School holidays
We're off... actually the children are off, until the first week of September. After I told the moronic uber-supervisor that I'd not be covering any more holiday until I received confirmation of my dates she suddenly pulled her finger out, found my application and got it authorised.
Not only that but she offered not to book one of the days as holiday because under the terms of my contract I can be paid it, even if I don't work it. Best not to ask really. In fact she's generally being deeply creepy which makes me very uncomfortable. She's almost essentially friendless within the office and her behaviour looks to me like a concerted effort by a desperate individual to make at least one friend and ally.
My contract is of course a sticking point and crunch time looms closer and closer now. Basically I have to get my application for a renewal of my visa in to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate some time after 11 August but before 8 September. That means getting onto the phone and finding out what form I need to complete and what supplementary information they require this time to support the renewal. Last time I had any dealings we ended up submitting about an archive boxes worth of paper.
My employer won't employ me after 8 September without confirmation from IND that I continue to have the right to live and work in the UK. Given the hysteria surrounding immigration and the on-going ructions at the Home Office which nearly-new Home Secretary is threatening to turn inside out and upside down this doesn't strike me as an entirely ideal time to be putting my life into the hands of some nameless faceless lower ranking bureaucrat.
I have no choice, but to do this however.
The problem is my application will take longer than 28 days to turn around; everything takes longer than 28 days to work its way through IND. Theoretically IND will send a letter once my application has undergone a preliminary check for completeness and general compliance and that letter will state that pending a decision the terms of my about to lapse visa remain in force. That will mean I can continue to live and work here, but it isn't clear that my employer will accept this letter as authority to employ me.
I'm so anxious about this I'm actually thinking about writing to my local MP (that's Mr Twit) asking him to stop bashing the IND for a moment and actually put in a civil request that they not lose my application and give it prompt attention, or something like that.
In the meantime I yesterday paid off the last of my credit card balance. That means from the month after next, theoretically, I'll only be paying off the new balance, with no interest. Except my MCC membership has to be paid and I've no alternative but to put that on my credit card. Last year I made the mistake of paying that new balance off in instalments. Between interest and a late payment fee (because I couldn't get to the bank due to work obligations between coming into the money to make the payment and the payment falling due; that's how tight things were) I ended up paying far more than necessary so I'm determined to pay the whole lot off, come what may and while I can.
Some people might suggest that I should just surrender my membership since clearly I cannot afford it. I can't afford the membership and Sky or Cable or a swish digital flat screen 56" TV or a big shiny car or .... So I go without the 560 channels of crap on the preposterous TV or the convenience of a car.
We're off today to town to pick up a birthday present of a school friend of B's. She's got a birthday party to go to on Saturday while I'm at work; not sure the Fat Bastard has ever had to get her to a party, and back again. This could be quite a challenge for the pair of them; they are as stubborn as one another and when they lock horns it tends to end in tears.
She also needs some new stuff for the new school year, but I'll put that off until closer to the end of the holidays, though that does tend to mean that choice is limited when it comes to shoes.
Her report came through yesterday and it was as great a waste of paper as anything the school has ever produced. After an academic year in which she's brought home absolutely nothing to explain the mathematics, spelling, grammar, comprehension and writing she's expected to work on through the course of the year, or the levels she's expected to reach, we've received a document that essentially offers a succession of bland and utterly meaningless statements along the lines of "X has worked very well this year..." and "X has made good progress this year...".
I feel like I'm struggling through a fog with this school. I've asked and asked and asked to be given guidelines from them on how they're teaching her so that I can support rather than cut across their efforts. To no avail. Last night B ended up in tears because she'd worked herself up into such a state she couldn't subtract 4 from 9. She's 8 years old and she got herself so stressed she didn't know the answer to a simple maths problem.
While we're out shopping I might try and find something to help her, just a little, over the course of the holidays and I don't bloody well care if it does result in me cutting across what the school is doing. If I leave things any later before intervening then it might be too late.
Someone asked recently if she'd sit her 11+. I muttered some non-committal answer. If we're still her when that time comes I'll have let her down, though it was rather encouraging that the question was even asked. Later I again raised the point that she'd get a better education back home in Australia. Once again he suggested we move to France instead. He really, truly can't stomach the idea of Australia.
This is a rambling and not quite totally pointless post. I'm off upstairs to wake the dead. We're off shopping. I shall try and do better another time.
Not only that but she offered not to book one of the days as holiday because under the terms of my contract I can be paid it, even if I don't work it. Best not to ask really. In fact she's generally being deeply creepy which makes me very uncomfortable. She's almost essentially friendless within the office and her behaviour looks to me like a concerted effort by a desperate individual to make at least one friend and ally.
My contract is of course a sticking point and crunch time looms closer and closer now. Basically I have to get my application for a renewal of my visa in to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate some time after 11 August but before 8 September. That means getting onto the phone and finding out what form I need to complete and what supplementary information they require this time to support the renewal. Last time I had any dealings we ended up submitting about an archive boxes worth of paper.
My employer won't employ me after 8 September without confirmation from IND that I continue to have the right to live and work in the UK. Given the hysteria surrounding immigration and the on-going ructions at the Home Office which nearly-new Home Secretary is threatening to turn inside out and upside down this doesn't strike me as an entirely ideal time to be putting my life into the hands of some nameless faceless lower ranking bureaucrat.
I have no choice, but to do this however.
The problem is my application will take longer than 28 days to turn around; everything takes longer than 28 days to work its way through IND. Theoretically IND will send a letter once my application has undergone a preliminary check for completeness and general compliance and that letter will state that pending a decision the terms of my about to lapse visa remain in force. That will mean I can continue to live and work here, but it isn't clear that my employer will accept this letter as authority to employ me.
I'm so anxious about this I'm actually thinking about writing to my local MP (that's Mr Twit) asking him to stop bashing the IND for a moment and actually put in a civil request that they not lose my application and give it prompt attention, or something like that.
In the meantime I yesterday paid off the last of my credit card balance. That means from the month after next, theoretically, I'll only be paying off the new balance, with no interest. Except my MCC membership has to be paid and I've no alternative but to put that on my credit card. Last year I made the mistake of paying that new balance off in instalments. Between interest and a late payment fee (because I couldn't get to the bank due to work obligations between coming into the money to make the payment and the payment falling due; that's how tight things were) I ended up paying far more than necessary so I'm determined to pay the whole lot off, come what may and while I can.
Some people might suggest that I should just surrender my membership since clearly I cannot afford it. I can't afford the membership and Sky or Cable or a swish digital flat screen 56" TV or a big shiny car or .... So I go without the 560 channels of crap on the preposterous TV or the convenience of a car.
We're off today to town to pick up a birthday present of a school friend of B's. She's got a birthday party to go to on Saturday while I'm at work; not sure the Fat Bastard has ever had to get her to a party, and back again. This could be quite a challenge for the pair of them; they are as stubborn as one another and when they lock horns it tends to end in tears.
She also needs some new stuff for the new school year, but I'll put that off until closer to the end of the holidays, though that does tend to mean that choice is limited when it comes to shoes.
Her report came through yesterday and it was as great a waste of paper as anything the school has ever produced. After an academic year in which she's brought home absolutely nothing to explain the mathematics, spelling, grammar, comprehension and writing she's expected to work on through the course of the year, or the levels she's expected to reach, we've received a document that essentially offers a succession of bland and utterly meaningless statements along the lines of "X has worked very well this year..." and "X has made good progress this year...".
I feel like I'm struggling through a fog with this school. I've asked and asked and asked to be given guidelines from them on how they're teaching her so that I can support rather than cut across their efforts. To no avail. Last night B ended up in tears because she'd worked herself up into such a state she couldn't subtract 4 from 9. She's 8 years old and she got herself so stressed she didn't know the answer to a simple maths problem.
While we're out shopping I might try and find something to help her, just a little, over the course of the holidays and I don't bloody well care if it does result in me cutting across what the school is doing. If I leave things any later before intervening then it might be too late.
Someone asked recently if she'd sit her 11+. I muttered some non-committal answer. If we're still her when that time comes I'll have let her down, though it was rather encouraging that the question was even asked. Later I again raised the point that she'd get a better education back home in Australia. Once again he suggested we move to France instead. He really, truly can't stomach the idea of Australia.
This is a rambling and not quite totally pointless post. I'm off upstairs to wake the dead. We're off shopping. I shall try and do better another time.
posted by Enyo @ 7:59 am
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