Latest Moan From You and Me 2024

It's a moving story @pete. It's unfortunately common that none of the teachers he had realised that.

It reminds me on my own life. When I was young, everybody told me how much of a disappointment and failure I was. Needless to say what this does with a child.
In East Germany, only one with an average of 1.0 was allowed to go directly to the A levels. The rest had to do it at an evening school.
When I was 23, I decided to go to the evening school. We had to attend a half a year pre-assessment course and the teachers decided who is sent to the actual A level classes.
I was sure that I didn't make it as I was so poor in everything.
Much to my surprise, I was allowed to go to the 11th year (as we called it). I remember the first hour when I sat there, I couldn't believe that I had made it I didn't hear anything what the teacher said, but was so full of emotions. Inside 2 months, I was next to another chap the best. It was like someone had switched the light one where total darkness was before.
One year later, I met a teacher I knew from old school days and who was working for the evening school. She stopped me on the street.
"Simone, I have to tell you that you have been circling above us while we had our final decision round this year. When ever a name came up that we thought he will not make it, someone said, remember Simone. Who had thought that she develops so positive. What happens if we exclude someone and it turns out that this was the wrong decision".
I was shocked by this one because my life took a completely different turn the year before and that only because someone had the faith to give me a chance.

Who knows, @pete, what your mate could have done if he had a chance to be accepted as someone who can't read but has other skills that make the company proud of.

 

My mate made a decent living doing roadworks in the end.
I don't think he was ever out of work.
He might not have been able to read at the time but he just went out and got a job where he didn't have to.

 

An annoying thing happened to me yesterday. I had to get 2 new tyres, and had booked them with BlackCircles, which I'd not tried before, but I've heard good things about. All fine, until I got home and realised they hadn't put the wheel nut key back in it's bag on the front passenger seat, where I'd been instructed to leave it for the process, as they aren't allowed to look around your car [it's normally in the glove box] because of potential thefts or similar. I looked everywhere around the car, in case it had fallen down between seats etc, but - nothing.
If I'd decided to put it back in the glove box before leaving, instead of sticking my bag on top and heading home, it would have been ok, but I didn't. I contacted them, and had a reply asking if anything else had been taken [the woman clearly thought it was a bigger bag of some kind] and I explained that it was just a wee plastic bag. There's an info leaflet in it, which means you don't notice the key itself - that's going to change!
They'd better not deny it all, or I won't be amused.

 

@simone_in_wiltshire I sympathise with you and I'm glad you took your chance when the opportunity came.
I know what it's like to always be told you could do better, need to try harder, school reports saying "He does as well as can be expected"
I got little or no praise from my parents either.
My handwriting is pretty bad and several times a term I would get detention because the teacher couldn't be bothered to read my scrawl. The headmaster threatened to cane me if my writing didn't improve.
Then I did well enough with my O Levels to get into the sixth form and got a prize for doing better than expected.
After getting two degrees, a job as Senior Chemist (only a small company), buying my first property and about to move to a larger one with a garden. My mother told me I was a nasty, dirty person, who needed to grow up, settle down and get a proper job (whatever one of those was).

 

It's a horrible story @NigelJ , especially about your mother. I once said to someone who also had an unpleasant mother, 'just because you're related - it doesn't mean you have to like them.' I think that's true in many instances.
You and @simone_in_wiltshire have proved that everyone can rise above the negativity and succeed. Stick two fingers up at them on a regular basis.
I often think my Dad had a similar experience. I don't think his mother was a very nice person.

 

My mother had it worse from her mother, as the middle one of 9. As soon as she was able she had no school on a Monday as it was laundry day, often missed Fridays as well, baking day. Her mother had a stick behind the door that was often used. The joys of pre war rural England.
My mother left school at 14 with not even a leaving certificate, took herself off to the local market town and got a job as a maid in a hotel there.
First day off she got, she went home to get the rest of her clothes and suchlike, only to discover these had been shared out between her younger sisters and the dustbin.
Needless to say her mother made it clear she wasn't welcome and for the next few years she only saw her father when he came to market once a month or so.

 

I think women often had a very miserable life back then @NigelJ , although that would never excuse your grandmother's behaviour. A life of drudgery, with no means of supporting themselves without a husband, and that continued for a long time -even well after WW11 for many.
My Dad never really talked about his youth, as was typical of his generation. It was only after my Mum died that a few things became more apparent. I think he rebelled too - he was deaf in one year from birth [and became almost completely deaf later on] but loved music and wanted to do that as his job. She wasn't encouraging, in that 'you'll never amount to anything' way, and I think he dug his heels in because of it. He became a very successful jazz musician, and later had his own business repairing brass and woodwind instruments.
I think my Mum's life was pretty good growing up. Her parents always seemed kind.

A very different life back then though. Many people have no idea of the lives lots of people had to endure. Is the pendulum swinging too far the other way, and creating all those over indulged children, made them any better as humans? I doubt it.
There's a happy medium to be had though, if people would only make the effort.

 

@NigelJ It took me years to understand that I was in fact better than my mother and sister treated me which was reason why they did it.
At least my sister apologised years later for the psychological torture (her words) and cruelty she did with me.

 

Having read some of the forgoing sad tales re not having the best education I thought this link might lift the spirits the verger by somerset maugham - Google Search. I have no idea if it is true or not. You would like to think it is. Hopefully I have achieved setting up the link, I was very fortunate and had an excellent education. This was pre the internet and I cannot say the same for my grasp of modern tech!

 

@fairygirl My father said almost nothing about his childhood apart from he bred rabbits, that were used for meat or sold to other people and then there was going to chapel several times a week and thrice on Sundays; his father was a Methodist lay preacher and his mother played harmonium for the singing.

 

@NigelJ and @simone_in_wiltshire your early life experiences sound dreadful. Well done to both of you for proving your denigraters wrong.

 

Thanks to @fairygirl and @Philippa for your supportive comments.
We are all the best

 

Idiot farmer on the TV news, regarding the protest says they are likely to start blocking roads and ports and refineries, because of the governments tax changes.

They have the public on their side to some degree at the moment, piss off the public and you wont, they are still treated as a special case in the new tax, so be careful, you get nowhere having a go at the public, just block Westminster at every opportunity, not the ordinary bloke in the street who is struggling to make a living.

 

They went OTT with the fuel demo a few years back

 

That's my point, dont alienate the public just because you have beef with the government, go after the government by all means.
Or just become another, Just stop Oil, bunch of idiots.