Open Dyslexic

Julian M Miles, the science fiction and flash fiction writer advised me (and any writer) to give a dyslexic font a chance with any book. The font makes it easier for people with dyslexia (Eddie Izzard to give a famous example) to read your work.

I intend to use it with Death in Durrington first.
(as you can see, it is not easy to use in blogger but I am working on it!)

Banter

Work colleagues often indulge in banter and it can make the job more bearable. However when someone is in a position to fire you, nothing they say is ‘banter’. 

 

Olivia Petter's article in the Indy here shows how the term is used as a "get out of jail free" for racist and sexist bullying. 

 

Trade unions have to deal with issues of workplace harrassment day in and day out. Those without the protection of trade unions are most at risk of bullying of any kind. 

It is also hard to see how gagging orders are anything to do with banter.

Southern Book Show

Anticipating a backlash

I wrote the following letter to the Worthing Herald in response to a right wing fanatic who advocated caning and birching children as a way to keep the little blighters in line.

If you oppose child abuse, you can write to the Worthing Herald letters@worthingherald.co.uk

"I do not know whether Francine Stephenson's charming suggestion that
children should be beaten is based on research or she sucked it out of
her thumb. Since she cites no research we can assume the latter. I was a
teacher for 32 years. During that time, I did not work for a school
where children were beaten.

"I can assure Francine Stephenson that the children who were worst
behaved were the ones who were beaten by their parents. This suggests
that her theory does not hold water."

-----

My experience when I was a pupil was that the school bully was regularly outside the deputy head's office waiting for a caning. Did he stop being a bully? No. What we got was a bully with a sore backside.

I am still waiting for the evidence that beating children is a good idea. In 1986 it was outlawed in state schools. Until 1998 parents could still pay good money to have their children beaten in nice private schools.

Some relevant stories are

"Beaten for Jesus"
"Abuse in Boarding Schools" 
"The School of Hard Knocks"

 

Y A L E

A speaker at a college annual dinner was a man from Yale. He started out by spelling the name of the institution and then continued,
"Y stands for Youth!"
He spoke for 15 minutes about "youth."
"A stands for Achievement!"
He spoke for 15 minutes about "Achievement."
"L stands for Learning!"
He spoke for 15 minutes about "Learning.".
His audience were looking surreptitiously at their watches.
"E stands for Excellence"
He then spoke for a further half hour about "excellence."

The Master then rose and, thanking their guest, he also expressed thanks to God that their distinguished visitor was not from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Then he sat down.

 

Classroom Teacher Manual

The Apprentice - look at tomorrow's capitalists and laugh

Lord Sugar’s theatre of cruelty known as “The Apprentice” has returned to the screens in another series. In the third episode the teams were set up to fail by being given the task of creating doughnuts for a high class market when none of them knew a doughnut from their elbow. They had to learn to produce doughnuts without any training. The results reflected this lack of expertise.

On display also were two styles of management. One has a Project Manager who gives orders and the sole contribution of the team is to fulfil the PM’s dream. This is Lord Sugar’s preferred method and only works if the project manager is infallible. The flaw is obvious. When Lord Sugar was appointed “Enterprise Czar” by Tony Blair his fallibility was all too clear. Questioned about the banking crisis his famous on-screen response was “Oh Gawd”.

Tom Bunday, on the other hand, had a style of management which involved getting his team onside and consulting them about the task. He praised people who achieved instead of denouncing them as “a bloody disgrace” if they made a mistake.

Since the premise of the show is that team members stab each other in the back this attracted criticism from his own team members who insisted he was “not taking decisions.” And Lord Sugar made it perfectly clear that capitalism does not work like that.

 

So although the premise of the show is nonsensical it does provide some interesting insights into the capitalists of yesterday and tomorrow.

As a lesson in making doughnuts however it falls down somewhat. 


Death Agony of Capitalism

Books on Amazon

 https://www.amazon.com/Durrington-Detective-Agency-Derek-McMillan/dp/1986339424/ Durrington
 Durrington Detective Agency 12 stories with fiendish detective puzzles for the eponymous agency.

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Durrington-stories-Detective-Agency/dp/1987659627/
Death in Durrington - more stories from the Durrington Detective Agency

(I would welcome any suggestions for a name for the next book. Must contain the word "Durrington" and preferably be alliterative!)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075V4VBP2 Death Agony of Capitalism. Leon Trotsky's prescient political program written in 1938 but still relevant today

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1723528064 The Mirror of Eternity, second edition. In dreams and reveries you can go to any place and time faster than the Tardis.#mirrorofeternity
#scifi #fantasy #dreamscape

https://www.amazon.com/Salt-Wars-Mirror-Eternity-2/dp/1508590354/ Salt Wars, a myth of the foundation of Salzburg - the city of salt. #mirrorofeternity #salzburg #scifi #fantasy #dreamscape

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1507599099 The Miranda Revolution. Can a mother's love help bring down a brutal dictatorship? #mirrorofeternity #revolution #scifi #fantasy #dreamscape

https://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Eternity-Mr-Derek-McMillan/dp/1522916938/ Defending the Sangreal #mirrorofeternity #sangreal #arthurian
#scifi #fantasy #dreamscape

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N456K2M Domain of dreams. Stories of the #mirrorofeternity #scifi #fantasy #dreamscape

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Derek-McMillan/e/B009FUXHWY Author Page

 

Swank

What would you do with £60,000?

High Court Judges are in line for a whopping £60,000. There are numerous articles in the press but here is the link to the Independent one

Everyone in the public sector has had "pay restraint" but nobody is telling the judges to show restraint. They are already thought of as remote from the people they judge. Even the way they dress sets them apart from the human race. This will just put an additional barrier between them and people on an average wage.

There is allegedly a problem in recruitment and a bribe of £60,000 is supposed to cure the problem. Teachers, medical staff and the police (etc. etc!) are not being offered this bribe. 

The government can wash their hands of the whole matter and say that an independent review body came up with this one. The problem is the government can pick and choose which independent review bodies they listen to. Will they listen to this one? If so it is their choice.

One more reason to get rid of this ramshackle apology for a government.

Bakers win case over refusal to make "gay cake"

The success of the Ashers bakery in the "gay cake" case was made possible by the finance of the Christian Institute, a Christian charity. As a Christian I am deeply offended that a charity does not have more pressing needs than to further a cause which is opposed to the most basic Christian principle of "loving your neighbour". 
 

#worthingflash

Click here to go there

#worthingflash the story so far

The fairy who didn't have wings

Crackers

10 Loves and 10 Hates 

Deadly Horoscope

Angelo's Letter

Tables Turned

Laughing Larry 

Prey 

The Best of Pies, the Worst of Pies 

Earwigging 

Aliksander Chess

Done like a Kipper

3-across

Party Games

Storm Catcher

Losing Coral

Heaven's Gate

Tough Enough

Grandad's Crabmeat

McStrike

https://waronwant.org/media/FFS410 The McStrike is an inspiration. Low paid workers are fighting some of the most vicious employers on the planet.

You can help. This is the link to show support.
Donate to the strike fund
McDonalds 
Wetherspoons

McSolidarity forever!

New writer for Worthing Flash - we have reached Northampton!

Welcome John Sheirer to Worthing Flash. http://worthingflash.blogspot.com/ John Sheirer lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, with his wonderful wife Betsy and happy dog Libby. He has taught writing and communications for 26 years at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Connecticut, where he also serves as editor and faculty advisor for Freshwater Literary Journal (submissions welcome). He writes a monthly column on current events for his hometown newspaper, the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and his books include memoir, fiction, poetry, essays, political satire, and photography. Find him at JohnSheirer.com.