Before brekkie I had my
weekly weigh-in. I’ve shifted another pound in weight. I was rather pleased
about that.
Fudge sat with me as I
scoffed toast and watched last night’s episode of “Gotham”. It was rather good; Doctor Bashir (from Star Trek) makes a rather good villain.
I then had my morning
look at the Internet and was a tad disappointed. There was very little
happening on Facebook, and (apart from an
email telling me of nine vacancies in Essex I might apply for) my in-box
was equally uninspiring.
As
I drove to work the pundits on the radio were discussing the allegations that
have been made against the Speaker of the House of
Commons John Berco. He's been accused of bullying his secretary. Some
rather damning things have been said about him and his bullying behavior. At
the same time he's got half a dozen other long-standing employees all of whom (apparently) are saying what a brilliant
boss he is.
I
found myself thinking about this perhaps more than I should have done.
Workplace bullying is *such* a
difficult subject. At different times I worked under people I considered to be
really nasty bullies. I felt constantly victimised and threatened by their
conduct and attitude. However at the same time there were other people in the
workplace who felt I was over-reacting and that these people were absolutely
their best mates. Were these actual bullies who were really abusing their
position of authority, or was it just a clash of personalities with no one
actually at fault? I suppose it is all in the perception. What one person sees
as a joke, another sees as harassment? Or should I have lodged formal
grievances?
There
was also talk of unrest in our universities. Several companies have set up to
do the students’
homework for them. For as little as twenty quid you can get an essay
written for you. For about a thousand quid you can get a dissertation. Plagiarism and cheating, or entrepreneurial
spirit?
But
recently this sad state of affairs has taken a rather nasty turn. Having paid
someone to blag their homework for them, these students are now being
blackmailed by the very people they paid to do their homework. Unless they pay
the people who provided their essays, these people are threatening to expose
them for the cheats they are.
What
a sad world we live in.
I'd
left home early this morning to do a little shopping. I went to Sainsburys
where I bought shoe polish. I couldn't buy any brushes to use with the polish,
but I got the polish. And I got coffee. I *could*
have just got the refill packet rather than buying the stuff in the glass jar,
but the coffee in the cardboard packet (that
you use to refill the glass jar) costs more than a quid more than the stuff
in the glass jar.
That makes sense !
With work done I walked
the dogs. Bowens Field was flooded. As we walked from Bowen’s Field toward the
park I found myself carrying a bag of dog poo (as I often do). Usually I drop it in the dog poo bin along that
path. Not today though – the bin has gone. Completely gone. I wonder where?
Then the rain started.
It didn’t last long… my
shoes are on the radiator. I hope they dry in time for work tomorrow…
No comments:
Post a Comment