Tea? (Part 2)

[Speicher]

When does he start? Are you going back to work to support your son in the manner to which he wishes to become accustomed?

I cannot sit here all day having interesting conversations about Horticulture, Farms, Education, Doughnuts and Tea? I have boring things to do, like the laundry and tidying up, and sending emails.

 

[deanE]

Manager/teaching assistant? Is that management job on teaching assistant wage?

 

[Speicher]

He starts on 2 January - so we've only got him at home for less than a month

No, I'm not going back to work ever - I'm too busy to even contemplate it....he's saved up a bit by working for these last few months and we are making him take out a loan for anything else. Mind you, I've said that I'll pay his air fares which will probably be the most expensive part.....

What you busy doing, besides not gardening, and not cooking?

 

[Gromit]

If you are a "Teaching Assistant" does that mean there will be a "qualified" Teacher in the class with you? I know, Gromit, that you are qualified in Horticulture. It seems a very low wage for a Manager.

It does seem a very low wage. It is a 66 mile round trip as its on the other side of Leeds. I will have to do the journey 7 day's a week, as feeding of the farm animals is solely the responsibility of the Farm Manager.

There will be a Teacher in the class, during term time. I expect that I will be going in 52 weeks a year. I'm thinking that with the distance I will have to travel and the money they are offering, it's probably not worth my while. If I lived in the local area it would be ideal for a while.

Oh well it is all interview practice in the end.

 

[Gromit]

I was also thinking that they were very quick to respond, the application deadline was yesterday, they contacted me early this morning. Which leads me to believe, that for the amount of money they are offering and the responsibility of the role, it's not going to be a popular job.

 

[Gromit]

Manager/teaching assistant? Is that management job on teaching assistant wage?

Job description and wage details are:

Batley Girls’ High School requires a person to manage the school farm and to act as an ETA. The total hours will be 30 hours per week. The job will entail a 80:20 split in terms of time and pay rate in that for the majority of the time the post holder will be required to carry out farming, gardening and horticultural duties and for the remainder to coach students involved in horticulture and animal care.

There will be some flexibility over hours during the week but the post holder MUST work part of the time on Saturdays and Sundays to ensure the welfare of the animals. The job is for term time plus school holidays- work out of term time/ school hours/ without students will be at the grade 2 pay rate.

The school will provide a free allotment space for the successful candidate (if wanted).

The successful candidate will lead on developing the farm- both as an educational resource and as a semi-commercial venture. The school is keen to sell its home-grown produce. We need someone able to enthuse and involve students in horticulture and animal husbandry.

24 hours on Grade 2, 6 hours on Grade 6 (80:20) - £10,884

 

[coffeejo]

Sounds great, apart from the money, the hours and the lack of time off.

 

[Speicher]

It sounds like some days you will be working for two or three hours, but with a 66 mile round trip. They should not expect you to work seven days a week. If you do five days a week, who looks after the animals on the other two days?

As you say, Gromit, for the money they are offering there is a lot of responsibility involved. I would agree that it is all good experience at interviews.

The animals at the local Horticultural college are looked after by staff and/or students who live on the campus. So they have no travelling involved.

 

[coffeejo]

Mince pies and hot chocolate

 

[potsy]

Mince pies and hot chocolate

I seem to have run out of mince pies, sure I bought enough to last the week
Wonder if Aldi do home delivery?

 

[Gromit]

We have mince pie's, as our friend David dropped some off for us today, after his annual gig at Castle Howard.

 

[Night Train]

My teaching was 35 miles each way, for 12 hours contact time a week spread over 3-4 days with 2 days doing 'training and other duties'. I was there for about 35-40 hours a week over 5 days.

It didn't pay to do the job and the intention was that it would be 3 short days a week and I could earn a proper living the rest of the time. It was the stress of the long hours at college and no time for earning a living outside of college that made me so ill.

Still, Gromit, it is good interview practice and you can ask them lots of testing questions about the role.

 

[Arch]

It does seem a very low wage. It is a 66 mile round trip as its on the other side of Leeds. I will have to do the journey 7 day's a week, as feeding of the farm animals is solely the responsibility of the Farm Manager.

Blimey, will £10,000 even cover the petrol?!

Yeah, sounds like interview practice, but not ideal otherwise. Who knows, they might struggle to fill the post and rethink the hours or something.

Bit cold today

But I've got pasta and

 

[Night Train]

My day has been hectic!

At lunch time I found out that I have to have two functioning guest rooms available for relatives to visit during the last week of January.

One room just needs the ceiling patching up (where someone came into my loft from next door and put their foot through) and my college project furniture, Granville, Ratrike, and The Creature relocating to elsewhere in the house. Arch's Raleigh Jeep is now in my Kitchen/Bedsit.

The other room is a bit more of a problem.
I have spent the whole afternoon emptying a box room of all the boxes of stuff Dad kept in there, then demolishing all the makeshift shelving, the ex built in wardrobe, the immersion heater cupboard, remove the old water tank, the wiring and the plumbing. I also took three TVs and a pile of 1980's tractor feed dot matrix printers to the tip.

I have to replace/repair the collapsing ceiling, fit a timber window frame, rebuild the internal brickwork under the window, rewire the room, replaster it all, relay the floor with insulation underneath, install heating, change the door (and possibly move the door side ways to allow a single bed to fit), decorate and lay a carpet. The room is 8' wide x 8'6" long (door to window) and 9'10" high. There is only 29" on each side of the door so I will need to move it over to allow about 40" to fit a single bed width comfortably behind it.
In addition to all this, the room is also destined to double up as my design studio and so I need to work on the basis of it having a desk and A0+ drawing board. That means the bed may well end up being on stilts!

 

[Arch]

I have to replace/repair the collapsing ceiling, fit a timber window frame, rebuild the internal brickwork under the window, rewire the room, replaster it all, relay the floor with insulation underneath, install heating, change the door (and possibly move the door side ways to allow a single bed to fit), decorate and lay a carpet. The room is 8' wide x 8'6" long (door to window) and 9'10" high. There is only 29" on each side of the door so I will need to move it over to allow about 40" to fit a single bed width comfortably behind it.

I know what you can acheive when you put your mind to it, but .

Oh well, at least I'm starting to be useful as a builder's mate.