General Chat

Hi Mary

It's still raining here! It's about 5 or 6C, but just like in the UK, it feels colder with the damp.

I read on another thread that you had a roof problem.

NOT what you need, especially at this time of year!

OH got his winter tires installed about 3 weeks ago .................... were we glad when that first snow came down on Nov 19! Now we hear that lots of sizes are in short supply.

We leave here on Dec 14, on the train (both ways) to Halifax .............. that's 6 days, 10 days in Halifax area, and then 6 days back. We've already decided that we will be leaving the central heating on at somewhere around 12-15C, instead of the usual 10C when we are away in the winter ......... just in case!



sylvia

Wise to leave the heating on a bit higher than usual Sylvia when you go away, saves the risk of pipes bursting. yes the problem with UK is that they have never seen the need to invest in snow clearing equipment so when we do get snow there is nothing can be done. And councild never have enough grit so only main roads get done, which is OK if you can get to them, if you can't you can't get to work, school or wherever so the country grinds to a halt.

And yes we here in UK are in a mess, we seem to have the money to bail other countries out but we ourselves are losing many of our services for lack of cash. Even talk now of libraries closing. I never thought I would see that day.

I see that the young people in Uk are protesting against uni fees changes.

Its so sad that it has to come to this again.
I remember when my generation had to do this in Aus in the early 70's and finally the gov. did something about it. so it was worth the efforts that we all gave and even to the extreme of doing 'time'
Because of that my older 2 were able to get their degrees and are set now.
Son 1 is in the Usa training a group in the area of finance, and Daug 1 is launching herself in a health career.
If education is to benefit the whole nation, then it has to be made accessible to all the nation, not just to the high earners who can easily send their children.

Hello all,

I am going to but in here to reply to Moonbi's posting of yesterday.

I live in the North Island so we were not affected at all by the Earthquake. I personally don't know anyone who was. It must have been a very frightening experience for all the mainlanders affected.

Tomorrow we are having a national memorial to remember all our Miners lost at Pike River mine. Another tragedy - too much.

Hi MaxiMary, I and OH have visited and stayed with friends who used to live in Niagara. It is so pretty, we did a Maid of the Mist ride once. Is the fudge shop still in the Gardens?

Best wishes to all, we are sweltering in Summer temps here,

Susan

This is one of the problems of living in North America

There is no free education ....... one has to fund it oneself, by getting scholarships, bursaries, working, parents etc.


We were one of the lucky ones. My husband was a faculty member at one of the universities here in town. One of the benefits the Faculty Association had won over many years was free tuition to first degree level for one child.

We had one child .................. my daughter was at first planning on going to Acadia University in Nova Scotia, cost of tuition + accommodation in 1992 - $10,000 (ca £4500), books etc on top of that. Then there was the cost of travelling to and from NS for 4 years.

She took a year out, went down to NZ with her dad (I stayed here). During that year she changed her mind about how she wanted to study what she wanted to do.

It turned out that OH's university was the best one in the whole country for the degree she wanted.

So she got free tuition, she wanted to live at home, and I didn't want her to work even part-time during term time so we gave her money for incidentals ........ basically what it cost us was pocket money and books ................. and that took her the 4 years to her first degree.

She then got a scholarship and a teaching assistantship to help pay for her 2 years Masters degree (tuition and university accommodation).

She then married, moved to Nova Scotia, and went back to university to do a 4 year Masters degree in Architecture ................. she got a Student Loan from the NS government for the first year, then her husband was deemed to be earning enough to support her. We paid for her books and art materials.


I once kept a running total of all that it cost us to put her through 6 years of university, and I think it came out to maximum of less than $10,000. The books etc for her Architecture degree added about another $4000 - $5000 .......... those books and materials are very expensive.


Doctors who have to do at least 3 years of unviersity before being accepted in the medical programme, then 4 years medicine, are currently graduating with upwards of $200,000 debt. Then they still have to do at least 2 years residency in a specialty (even to be a Family Doctor) before getting a license, folllowed by years more if they want to become a surgeon or anaesthetist.

Students who take a Student Loan from the government have upto 18 months after graduating before they have to start paying it back. Interest only begins to accumulate at that point.

Some students actually declare bankruptcy because they have not been able to earn enough to pay off the loan


I also know quite well that I would not have been able to go to Liverpool University in 1959 if I had not received a full grant from the Local Education Authority that paid my tuition, full living costs, and extra money to cover the cost of compulsory field trips. I worked delivering Christmas mail in December every year for 5 years, and all but 2 summers in hotels to earn a bit more pocket money. My older brother bought any books that I needed that I could not afford myself. There is no way my parents could have afforded to send me to university.


But I still find myself somewhat out of sympathy with the students who are rioting. I guess that the 40+ years over here have imbued me with more of an attitude that we have to help ourselves, and not depend on the state for every thing.

The universities do receive a lot of money from the federal and provincial governments, but they are expected to raise the extra money from tuition, fundraising etc.

The US costs are even worse than in Canada ...... although I believe that students can still get free tuition at the State University in their state.




I think the basic idea over here is to provide free full time education upto Grade 12 (age about 18), unfortunately downturns in the economy have meant that cutbacks are made at even that level

Students in the public (ie state) elementary and high schools in Vancouver now have to pay some of the costs of materials, eg, notebooks, photocopying costs, for musical instruments if they play in the band, some sports costs (towards travel, or equipment) if they play for a school team ...... but also every school has some sort of fund to pay these costs for students whose parents are too poor, so that a student does not miss out.


It's hard to know what is the best way!

Re Education
My husband and I were "lucky" that none of our 3 children really wanted to go to university. All went to the local High School, within walking distance thankfully. Then on to the local sixth form college to do NVQ and other qualifications, our only expense their bus or train fares.
All went straight into jobs that they chose.
Our son after one year at 6th form into computers and IT. He has worked his way up by moving companies when he reached the top where he was.
Both the girls did Health and Social Care. Two year course. Six years difference in their ages.
The eldest is now a Housing Manager for the YMCA, trying to get youngsters back to work and in their own accomodation.
The youngest is working in a Day Centre for people with aquired disabilities(ie Stroke, brain damage after accidents that type of thing). But the place is under threat of closure due to funding cuts!!! Plus the land is of great value for builders to put appartments on !!!
I am proud to say all have always been employed , unfortunately at low pay rates but happy in their jobs

Myself I left school at 16 and did a two year apprenticeship. These seem to have gone into past history, but where do youngsters get experience if not from others who are already doing the job, and then hands on.

Linda :o) XxX

Re education.

I have some sympathy for the students who have grown up 'knowing' that their education will be paid for/assisted. However I have no sympathy with the vandalism and aggression. (although I have my suspicions that this is not all being done by actual students).

My two children didn't go to university. Both of them went straight into jobs and have worked their way up in their chosen fields. (actually more or less the same field of Insurance). Son studied and got a degree in Open University. Daughter studied and got the applicable qualifications for her job. Both are now high earners and doing well, neither have so far been out of work. Daughter is 49 and son 43. Grandchildren the eldest tried Uni and decided it was not for him and immediately got a job through an agency, worked hard and got taken on by the firm, changed firm in the same field (insurance again) and has been promoted, not yet been out of work. The next is still at Uni in third year and the youngest has started at Uni. Because the parents earn enough they get very little if any help with funds.

But I do feel that if we are going to withdraw funding then we should offer some other means of training (apprenticeships etc) otherwise we are going to be a country with no skills and no work ethic. Or as in America a country with families who spend all their lives in debt.

Hi everyone
it has rained all day today, its quite windy too, and I almost thought I should light the fire. Fancy thinking that on the first day of summer here.!
The rainy weather has been going the past 3 days and my garden is getting very sloppy. and we are to get more of the same for the next 3 days too.

I was getting bored not being able to get outside, except to put the garbage out. Then this afternoon a friend rang, asked me to come and meet her at the local bakery/coffee shop. Out I go for a most pleasant hour chatting with her while the rain blew against the window; and sipping our cuppacinos, and eating a beesting that I got the girl to cut in half.
Our local bakery won an award this year for best pies and pastries in the district. It is such a busy place sometimes its hard to get a table and you have to wait. But today we had a choice of 3. A rainy day was a good excuse to meet.

Im so glad we dont get snow here, but we are only 2 hour drive from Mount Buffalo
and it does snow a lot there in July and August.

My son does get plenty of snow in Maine, and last year he bought his first set of boots with blades, and sometimes goes to work on those he tells me.

He gets so homesick during their winter. the first winter he was there he got what they call cabin fever, as they lived in such a tiny apartment. A year ago they moved to a bigger one with better facilities and carpark off the street. The landlord clears away the snow from the driveway each morning before all the residents go to work
.
Its been a year and a half since they came home for a visit, and we miss them a lot.
And he told me the other day he has been granted a permanent green card now. So I guess the plan is to be a permanent expat.
His birthday is on the 13th, and we always wait till after his birthday before we put up the Christmas tree.
Nothing will change about that this year even if they arent here for it.
Best wishes to all
Annette

Annette, I hope your rain stops soon but nice to get out and meet a friend. That is the trouble these days of easy travel and youngsters moving around. So many families with half in one country and half in another. What tempted your son to go to Maine?

Mind you my son only lives two hours from us and we only see him 2 or 3 times a year. They have their lives to elad and so do we and as long as all are healthy and happy I am happy.

moonbi, I endorse everything that sparklin Ann has said. I will be thinking of you and your family on the 13th.
Take Care
Julia in Derbyshire

Re Sylvia's remarks about clearing snow - when I was a child everybody cleared the snow from the front of their houses. We weren't too bothered about the roads because only one person in our street had a car (which only came out of the garage once a week to be cleaned!) and the milkfloat was pulled by a horse.

Last winter, when I commented that nobody clears the paths nowadays, I was told by a lady who worked for a Council that people shouldn't clear the snow because if they did and the path then froze and somebody slipped they could be sued! But if you leave the snow and somebody falls, it is an act of god.

well what tempted my son to go to Maine.
Easy answer

He met a lovely lady.
Both were travellng around Greece. He was on annual leave from his work at the tax office in Aus, and she had finished medical school in the US and wanted to travel before setting up her practice.
They met on the island of santorini, and kept in touch for a couple of years, before he said he wanted to go visit.
As she cant practice medicine here in Aus unless she does further study (yes I know its crazy) he decided to go over there. Everything turned out well, they married, he was granted the green card and with his qualifications got a job very soon. We were surprised as that was when things started to go bad in their economy. and we were told lots of aussies had lost their jobs too and were coming back home.
Since then he has had a promotion and is now training others just like he used to do here.
Annette

Hi Julia in Derbyshire
Thank you for thinking of me on the 13th

Nice to see you on here, and thanks once again for helping me get some answers about Thorney. How are you doing?
Annette

Hi Moonbi, I am fine, thank you, but still unable to answer my Turner problem and Thorney. Must be about your bed time now.
Take care and sleep well
Julia in Derbyshire

Ann re the pipe, If its possible have an "Inline Tap " put on, simple and you can then turn the water off with a screwdriver whenever you wish. **M**

After reading what it costs for Universities in Canada, I marvel at my Cousin over there, 4 Children all Doctors,must have cost a fortune for them, She was a Professor of Psychology Teaching at a University and her huband was an Anaethisist Tutor and Practicioner there. Now both retired,makes me wonder how they could afford to retire.**M**.

Merlin, OH says that is what he has just put in to stop the problem. Apparently we had one before but it had seized up and that is why he had not turned the water off that caused the problem. Thanks.

re snow clearing, we were told by the council last year via local paper that people should clear their paths and would not be prosecuted for doing so.

I used to post a lot but felt the pressure of having to stay on and wait for replies I just couldn't do so i stopped posting. I have 2 kids and have to go and pick up from school. Then busy with them when I get home.
Also I had a bad experience on here which still left a bad taste in my mouth. I lost the motivation to post as much. Some people can be vey nasty however thankfully not many. These are my reasons why I don't post so much.

Jello I have found there is no pressure if, for instance, you say, I will be back in 1 hour/2 hours whatever. If people know you wont be around then they are usually OK.

this seems to have become a lively thread with several topics included. This is GR at its best.
Because i was able to go out by car, door to door to the dentist, I may lose the privilege of having the district nurses call to do the dressings on my leg ulcer. My OH cant sit for long as he stiffens up and finds it difficult to move. We go to the surgery for this dressing and you can wait more than an hour past your appointment time, so thats why the district girls were asked to call. Will hope the cruise being arranged on another thread will help!