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The Swimming Pool Saga - Part Two

So we've gone through the problems of walking to the swimming pool for a lesson. But hey - that is a breeze compared with the living hell of the BUS JOURNEY. If there is one thing that you would never want to inflict on anyone, it's the prospect of sitting with a class (or two) of children heading towards the swimming pool on the school bus.
Why is this so bad? Well, where shall I begin.
There is of course the stage before even reaching the bus. The actual act of getting bags and coats together for every child can prove to be more difficult than trying to program Deep Thought to find the answer to the question of life. I mean, how can it be that when the class are lined up outside the classroom you still have to check every child and still have to ask those questions;
- Where is your coat
- Where is your jumper
- Where is your swimming kit (how on earth can a child forget to pick up their swimming kit when they are going swimming???)

And then of course you get to the bus, (assuming that it has actually turned up at the school to take you to the pool). And what a bus it is. I look at it and it reminds me of the buses that I used to catch into town when I was a child. Why does it remind me? Because it is the same thing. It's a retired public transport bus, sold to a contract firm and put back into use as a school bus.
Peeling paint, broken windows, chair seats falling off. What luxury!
The children get on and sit down, the belts are pulled on and then we're off. With rattles, crashes and bangs we head to the pool. No air conditioning on a hot day, no heating on a cold day. Could you ask for anything less?

Of course once at the pool, you are then at the mercy of the bus driver. Because he doesn't hang around at the pool. He's off to another school to pick up another lucky class. And if he's late back with those, then guess who doesn't have a lift back to the school. Yep, you got it! Standing outside in the snow, rain and cold wind after a swimming lesson with wet hair is not ideal.

Now the journey back to the school is the ultimate travel experience. 30 children with the smell of chlorine oozing from their hair, the windows steaming up, boys with their can of deodorant that they have just sprayed on them wafting up and down the bus, and girls with their perfume mixing with the other smells to produce a truly unique aroma.

Could there be any other disasters that a swimming lesson could bring? Oh yes, and they will be written about soon...

Emergency Voicemail

This news story is a little scary;

A Nottinghamshire man was left on hold after dialling 999 when an elderly woman was injured after being struck by a car.

"I had a mobile phone in my pocket. I did the obvious thing and dialled 999.
"I got through and I was asked what service I required, and I said ambulance.
"The voice said would you hold the line, the lines are very busy you are held in a queue."

And what did the spokesman for the Ambulance service have to say...

"I fully accept that people expect to get through pretty much straight away."

No, surely not. We like to have to wait to get an emergency vehicle. No need to rush at all, it's not like its life threatening. What next when you dial 999, voicemail asking you to leave your name, location and reason for asking for an ambulance??

Charlie update

Charlie the cat has been adding to her website. Now there is a guestbook to leave a message in, or you can send in photos of your cats for Charlie to become friends with. View the site for more details.

Stressed?

There is a stress test on the bbc website in their health section. I know, I've been onto the site and looked...
    I've even taken the test...
    I wish I hadn't done now though...
    You see I thought I was stressed with my current job...
    I thought that it was getting to me and making me tired (can't sleep though - maybe 4 hours a night maximum), forgetful and tearful, but now I am terrified.

There were 23 questions to answer, and once you answered them you found out the following;

If you scored 5 or less: you may have low stress levels. Keep doing what you're doing! However, it's worth noting that even one symptom like 'working yourself to exhaustion' could be a sign of stress. If you do feel at risk of stress and want to know how to keep your levels down, have a look at some our related links on the right hand side of this page.

If you scored 6 or more: your stress levels could be better. Download the British Heart Foundation stress-busting booklet*, which looks at how stress can affect the heart, possible symptoms and tips on how manage the condition. You can also order the free booklet from the BHF by calling 01604 640016.

There's also a series of case studies, similar to those featured on The Stress Test TV series, illustrating how to reduce stress levels through exercise and healthy-eating plans. The booklet also offers contact details for people who want to know more.

The BBC health site also offers a wealth of information about stress. Have a look at the links in the right hand panel throughout the Stress Test site. The series itself (Wednesdays at 9.30pm on BBC1) offers plenty of advice through the six case studies, and the Stress Professors have also written a couple of articles, which we have published online, with advice on keeping calm.

If you're still worried about your health after completing the assessment and reading about how to reduce stress, then do talk to your GP. However, it's worth remembering that most people feel stressed at certain points, it's long-term continual stress that can be damaging.

I'm worried because, I didn't score 5 or less, I didn't score close to 6 or more. I scored 19 out of a possible 23.
That cannot be good.
I need to lie down.
I need a doctor.
Help me...

Voting night

Well, I've been to the polling station and cast my vote. No worries about 'chad' issues with this election - it was done the old fashioned way with a sheet of paper and a pencil. A simple cross put onto the paper in a relevant box and that's that. Something for the US to think about. No chance for anyone to claim that I have given them a vote when I clearly hadn't.

It's just a shame that it won't make any difference to the bigger picture. There is a horrible feeling that we are still going to be lumbered with the grinning, lying and most untrustworthy prime minister for a long time - isn't  Democracy great!

Had we been living in a middle Eastern country, there is every chance another nation could have forced their way in and removed Blair from power. After all, the US and UK have shown that doing that is "perfectly justifiable".

Raise the level

I was in the middle of town today, on a Bank holiday, looking in shops for a particular book I was after. It's a real shame what modern shops have done to the look of the city - it's all bland, large blocks of concrete and glass swooshing doors. You walk around and it's all very samey. There is no style at all.

However it does look good if, as I discovered today, you walk around looking at the first floor and above of all the old buildings. They haven't been altered at all and from there the city looks great.

What we need is to concrete over the ground floor and appreciate a 'new' street level of great architecture.