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[The VFM Addict]

@Ed

“I simply cannot agree, Ed, that folks from Ealing are violent”.   See what I did there?   I implied that you had said something that you never had.

Can I just ask you to take a little care not to do similar to me, even by accident.   You wrote,

“Where I had difficulties with VFM’s post is that a lot of people at the Food Bank are not lazy, but are in the main victims of circumstance or ignorance.”

There is no question that those words imply I had held food bank users to be lazy.   I never even mentioned what type of people go to food banks, let alone state or imply that they were lazy.   I agree 100% that users are in the main victims of circumstance.    I’m unsure if you know how food banks work.   They are not open to all.   The purely lazy would have great difficulty accessing such banks because typically banks require a referral from a government agency or as reputable NGO.    Truly, only the genuinely needy get referrals.   As I stated either in this thread or one of the similar threads; members of my extended family have used a food bank hence I know close to first hand how they work.

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During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.

[Ed P]

Mea Culpa – I conflated your remarks with those of Richard’s concerning the person who ‘did not do mornings’. My apologies for inadvertently ascribing that remark to you.

Btw I know exactly how Food Bank’s work, my wife used to issue the authorisation slips. That association and her emotional stress probably accounts for my degree of sensitivity to the subject. As a result of her work I also know that she would not issue slips to EU ‘Have-nots’. They in theory had to meet the ‘right to reside’ and qualifying three month’s residence rules first, and would have been directed elsewhere.

[Richard]

Bob Williams wrote:

There were no humans in what became Britain and Ireland, before the Neanderthals moved in at the end of an Ice Age. They were driven out when the glaciers returned and eventually became extinct*. They were replaced by the first modern humans after the end of the last Ice Age. There has been constant, continual immigration since then: first Palaeolithic (Old Stone age) people replaced by interbreeding with other hunter-gatherers in the Mesolithic, to be replaced by interbreeding or competition with Neolithic (New Stone Age) peoples. When Doggerland was flooded and our islands separated from Europe, others still came. They brought the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, and agriculture from North African** people who moved West, bringing crop growing knowledge with them. Neolithics gave way to Celts, Romans arrived, Germanic peoples supplanted them, then came the Normans. And others, from all over the world, followed, in larger or smaller numbers, over the succeeding centuries. *But their genetic inheritance lives on, to a greater or lesser extent, within the bodies of many modern humans. ** There is genetic material within the majority of the people of these islands, in varying amounts, to this day, from these North Africans. Geneticists have traced it to the areas of Syria and Iraq, where the cultivation and cross-fertilisation of the wild grasses that became wheat and barley, began. There were no humans in Ireland before a Celtic people from the British Isles sailed across. The point I am labouring to make here, is that there has always been immigration into the British and Irish islands. There is no such person as a “True Brit”, we are a cosmopolitan, racial mix from everywhere. After the first modern humans (Homo Erectus) left Africa around 2 million years ago and spread across the world, humans evolved and developed separate facial and bodily characteristics, but all humans can still interbreed. So there is no separate human species. It’s a melting pot. Today’s problems of mass immigration have only one causal beginning: over 7 billion people, war, and dwindling resources. The Have-Nots will continue to press the Haves and it will get worse. I predict a future which will result in the Haves taking decisions to reduce the number of Have Nots by any means necessary. To survive, it may be necessary for the Have nations to adopt Hitlerian measures.

Bob: That was an interesting, but so far really un-responded to contribution, I want to widen the discussion base.

My understanding is that the initial evolutionary steps included the Neanderthals and other proto-humans from the initial ‘feed stock’ of beings, some barely flourished, some flourished for a while and some succeeded in further evolution. Where I have some questions is when you say the Neanderthals became extinct. My understanding is that they had moved into areas where their adaptations initially suited them quite well, but that when conditions further evolved other proto-humans also arrived there was a degree of  interbreeding, though some say the branch split into another group of more advanced ‘versions’. Once more some continued and evolved and others did not flourish. The Neanderthals did add some illness resistance to the mix but their other disadvantages caused them to become an evolutionary blind avenue so they withered away as a subspecies though with some genetic advantages that carried forward. I was surprised to learn how short evolutionary spans could be when the reproduction cycles of a species is sufficiently short. The arctic Fox normally comes in one of two forms, (a) one that would attack humans on sight and (b) one that would run as soon as it saw a human. However within 50 years with selective breeding and version that has what most would term dog like reactions, warmth and empathy towards humans. Given that no one knows what the life cycles of early proto-humans were, it could be that in as little as 100 years similar adaptations could have resulted in very different strains of genetically compatible ‘tribes’ emerging. This would be a valuable trait as climate changes made more of the globe available to those who could adapt to the different conditions. Where I have some doubts is the possible assertion that it all stemmed from one happy (or otherwise) event on one site at one point in time. (That we share a large part of our DNA with many other species is not relevant as a pointer to where we came from. Some may have little or no current relevance but might yet be found to play a part in processes that are yet to be fully understood.) The ability of evolution to customise the basic model to suit new environments allowed such things as paler skin to be able to produce vitamin D from lower light levels and blue eyes to be more sensitive to those same lower light intensities. Thus that model could still survive in shadier Northern latitudes. Likewise some are better suited to consumption of e.g. alcohol and milk. For example many whose forefathers’ primitive farming produced grains that could only really be rendered digestively useful by fermentation ,so they survived on that somewhat alcoholic, modified diet. For other human ‘versions’ (I am trying to avoid terms such as races for obvious reasons) such attributes were of little or no value and the negatives of alcohol would prevail. In all cases the evolution of course happened because those more suited to an area survived and reproduced more successfully than those less well adapted. Sadly, sometimes blind avenues are the result, sickle cell anaemia protects against malaria but cripples the sufferer, in spite of that from a reproductive point of view nature found that even damaged bodies are better than dead bodies, hence the condition was perpetuated. (Personal note, I knew many who suffered from the condition and whose children fought a daily round against the pain of the condition, I am NOT making light of that issue.) Perhaps the worse nature produced evolutionary joke is the damned Panda. A bear with the digestive capability of an omnivorous bear, yet it has evolved only to eat one type of bamboo and has mating habits designed to ensure the smallest chance of reproduction. Still perhaps there is no risk of over grazing on its selected food stock.

Bob, while you rightly say that in the past migrations caused populations to arrive in or move on from land areas in the past neither the speed of arrival, generally walking pace, or the scale, typically a few family members and the availability of open largely uncontested spaces apply now. Established populations which are already crowded and jostling will not welcome the arrival of a mess of outsiders with unfamiliar ways and often hostile demands. The small scale movements arriving here, escaping from the European ‘problems’ in the 1930s through the 1950s caused some upsets but with some give and take and keeping their heads down a degree of integration was achieved and they gradually merged behind the scenes. I knew some of them in the 1950s as I went to school with their children.

The Greens apparently already suggest that now a viable population of the UK would be 20 million, so where should we export the surplus 50 million or so?

[Richard]

Ed, I am not at all sure where the remarks about food banks came from, I know a bit about them since my disabled daughter used to sort and pack food two days a week for them. Introducing an alien content to the thread has complicated the issues. That social support payments are a mess is beyond disputes, and by the way my comment about the layabout who ‘did not do mornings’ was a real quote of a ‘customer’ at a job centre, not a food bank. The idea that one size fits all is very far from real as is the idea that all things presently work well, or that those in need always get the useful direct help they need, frankly they do not and until the cosy system of failure is taken down and rebuilt it will continue. In some ways the late 1940s labour exchange had a better idea (lets find what you could do) than the present set up (lets find all the things that you cannot do), but that is a totally different debate.

[Ed P]

Best forgotten Richard, it was my misunderstanding of an unfortunate side remark VFM made.

[The VFM Addict]

Deja vu – Still not sure, Ed, what “unfortunate side remark” I am supposed to have made.   I thought that there had been conflation on your part and that I had made none was already established.  But lets leave it there.  It is all too easy for all of us to talk at cross purposes given multiple inputs so let’s just leave that there.

Moving instead to Richard’s expansion(s) of Bob’s theme(s) I think what I had said earlier of the flaw in Communism, that being that cleverer immoral individuals will always find a way to work the system, is equally true to some degree in respect of all Benefits systems such as ours.   I happen to know very well indeed one of the UK’s top experts in Benefit Fraud.   Benefit fraud covers a staggeringly wide spectrum from ‘work shy fraud’ at one extreme to illegality bordering on that which might be considered ‘organised benefit crime’ at the other.   Housing benefit fraud is a huge ‘organised’ problem.  Landlords, often of multi-properties, work the Housing Benefit System in many different ways even to the point of constructing non-existent claimants for which they receive high sums of housing benefit direct.

One of the key advantages of Universal Credit is that Housing Benefit is no longer paid direct to landlords but is paid to claimants.   This principle has been maligned by the media and lobby groups because genuine claimants not skilled at budgeting may unintentionally spend the housing component of the UC paid to them instead on other things; i.e. not pay their rent and accrue rent arrears.   However, paying HB to claimants rather than direct to landlords at a stroke removes the potential for some of the biggest benefits frauds occurring today – i.e. that by Landlords.    The media has not covered this but the savings for the public purse are potentially so large that they cannot be ignored.    Put differently it would take whole armies of work shy individuals (which I personally do not believe exist) to damage the public purse in anywhere near the way that a smaller number of criminally clever landlords have been doing for years.     The problem is particularly bad in London.

Its about time there was a decent TV documentary covering the above explaining where the bulk of Benefit Fraud loses on the public purse originate.   It may well open the eyes of many who still automatically and exclusively think of ‘the work shy’ whenever the term Benefit Fraud is mentioned.    That myth so often perpetuated by the whole of the media, including the Beeb, masks much of the reality.   A not insignificant percentage of ‘the work shy’ in reality do not even exist and are simply the constructions of criminal minds who then pocket that free  (benefit) money.

I will not labour the point too far but I am reliably informed that the increase in migration the last decade has increased no end the number of benefit fraud opportunities for criminals.   Did Irvana, Dragan or Petre, truly move here in 2011?   Did s/he remain here or in reality actually return home quite soon after?    Is s/he realy still here and hence entitled to benefits?   And indeed did s/he even exist in the first place?    Such adds hugely to the workload of Benefit Fraud Teams raising a whole bevy of new questions that previously were not even a dynamic of their workloads.    Tracking non-EU migration is nowhere near the problem that tracking free movement migration is as it pertains to benefits.   I stress firmly and completely that I am not slagging off genuine Irvana’s, Dragan’s or Petre’s who came here to work, are working and are contributing to the economy.   They are fully entitled to any benefits they qualify for.   All I am stressing is that free movement has sadly provided a very fertile ground indeed for our home grown UK criminals to commit benefit fraud on an even larger scale than previously.

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During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.

[Ed P]

As a general point, in all forms of benefit the administration is done by individuals, who, I think, are given zero latitude in the way benefits are applied. All well and good in that the front-line administrator can quite correctly pass the buck up the line. It does however need a regulatory system with a large range of built-in fail-safes that can be quickly applied from within the system,

The system needs to be  capable of catering for the diversity of the population with maybe 20-30% of  benefit claimants being in the bottom quartile of ability. (A surprisingly large number claim, and probably are illiterate). It also needs to include those incapable of managing any form of budget. See a pound, spend a pound (or gamble it) is often the case with such people. It also needs to be local as many cannot use computers or smart phones, they also do not have the money or capability to get to the regional centre some ten miles away.

Unfortunately the Civil Servants (and lazy Grayling types – yes Universal Credit was partly spawned by him just before the coalition.), get bored with all these exceptional cases and put together a system that looks good on paper when fully implemented and possibly actually will work OK, but has no practical way of getting off the ground (just like Grayling’s railway timetable fiasco).

Somewhere along the line some idiot then decided that there was a need to generate cash savings and thought to do so by taking this out of the money which had previously been paid in advance to claimants. In theory maybe OK but in practice totally stupid, and the direct cause of a lot of woes as people could not pay rent, buy food and were thrown on the streets.

As the ‘system’ is built to disown such problems, and has few if any mechanisms to alleviate problems, all these issues get thrown onto voluntary charitable organizations who have zero money and/or authority but are still subject to stupid Government Audits as they have nothing better to do. Is it so surprising that these volunteers are emotionally drained and  leaving in droves?

[The VFM Addict]

I’m sure you are right, Ed, about literacy.  It is only in the last decade or so that the 10% of children that have some degree of dyslexia have begun to be recognised early with the worst affected being given support.   The knock on effect of illiteracy during school years is of course that all educational subjects suffer.   When one considers that most dyslexics were given pretty much zero educational support before 2000 it is hardly surprising that so many adults have at best the reading ability of a (non-dyslexic) 5 year old.   Obviously these unfortunates will rarely fare well in the employment market leading to either unemployment or low paid jobs.   I obviously can’t know the true numbers but it would not surprise me for one second if well over 50% of the long term unemployed and a high percentage of those in extremely low paid jobs genuinely do have significant literacy problems.

The Catch 22 for these unfortunates is indeed exactly that which you highlighted, Ed.  To claim any significant benefits you usually need top notch literacy skills to read, interpret and complete all the forms.   I haven’t seen the forms for claiming UC but I saw earlier benefits forms having helped a young couple complete some about 4 years ago.   They were bad enough and of course I see my partners Disability Living Allowance forms which also are voluminous.   Someone with even mild literacy problems, let alone severe problems, would find them more intimidating than the rest of us might find getting our heads around quantum physics.   To a severe dyslexic normal handwriting can look as the complex as do the equations and symbols on a particle physicists white-board to the rest of us.   Sure, we recognise each letter used but are totally unable to interpret meaning of the full equation.

It occurs to me as I type that the civil servants working with completed benefits forms may quite often find the handwriting, spelling and grammar on returned forms almost impossible to decipher.   Can you just imagine having to wade through hundreds of forms where not only is the handwriting close to illegible but faulty spelling and faulty grammar also means that the normal clues we all use to decipher poor handwriting are not even present.   So perhaps some of the ludicrous benefits decisions we hear of result in part from misinterpretation rather than merely bloody-mindedness on the part of civil servants.    We hear people being interviewed on radio and TV saying I have this problem and that problem and still didn’t get benefits.   But it may well be that the individual can relate such verbally but the forms they completed were close to impossible to read due to their illiteracy.

Don’t forget that due to the stigma still attached to illiteracy many sufferers go to huge extremes to conceal such.   It is from what I’m told quite common for those with severe literacy difficulties to carry a newspaper with them in full view as, effectively, a disguise.   My first wife’s father ran a small building company and said he had two (illiterate) labourers that did that.  That was in the days before the escalator style brick lifts one now sees on building sites.   I remember my FIL adding that one of those two labourers was the fastest and most hard working hod carrier he’s ever had work for him.   Which I guess goes to show that there is no link between illiteracy and laziness.    For the record, my father in law added that that lad was even faster than the boxer Chris Finnegan who carried the hod for my FIL’s bricklayers to maintain his fitness in the run up to winning his Olympic Gold.

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During the Covid-19 Epidemic I will be wearing a mask and goggles while posting so that if I become infected I won't spread it to you.

[Ed P]

For those that think UK democracy is broken beyond repair, you are not alone!

According to a Poll conducted by a Charitable Organization, nearly 70% of the voting population share that opinion.

link

[The Duke]

I am one of those that is on the dyslexic scale, went school thought the 80s early 90s, and left behind. Even though I was in Upper to middle sets (We had U123/M123/L12), so I was bright, but around a lot, as back the, my reading was awful, my writing still is, (you don’t want to see my penned hand).

I just didn’t atrent the majority of the last year of high school, worked out a system that kept my truancy of my parents radar untill about Feb or the last year.

Left school knowing I was going in the forces, started my sign up process a req months before I left. Most days I was wagging it while attending marine tests and interviews. (so I was a productive truent).

So left school with zero qualifactios not one GCSE. But I think 3 or 4 weeks after I left school I was in basic. Sadly for me 3 years lated fate decided soldiering wasn’t for me.

I can remeber the final day, as the train train pulled out the station, it dawning on me OMFG what now!

But one thing trh marines taught me that school never, was I wasn’t thick, and I had more confidence in my self. I worked for a year with the family business (building), but know it wasn’t for me. I didn’t have the back for it, for went into the office.

Soon forind out there was was back into education for thicko, and that I could get the militery to cover alot of the costs.

So I don’t an Collage Access to to university course,  Back then you had to be over 21, and needed no gcses. Basically Access, was a compressed A level course into one year, that you could pick up the ucas needed for uni entry.

The head of the course was an older lady, engilsh professor, she helped me alot, thought me more in 7 months than school ever did. I’m hardly the best writer. But with the right help, you get to see you arnt thick. You just need to find work aroumds.

Also luck, life can so much hinge on luck, sometimes chance meeting can pivot your life in half an hour.

Alot of peopel make poor decisions wen young, or don’t have the right support network to guide them some teens are just pig headed, (kids are). It just sometimes them early decisions can have echoing effetlcts on your whole life.

Some of our poorest people, are not their cos they want to be, non do, they are usally there wthiugh bad decisons, circumstance, bad luck, but what usally keeps them there is the systems in place. I know a few people that are trapped in their life and fear stepping out of their “cumfort” zone, as if one of a million things go wrong, they will be in an ever poorer state than they currently are.

I have no idea how we fix this, I’m not sure if there is a fix, but the issue are plane to see. But very few are poor cos they want to be, or poor cos they are lazy. It’s mostly out of fear of making the next step.

The saftlt net rely on, also becomes what holds them back. The benifit system to me looks lie a high wire act.

And if you are clever enough too play that system, I sort of have a bit of strange respect  as you are obviously not a fool. Thought your talents are obviously wasted.

for the reasons above I always thing the tabloid (and gov) estimates of benifit fraud has to be masivly inflated. Even the number they quote arnt that big (in the grand scheme). They are just a proportion of the nation that are an easy target.

When I hear a gov say they are going to address benifit fraud, every one cheers and agrees, and in principle we should all agree. But in reality, I think of the people that do need the help, and are about to get dragged into the “sorting the fraud out”, as collateral damage.

I do hate a headline about controlling benifit cheats. The cost of pooling this surly out weighs any savings.

Same reason we don’t enforces the laws that say we can send non working immigrants home after 3 moths. The burden of them few  people, just isn’t worth the effort and cost. Its easier, and more to the point, cheaper to just ignore it.

[Ed P]

“Same reason we don’t enforces the laws that say we can send non working immigrants home after 3 moths. The burden of them few people, just isn’t worth the effort and cost. Its easier, and more to the point, cheaper to just ignore it.”

I THINK it isn’t that easy as first you need to establish beyond doubt where they came from. From what I gather it is sop for illegals to burn all the documents that would establish their origin as that makes it easier to claim persecution etc.

Second, I believe the originating country has to accept them back.

Third you cannot just stick them in a container with a stamp on it. Going back some years I was a frequent commuter between the UK and some god-forsaken places in Africa, quite often I’d get into conversation (on the way back) with the two people escorting the returnees. If the returnee was female you could pretty much state that there would be two airline tickets (one male, one female) for a single female. Quite an expensive exercise as they often had at least a 24 hour stop-over in a hotel before they could make their return flight.

[edit] without condoning fraud of any kind, people may be interested in these comparative figures from the CAB. link

[Bob Williams]

I have a son and a grandson with dyslexia, so I know the issues being aired here and agree with many points raised by Steve and VFM. (Blimey that’s twice I have agreed with you VFM!)

Our son, now 50, was working for an electrician who took him on as a young lad under the old government-funded YTS scheme. He was also attending HND courses and got 4 Distinctions in his first year, due to his tutor recognising that he could carry out the work and had picked up the training quickly. When he reached 21, his employer lost YTS funding and threw him on the dole, refusing to pay him adult wages. There was a lot of this happening at the time: it prevented our lad becoming a qualified leccy and he was very down, but he took jobs wherever and whenever he could get them. I never forgave that employer, who I knew as a local. I gave him some grief over it and he made the mistake of swinging at me, whereupon I really enjoyed giving him a slap or two. Now our son is head caretaker at an academy complex of several schools, so the problem was not one of intelligence, was it? I never forgot one of his teachers telling my missus that our son ‘would never amount to anything’ after leaving school. I met that b**ch in a Tesco and told her that the problem lay with the incompetent educator and not the pupil.

History repeats: our grandson went through 3 years of training in Electrical Installations at a college. He passed all the qualifications in his last year, then some idiot in government decided that all Further Education students would have to pass English and Maths as well as the Trade Qual’s. He could not and cannot write: he passed the maths and failed 4 tries at the written English. His tutor was fuming, said that the lad knew his stuff and he would have no hesitation about employing him if he had a business. Now that lad is walking and bussing miles trying to get a job, any job. There are many more lads and lasses in that position and life is just s**t for them, it makes me so bloody angry. Why do we as a nation, so disrespect our young people? Not everyone gets to university, not everyone can. And even some of those who do, wind up shelf-stacking.

This is not a new problem: just like Steve, I left school with nothing to show for it. The Head of that school made a point of not shaking my hand when I left, although he knew all the ones who had GCE’s and he shook theirs – we numpty’s were ignored. I joined the Army and discovered that I was not thick! I became an aircraft technician and I passed what was then the Army Certificate of Education in several subjects including Maths and English, recognised as GCE equivalents.After leaving the Army I studied further, became a Motor Engineer and went from mechanic to workshop foreman.

The problem is rarely with the pupil, usually it’s with the educational system which puts kids in boxes: “one size fits all!” No, it does not. People have an annoying habit of becoming individuals, with individual talents. Now don’t let me get started on Benefits!?⛈

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[JayCeeDee]

It was once explained to me – my writing is un-intelligible too btw – that the reason behind that is that the hand is working  faster than it can cope with, trying to keep up with a brain that is racing ahead!!

[Dave Rice]

My hand writing was great as a kid, now it’s a mess. I haven’t got any thicker (apart from the waist). My son is doing a PhD and it’s just as well he’s using a computer. In his case it’s dyspraxia, in mine it’s lack of practice.

I’m not sure hand writing tells you anything and I’ve met people with multiple degrees who you wouldn’t trust to cross the road on their own.

[The Duke]

Doctors are the great example. Remeber the days of written prescriptions. Phamasists than where more like code breakers.

Ed- that was exactly my point, the money involved in policing such a system, just isn’t worth it. As the real cost of burden on the tax pot, is probably next to nothing (relatively speaking).

They make good headlines, as it’s easy pray to unite people behind. But in reality it’s a a way to make us look away from the important issues. A typical ‘look over here, not over there’ tactic.

[PlaneMan]

Another with shocking handwriting here. In my case it’s a combination of factors.

One was I used to hold a pen/pencil in a strange way, that was almost literally beaten out of me at school. My handwriting got worse. I also have a strange disconnection between my brain and hand when writing, the hand doesn’t do what the brain wants it too. It’s only when writing (or pissed) when this happens.

This is probably to do with my autism  and probable dyslexia (I say probable because it hasn’t been diagnosed, try getting a diagnosis as an adult not in education without forking out a few grand !!)

[Dave Rice]

Could be dyspraxia, Jack holds a pen in a very weird way and even then can’t do for long. That’s some sort of the body won’t do what the brain says. His sense of balance is crap too but he can ride a bike for miles, it’s his main mode of transport.

[PlaneMan]

Could be Dave, just looked up the symptoms of dyspraxia in adults, quite a few that are common in autism and a fair chunk that I certainly have.  No issues with motor coordination apart from writing and sometimes talking.

Another one to bug the GP with…….

[Wheels-Of-Fire]

Lets get this straight once and for all shall we ? There IS NO POINT trying teach ANYTHING to someone who cant write or spell properly ! I mean whats the point if they cant put it down on paper ? They must practice practice practice to the exclusion of all else, including some break time, until they get it right !

I know that to be true because my parents and I were told it so often during my time at primary school.

The sad fact is I have a specific learning difficulty with writing which means I never “over learn” it. To this day I have to concentrate on “drawing” every letter and the result is still poor. As a result of this I never got much practice at spelling because my brainpower was tied up with writing. English spelling is also a nonsense and my brain has trouble remembering things that follow no rules anyway.

No amount of practice has improved my handwriting but now that I can just type things my spelling has improved greatly, at least enough for the spell checker to understand anyway ?

[Richard]

Many years back I made a huge effort to improve my writing style, but increasing long sight, various arthritis issues and trigger finger issues, (five operations and counting) it has become an increasing fight to maintain any sort of readable script. When I recruited people overseas in the past it could be helpful to weed out those who had employed a letter writer, though face to face interviews a better way to try to assess recruits. I shall try to dust off my skills in the next little while as our neighbour has lost her father and brother on the same day and a personally written condolence still feels more personal and heart felt than a dashed off note on the computer. This is said by someone who scans hospital forms and completes them on the computer to help make them readable!

I well remember the comments of a team supervisor I met many years back. His organisation liked to circulate staff through various areas but he had one highly skilled chap, whose hands were described as being like five wrists and a thigh connected on one palm. Paperwork was impossible for him, yet in on one technical installation area he had no equal – and his ability to train others was a local legend. He simply had a feel for the work that he excelled at and aimed to enthuse those with whom he worked.

[Author]

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