being provided by the LA.

So of course the graduate, decided enough was enough and phoned to ask about some funding for this here education m'lady is getting.

And of course here comes the standard response, they were very happy with her education but not happy enough to discharge their lawful duty to fund it.

Some years ago, we were in a similar position, young person is out of education, sadly no plans around funding some. Out of generosity we offered to commission some education, what a good idea came the reply. And we would bill them, ahh, they said almost gleefully, we could send all the bills we liked, they would simply not pay them. We never thought they would we answered with equal levity, we had always expected to have to recover the costs via the courts, if the duty to provide education was not statutory, they would win their case, if on the other hand we were providing education because they were neglecting a statutory duty a judge would be bound to find in our favour.

Suddenly they seemed to think we were not very nice people....

How dare anyone put children's needs before their balance sheet.

We are back to that part of the country...

From being fantastic people to Satan in half a day.

Funny though that the conversation that took the line that we would do what is in fact a job of work for nothing when the social work staff did likewise. There is a bit of a background debate as to whether foster carers should do their jobs out of love or for money.

I love my job, but without money I cannot afford to do it.

G is at home, all day every day, she is making more progress than she has in years. She is stopping us "working" because we are "working" with her. When you "work" you get paid. Simples really....




      

Thursday 5 September 2013

Time to ourselves....

Everyone is back in school or college except of course G who has decided to refuse to go.

It's turning properly complex as she had thought this would be the issue where she would get conflict, and she hasn't

She has done some work we set her and she's academically not daft. Hard to see how she thinks this is working for her. 

Today has been another day where no one expected her to go to school she is finding that a bit difficult.

We have amused ourselves on the home front with things like chain saws and axes and firewood.

It's late in the seasons to be cutting and very hard work thrown in. The wood is wonderful, well seasoned oak, if you know wood, you will also know that oak needs to  be processed just when it's felled no when it's dry. A new chain has been needed to equalise things a bit and this really is a job for my 50 year old axes, modern stuff will not cope.

To cap it all the student has been thinking, never a good thing, she has decided she is not after all doing her masters or PHD next year. Not next year, but maybe the year after, am I too old to join the foreign legion??





Monday 2 September 2013

Getting back to normal

A summer of kids and young adults kicking round grinds to a halt.

As from tomorrow the first go back to school.

Our trip to Brittany went  a bit better than planned. The run down was achieved in indecently short time and we sailed happily into the night.

G had tried a bit of drama, announcing on the day we were to leave that she wasn't going. The student in due course producing her master stroke.  All was fine G could stay with Serenity for a week, neatly cutting off her power to disrupt. Faced with that choice, she chose get in the car.

Brittany was a mass of  holiday type activities like strimming, chopping down trees and cutting hedges back. Oh yes, we really know how to have a good time.

Unfortunately, I got things a bit wrong and   became quite seriously dehydrated, not a good thing to do when the temperature soars, and soar it did 41 C was seen on our thermometer once. It was well into the high 20's even at night. The result of this was a seriously bad knee. Not at the time, it waited till we got home then went on strike.

This in turn means lots of nasty pain killers and anti inflammatory.

Still all that is done, the kids go back to school and college tomorrow, all is well with the world.

Just need the students exam marks and we are sorted.

Then we are on to serious wood cutting ready for winter which is not quite upon us but won't be too long in arriving.

 
R