Fingers crossed for you Lottie, hope it all works out well.

My 'aaaargh' is the grade 1 student who's just had a lesson with me, about to do grade 4 in another instrument.
Asking for help with aural. Other teacher has gone through aural (possibly once?) but seems to have omitted to mention the sight-singing.

Oops!

Do I send you the red wine now? Or do you need something stronger?
current whinge is nobody believe is I have a vindictive parent on the warpath. (parent of a kid a elder son's school not of a pupil).

"We don't know" is honest - and not uncommon from limited experience around here. All the best to you both, and take care.

Flobiano - sorry to read this and have only just caught up. All the best to you both: will be thinking of you.

Hear, hear.

I have several AAAAARRRGHS but they can wait...

Week is already horrible. And it's only Tuesday.

In the meantime, and more importantly, lots of to flobiano and OH.
And to lottie.
And to jod.
And to Cyrilla.
And to fsharpminor.
And anyone else who needs or wants one.

Thank you - and to everyone too...

Aaaaaaaaagh, I overslept, something I never do ! I woke at 8.30, normally I am in breakfast in the Chevin Hotel at 7.30. Whilst I was getting up the phone rang from Reception to ask if I was OK (They know my routine by now). Made it to the office by 9.10.

That reminds me of the Mr Bean episode where he oversleeps and then tries to get shaved and dressed in his mini on the way to work!

How kind of the receptionist to check on you; it's reassuring to know that if you'd overslept even longer, someone would have woken you up. I expect you're feeling fresher and more fit for work thanks to the extra sleep, so they'll be amply rewarded for the ten minutes you "stole".

Hope your day is going well.

Nice people in the hotel to think of giving you a call. It might be difficult for you, but maybe it's a good idea to just take it as a little extra time for rest. In my oppinion things like this only happen, if you really need more rest. Hope the day in the office wouldn't be too long.

Aaaaaaaaaaaargh. Not my day. I just set the coffee machine up, but omitted the filter so all the grounds came through. I cleaned it up refilled with water, and was about to put filter and coffee in, then plain water started coming through, because it was still switched on. Good job there isnt a swear box in the office.

My degree results come out tomorrow... *apprehensive*

Ooh been there done that : You'll be fine! All the best though

Very best of luck, tamsin. I'll keep my for you.

Arghhh! Exams. In 2 days. Too warm to revise. I want to go out. Alas.

So - I did a quick job for someone, huge pressure, burning the candle into the small hours, not great pay rate under the circumstances, but every little helps - and being helpful to someone often puts one in line for future work. It now turns out (I'm self-employed like many of us here) that the organization I did it for will deduct tax/NI at source unless I can provide them with a letter from HMRC confirming that the specific job done was done under self-employment terms. I've been self-employed for 20 years and I haven't come up against this intransigence before - at worst, a copy of my latest tax bill (numbers blanked out) has been enough. Usually, I just say I'm self-employed and that's that.

Phoned HMRC who said - entirely reasonably I think - that they have no idea what it's all about so can't write anything... and also added that HMRC no longer provides written adjudication on employment status to individuals anyway. So the organization's guidelines are out of date... but that doesn't help. Also, according to HMRC, putting someone you don't actually employ on PAYE can get the organization concerned into trouble - but let's face it, who's going to pull them up for it? So the dratted organization will deduct the tax... and I will claim it back in my 2011/12 tax return. Great. (Do I get the NI back at all?) And of course, there's no way I'm going to work for the clowns again, so it's all been a waste of time, and sleep time too, which is far worse. Grrrrrrrr.

I didnt think it was allowed for any organisation to deduct tax like taht form a self employed person. I'd have thought they were in breach of the law !

Good luck, tamsin! Im sure you'll have done fine.


Not long to go now, Ben. Hang on in there! Nice to see you posting again.

best of luck...

Ah - I thought that was the gist of what the tax office was saying, so it's good to hear you say the same. I know music peris who pay some tax via self-assessment while some is deducted by schools they teach in. In the latter case I thought they probably had contracts of part-time employment. In my case, I don't have the contract I was told was on its way even though the work is now done and dusted, so I can't check what my terms were (do I look forward to pro-rata paid holidays, for example? - every minute helps!). It all smacks of an inefficient admin. However it is a large organization and I am a minnow, so I guess they do what they like and I lump it. And I learn that I sign on the dotted line before I do anything, however desperate a client is.

PS Good luck to all you young people with exams and results looming... mine is a minor aghhhh in comparison. Glad to report that having talked daughter down off the ceiling before each exam (phones are wonderful things) she turned in a very respectable result for her first year - may you all do likewise... without the ceiling bit, of course.

Tuesday: booked a hotel
Wednesday: got an email from the hotel chain saying they have a special offer on - half price rooms
Thursday: Phone hotel. Get told tough - you booked before the offer. Aaargh.

Good luck to everyone doing exams/waiting for results!

Is it party-time yet?

Not good PR - would you choose to stay there again? By contrast, once went to pay for something in a small department store, and the assistant scurried off. Waited puzzled... assistant returned and explained that what I was buying was about to go in the sale and he'd gone to ask whether he could give me the sale price... which he could. I shop there a lot now.

EDIT: can you cancel and rebook?

My thoughts exactly. Check cancellation policy, if necessary cancel and re book. Were you speeking to the receptionist or the manager. Do they really want the adverse PR. After all this is the facebook age and how do they know you are not about to name and shame their company on facebook and twitter...

If they say they don't like that remind them that neither did Ryan Giggs and look what good it did him!

You can always stay somewhere else.

I hope you get what you want...am impressed you got a day though! We got "it'll be sometime that week" so each day we had to traipse to either the department or the exam schools to see if the results were up on the board yet!


I currently have a scintilating scotoma, which is most likely a migraine aura. I used to get this visual disturbance frequentl (2 or 3 a week)y, and with no headache. Now I get them occasionally, but with the following headache, etc. Though I do also get migraines without them, sometimes.
That's by-the-by...the main annoyance is that I have a music lesson in 3 hours. Which - if the headache comes - I'm not going to be in the mood for. I hate having to phone up and cancel on short notice, I like to give as much notice as possible but I don't want to phone up and say when I don't have the headache just yet - just in case I am fine! Basically I hate phoning in sick (I'd probably hate it less if I paid for the missing lessons, but he won't charge me so I feel like a dreadful student!)
The most obvious thing to do would be to go home rather than sit at work. But, music lesson is in the opposite direction to home, so if I were actually fine, I'd be doing lots of extra miles for no good reason.
And, as if that weren't enough, the plumber and tiler arejust finishing off our bathrrom today. So I can't go home and not be disturbed.

Unfortunately have tried this but my original booking can't be cancelled. I tried the whole "this is bad PR" idea but they weren't that bothered - mind you my negotiating skills were somewhat hampered by my French! We will stay there again though as it is just right for our stop off on the way to the UK and one of the few places we have found where 5 of us can share a room...oh well.. the annoying thing is normally we leave everything to the last minute. This time I decided to be organized and book in advance - it doesn't pay!

Is it a French chain of hotels (rather than a "private" one)? In which case you might be able to get something back afterwards if they have an online customer satisfaction form to fill in.

I've had a really, REALLY horrible day.....

I've tried to be a vewwy bwave Bag....but I think I'm gonna go hide under the duvet now and howl...

B x

I've put a dash of whiskey in the Pimms for you.

I have some illegal unopened (too scared to try it) absinthe if you'd prefer a wee cocktail.

Hugs xx

*cries*

sniiiffffff

B x

Oh Bag. Hugs.

I've just had a message from a parent to say that they are going on holiday on July 6 so can I change their invoice to take account of the weeks they will not be here. My term ends July 23.

Simple answer is no. But I'm still somewhat shocked that they asked.

Oh Maggie! Some parents! Don't you just love'm

...and they wonder why we need to put it in black and white and paper and ink with a signature before we start!

The ISM contract states that cancellations made in writing giving four weeks' notice should not be charged, so perhaps they shouldn't have to pay for the last week of term?

That depends... I might be an ISM member but I don't use the ISM standard contract. I use my own contract that is fair under contract law and has been agreed with the client. Maggie may be in the same position.

Not every notice period is the same. As long as the notice period is a) reasonable and b) clear, Maggie can stipulate a different notice period in her contracts whether she is an ISM member or not.

The ISM asks members to have contracts with their pupils using theirs as a guide, it does not stipulate their contract. However it does require that the contract is fair in law.

(not a lawyer, but know enough and spoke to enough about this matter.)

-----

My right ear is blocked. Off to the doctor's on Tuesday. In the meantime it's rather annoying...

I know all this; I'm just suggesting that it might be appropriate to use discretion regarding the lesson for which more than a month's notice has been given. But if the contract states lessons cannot be cancelled, then the parent should not expect not to have to pay.

I am not an ISM member, and I don't use their contract.

Barry - sorry to hear this!

Have a nice long soak in the tub and forget it all. Hope you feel better soon.


You could try some olive oil to soften the wax. Then if the blockage persists the doctor should be able to syringe the ear. Hope it clears up soon.

Thanks for the sympathy. This happens without fail about once every 18 months or so, and so it's off to the doctors, get it syringed, then wait for the other ear to block up, etc...

Drowning in paperwork...most of it is due on Monday and my last chance to get help from my uni mentor is on her visit tomorrow!

AAAARGH!

Poor Bagpuss. I can vouch for the fact that she really HAS had an utter c*ap day . I did try to improve things by being a listening ear and plying her with Earl Grey and cake but she is still vewwy sad...

For everyone who is feeling rubbish


I've just come out the other side of my crisis of the last few days so it does get better


Hang in there

Oh dear... I'm still trying to do a bit of driving every day, as I really do still need the practise. So I offered to take my boyfriend down to a friends house for some musicking activities. Seemed a bit off to let him walk, loaded down with keyboard, guitar etc.

I carefully planned my route to avoid the icky bits of the city centre, but ended up down a narrow lane with a recycling lorry in front blocking the road. For about 20 minutes. Some of the other cars were driving up the pavement to edge around, but this really didn't seem like a good idea to me. Then boyfriend utterly fails to look out for the street names, so we got lost in MORE windy streets fulls of cars. And then, when I kicked him out and told him to walk the rest of the way (not quite as bad as it sounds, we were pretty close by then, and I was stuck up a dead end faced with doing a 3 point turn in my car for the first time. On a hill.) THEN I also got horribly confused trying to get home (you know when you realise you're in the wrong lane time after time after time and really can't do anything about it, so just go more and more out of your way?) so ended up snarled up in the city centre one-way system. Add in a few inconvenient stalls at the numerous traffic lights, and several drivers who insisted on staying right up the back end of my car and I am THOROUGHLY TRAUMATISED...



Boyfriend can get the bus home.

I really do feel for you! I never leave home without my satnav - even on routes that I know. I still panic in places I don't know well...

W

I feel better for writing it down. Have stopped shaking now. Hopefully there will come a point where I don't feel so nervous driving on my own... I think I need to start using a Satnav. Although my eyesight is good enough to drive, I really struggle to read roadsigns in time for them to be useful (hence the 'in the wrong lane' issue). I also had to take my driving test in a different city, so its not like I've ever done a lot on driving in this area, so I never really know where I'm going!

The first time I did a long-ish journey on my own, I got up in the morning as if it were a work day, and drove there in the rush hour. Not insanity, but a deliberate ploy...each junction/roundabout I approached, we were queueing, giving me plenty of time to read the road signs and get myself in the right place It worked really well for me.

People who get really close up behind you, they stressed me for years after I started driving. Really nasty. It did wear off in the end, although it's still not nice it doesn't end up with me getting to my destination and then collapsing in to a heap of tears.

Don't try Satnav in Italy... it tried to send us up a one in three hill with steps and a handrail in the middle... in a car!

It's hard work Tamsin. Lots to learn, like playing a musical instrument. What worked for me was getting the firm's Transit van to drive just after I passed. No-one gets in your way - white van man coming through.

Keep plugging away and it gets easier.

Satnav? Nah. Learn to read a map.

Drivers up your backside? Slow down, and down, and down..... They don't it like but tough.