Some Words on Literacy

Literacy is a subject that comes up every now and again, especially when educational standards are in the news or if a school is poorly graded. It is clear that levels of literacy vary enormously from one area to another and there are many factors that decide a person's ability to write, spell and express themselves effectively in words.
There is no doubt that instant messaging has encouraged its own diction to develop. There is a new language amongst those who text and use instant messaging frequently. Words are shortened and numbers are used in place of letters. This truncated form of writing has for the most part passed me by. I could never get on with text messaging. On the few occasions I felt it necessary to text, I would write in the same way I would compose an email message. To do otherwise just felt wrong.
I do know people for whom writing is a challenge. They tend not to use long words and punctuation is rarely if ever used. Sentences can be excessively long with no break making the making the process of reading very difficult and uncomfortable.
I do wonder if it is the fault of the individual or the education system. There is certainly evidence to suggest there is less emphasis today on good grammar and diction. Perhaps as teachers become younger and their own skills and knowledge begin to vary, then maybe their own grasp of spelling, punctuation and diction falls below what many would consider an acceptable standard.
I don't consider myself as gifted. I had no special education and paid less and less attention to my studies the nearer I got to being able to leave. I didn't want to further myself, I'd had enough and soon found work at a local supermarket. When I did leave school, I had the skills which enabled me to read and write. I knew the meaning of words and I could write a letter if I needed to. In fact I possessed many of these skills before I entered secondary education. When I try to think why this was the case, I can only really put it down to memories of lessons where we were taught to write. Of all the lessons I can remember, these are the most prominent. In these lessons, I was also taught to punctuate though this was certainly bolstered by certain schools and colleges TV programmes such as 'Look and Read', 'Words and Pictures' and 'Middle English'.
All this combined to give me the skills to write confidently and though I wasn't the world's best at spelling, I would always look up a word if I was unsure.
I those halcyon days, my mother was employed as a secretary at a local electrical contractor and I would like to think she corrected me whenever I went wrong.
I'm inclined to think we live in a world where there is less need for good literacy skills. We write less, emails are sent in preference to a written or typed letter. Messages can be sent instantly and a new type of shorthand has developed as a result. We do indeed live in the age of the instant message and never before has it been easier to communicate and express ourselves. This is of course progress but are we in danger of losing altogether the ability to use fully our wonderful language?

On a high... But for how long?

We had a good meeting yesterday at the NHS T&D Centre in Sleaford. It was a good job my two colleagues and I attended or there would have been just one other there. I had expected a conference room full of volunteer staff, instead we had a small meeting room and board table. It would have made more sense I think to have had one big meeting with volunteer staff from all parts of Lincolnshire, but being such a vast county there would have been many for whom the trek there would have been too much.
We did manage to come away with some new information and also had the opportunity to spend some time discussing our Mental Health Prevention Fund bid and apportion parts of the bid application to each of us to complete.
It was also useful to find out that we are able to use the venue for any group committee meetings we hold in the future. Apparently we need to meet monthly, particularly if we go for charity status, which is becoming more likely given the fact we will be requesting more than £1k.
It was actually very enjoyable, not just the meeting, but the opportunity for the three of us to go somewhere different and spend some time together. It was clear to me that over the last few months, we had all developed a bond of friendship with each other which I feel will be strong and lasting. This makes me feel good.
My mood had lifted slightly, well I felt it had. My Moodscope rating yesterday was 10% again, but I'm not sure if it accurately reflected my mental state. I certainly felt more active and interested in what was going on around me and the deep depression of the last few days had definitely lifted.
Today I actually felt almost free from depression, though my Moodscope rating this morning was actually just 9% - one of my lowest scores so far. So although the symptoms of despair were there, they hadn't manifested themselves into a low mood. Interesting...
At today's Support Group, we had a guest speaker - a CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) who came to tell us a little about his job and give a Q&A session. It was all very interesting and I was curious to know how he had got into the role and what had led him there.
We also had a new (male) member join us today and he was well received by all. I'm hopeful he will come again as I very much enjoyed his input and I'm sure he can benefit from the Group. We do still need to increase our numbers and it would be nice if we could attract more men though it is acknowledged that men are the least likely to seek help and therapy in the form that we provide.
I need to work some more on the Blue Skies leaflet tomorrow with a view to completing it. I need to take the final proof with me on Thursday. Hopefully we'll soon be able to get them printed. I'll also finish off the poster so we can get it put up in waiting rooms and medical centres.
I certainly feel on a high at the moment and such a contrast to the last week. I'm interested in doing things and I have been busy typing letters, something I very much enjoy, mainly to banks. I just hope this surge of energy and high spirits lasts, but knowing my condition, I'll soon be back in my pit of despair. That's what makes me think I'm bi-polar and why others think I am too.

A major blow and a letter to Stagecoach

I've yet again been the victim of bad luck. My application to drive for a Peterborough based bus company has been terminated due to 'unsatisfactory references'. This is absolutely unbelievable! I have never in my entire 20 year IT career had a single bad reference or have I had any doubt whatsoever cast upon any position I have held. I am angry, very angry and to make matters worse, they aren't obliged to give a reason for their decision. This is my response;

Dear Mr Lawson

I am in receipt of your letter dated 9^th September which I was shocked and dismayed to receive, and I am saddened that after numerous calls, no one has contacted me to discuss the situation or ask me to assist. This has left me and my family distraught.

I cannot understand how after 5 weeks you have decided that my references are ‘unsatisfactory’ and that this is the reason your offer of employment has been withdrawn. I have always been able to rely on my references and those specifically suggested in my application have never in any way let me down for previous positions and I selected Churchill/RBS due to my length of service with them. In particular, I find it unbelievable that you haven’t received a ‘satisfactory’ reference for over 15 years continuous service with Churchill Insurance and RBS. Surely if this was found to be lacking then a phone call to me would have enabled me to provide further references. I have no problem with this.

I suggested Mrs Janet Giles to provide my second reference as I believed my role with her to be relevant to the role I was undertaking.

I applied for the position of Trainee Bus Driver not simply because it was ‘a job’ but because it meant more to me than that. I have since young always wanted to drive buses and I had thought that my enthusiasm perhaps would have translated during my initial interview and subsequent driving assessment with John Morton. I am passionate about public transport and I was really thrilled at the prospect of being able to work with Stagecoach, a company for which I have enormous respect.

As you should already know, I have been struggling for some time to complete my CPC training and gain my full license though I had paid for and completed the first two modules myself including the study materials needed for the remaining modules, such was my level of commitment. I also applied for and gained my provisional category D license.

During my IT career, have always given ‘110%’ to any position I have held and I have been a committed and loyal employee. My long service with Churchill and RBS should have reflected this. I cannot help but believe there has been a mistake which has led you to your decision. This decision has deprived me of my opportunity to pursue the career I have longed for and left me at a loss to explain to those around me how my references are in some way responsible for ending my new career before it had even started.

Cont >

I fully appreciated the importance of good references but please be assured that I have never had doubt cast on my previous long career in IT and I have full confidence in my ability to prove this. I am able to provide numerous additional references that would immediately dispel any doubts you may have about my suitability and I would be more than prepared to meet any additional expense this may incur.

Please be assured that any concerns whatsoever regarding my suitability are completely without foundation and I request that you allow me the opportunity to provide the information you need so this matter can be put right.

I so much want the opportunity to complete my training and provide the same level of loyalty and commitment to Stagecoach as I have to every job I have held. I respectfully ask that you please reconsider your decision. I appreciate that ‘company policy’ dictates your actions, but I feel a mistake has been made and that I have been unfairly treated as all the information I have provided has been in good faith and in line with what I understood to be required.

Though this wasn’t requested, I attach a copy of my CV which details fully my work history.

Yours sincerely

So there we are. They have decided to upset the wrong person. Bad move Stagecoach, very bad move. If I don't receive a satisfactory response I will write to their head office enclosing a copy of this letter.

So I've been knocked down once again. But I cannot stay down. I've immediately applied for an IT support position at a local school. It's literally just down the road so not far to go at all. The position isn't hugely demanding by any means and if anything I may be over-qualified. But it's worth a try and though it's not what I really want to be doing - having decided to leave my IT career behind me - I'd be comfortable doing it. It combines two of my other passions, education and IT. I posted my application yesterday having tried in vain to locate a letter box or gap big enough to accommodate my envelope. I just hope it arrives in time as the closing date for applications is Monday. 

As I type this, a storm has just appeared and there is torrential rain. At least I won't now have to water my plants... We have Pirates of the Caribbean, On Stranger Tides playing in the background. I'm trying to watch while I type - a pretty impossible thing to do.

I'm typing this entry on my Mum's laptop. I bought it or her a couple of Christmas's ago. It's nothing special but in better shape than my own. I used the excuse that my son would find it useful as it would assist with his learning. He's currently learning the alphabet using phonics and simple numbers. I'm hoping it will live here from now on as my Mum has never used it and probably never will.

Oh please let me have some luck, just a little...

Another step forward

Today I received a letter from the bus company I'm soon hoping to be working for. It asked for me to sign a copy and return which I did straight away. It also said that they would be in touch to let me know the date and time of my medical. Provided I pass this, then they look forward to welcoming me to a 'rewarding and enjoyable' career. Little do they know that this has been my career of choice since I was old enough to speak. So I'll wait now for the appointment details for my medical. As I mentioned previously, I am on a strict diet in the hope that I can get my weight down. I'm not starving myself but I am cutting out all the snacks I used to eat during the day and the evening. I've actually managed to supplement them with carrots, which I do enjoy and also find quite filling.

In other news, my parents today received a letter from their bank telling them they had credited their account with the money paid to those crooks at First Class Trucking Ltd, who recently went into administration whilst owing tens of thousands of pounds to many unfortunate people. What I do find ridiculous though is the fact that having credited the money they also threaten to take the money back if it's found that the course was made available. I would have thought common sense would dictate that the money should be credited once the investigation was complete and the bank had no doubts whatsoever that the vendor was at fault...
Call me Mr Picky but surely that's normal practice?
So I'll be writing a further letter to them pointing out the error of their ways.
Some good news then and certainly a significant step forward in my grand plan but an erroneous outcome with the bank...

On the vegetable garden, birds have been eating my seedlings so I have deployed garden netting in the hope that I can prevent them from getting close to my plants.

Having blamed the birds, I have just caught a slug on its way to munch through another of my seedlings. Luckily I was able to stop the bugger and deploy him swiftly to next door's garden...

Letters and Marmite

I'm a little lost for inspiration at the moment for something to write about. I do often get like this, it'll last a couple of days and then all of a sudden I'll find loads to comment on. For this entry, I've decided to use my Apple PowerMac. It's the most neglected of all my computers. I don't know why really, after all, it is more comfortable to use. Windows appears more harsh in comparison to its warm, soft and inviting operating system. I do like typing on it but I could do with a bigger monitor. I have to look up at it as the monitor is perched up on high and I have to sort of look up to it.

Yesterday I posted two important things. The first was a Warrant of Execution request. It sounds worse than it actually is. It's a form that requests the court to enforce and order they have  already served but has been ignored. Normally you have to pay for this privilege - £200, but I have special dispensation. So that should have arrived at the court this morning. I'm wondering if they simply send the instructions to the bailiff to go and collect my money...?
The second thing of importance is my loan request. This time it was sent to the Lincolnshire Credit Union. I added a pleading letter along with copies of all the other documentary proof they needed. I'm hoping they will be in touch soon to say that they have granted my request. If so, I will be able to go ahead straight away and book my course. There is of course every chance they may say no. After all, alarm bells go off in banks whenever my name is mentioned. I do though have the funds to pay the first few months repayments so I'm hoping that will go in my favor.

Oh, a Happy Birthday to my nephew Oliver. He's 6 today and growing up fast. He's a very studious child for his age and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he ends up at university. He'll always be more studious than my son - mine just wants to enjoy himself and drive buses like his Daddy. I'd hate to force my son to learn, I enjoy his innocence and a know-it-all for a son like I would not. On that subject my wife and I are to visit his school Thursday evening. It's the school he starts in September. He doesn't have to go far - the school is about 50 yards from our home. I'm hoping that knowing he's near home will make him feel a little more comfortable when he starts 'big school', as we call it. I know feeling a long way from home made it all the worse for me when I was his age...

I've decided I really don't like Alex Ferguson. He's just another one of those odious runts obsessed by their own importance and another example of someone who thinks they can stop others from speaking freely. If you don't like what you hear about your players,  do your job and get them to behave a little more appropriately.

Marmite! Apparently the Danes have banned the import and sale of Marmite. The justification is based on the various vitamins and minerals in the ingredients. Essentially it's too healthy. OK, two can play at that game. Let's ban the import of their bacon based on additives and the factory farming methods used to mass produce it. After all, anyone ever tasted Wiltshire bacon? Far superior.

So for someone who didn't have much to write about, I think I've done pretty well. And I haven't even mentioned Obama's visit to the UK and Ireland. I did have to laugh when one of his 'beast's' got stuck leaving the US Embassy in Dublin.