bridge too far

I don't feel the need to embrace such things and nor does this country. These acts are against the law in this country. We just recognise that individuals have the right to dress as they please. That's why Sikhs can wear turbans and Hasidic Jews can wear their long sideburns and ordinary Jews can wear their yarmulke. Being comfortable with people wearing such apparel doesn't equate to condoning some of the practices they carry out in their originating countries FFS!

impede

stop

And was caught. Would he have been caught if he wasn't wearing a burkha? Or would he have just mingled with the population at large? So actually wearing a burkha led to his arrest? Good reason for keeping them I should say!

hands off

So a biker walks into a bank and is asked to remove the helmet for security reasons. So a woman wearing a burkha walks into a bank and is asked to remove the face-covering element of her burkha for security reasons. What's the difference? The difference is that, out in the street, one will not be banned but, in France, the other will.

No - I commented on the banning of the burkha. AFAIK crash helmets aren't banned. I'm a sandal-wearing, tree-hugging leftie, remember? I think people should be able to wear exactly what they like as long as it doesn't offend public decency. And wearing a burkha doesn't offend public DECENCY.

I don't have one - I don't own a motor bike.

Well, for some it's about the same per week as this HT earned in a year (although in fact it was for 2 years). Screwed priorities in this country I think.

Or, or, or - the women choose to wear them because they're fed up with saddo pervs ogling them. If the veil / burkha were to be banned here it should be matched with a ban on fat blokes wearing vests / shorts / showing off beer bellies. That's far more offensive.

No!

Or the current Tory one TBF. Imagine the sight of Michael 'Meerkat' Goves in there:eek:

construction

Exactly - work with other schools, that were under-performing, to bring them up to the high standard that his school had attained.

Blimey, JB, I go to hospital occasionally. That doesn't mean I have the knowledge to criticise or judge the way the surgeon carries out a procedure! Your knowledge of schools is based on your experience and that of your children. It doesn't mean you have an in-depth knowledge of the finer points of managing and improving a school. However, if you read the BBC report above, you will see that his overtime was probably for the extra duties he undertook in delivering a multi-million pound capital project. And for being a member of an elite performance body helping to deliver improvements in other schools. Given that he would still have to run his own school, it stands to reason he did the extra work in his own time. A few years ago I audited a school building project that had gone horribly wrong (the fault of both the LEA and the contractor). The headmaster of that school spent every weekend and most nights building up a dossier to support the dismissal of the LEA design team and proceedings against the contractor. He came very close to having a breakdown, trying to run his school that was falling down around him and building up the evidence.

arising

Boating through Manchester was one of the scariest things we ever did, Landford! Sailed a very long day to avoid doing an overnight there. I think it was on that holiday (when we did Bridgwater, Shropshire and Llangollen) that we visited Whixall Moss, one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I've ever been to.

In pursuit of facts I found this on the BBC website: "The bulk of the £200,000 pay package he received last year was for the work he did on the London Challenge and City Challenge project over two years. These schemes support schools in challenging circumstances and have been very successful in improving education in deprived areas of the country. Mr Elms is one of only 75 head teachers in England to have been awarded the prestigious role of National Leader of Education. As such he would be responsible for helping other schools that are struggling. The type of support on offer varies, but can involve the leader going as far as taking on an executive headship of another school or schools. It is not clear how much support Mr Elms offered, but the scheme has been widely seen to have made a big difference. Tidemill School is also in the midst of a multi-million pound rebuild, due to be complete by early 2011. As head teacher, Mr Elms would have had a key role in this redevelopment which would have required much extra work." So he's not actually earning £200K a year. Basic pay - £82,714.37 City Challenge - £102,955.00 over two years Out-of-hours work - £9,317 Arrears - £9,317

Here you go Johnny: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/feb/02/tax-gap-avoidance And as far as your builders are concerned, ask for invoices and receiptsh. They should have the VAT number on them.

Wes, I don't think Somalians are granted asylum because our benefit system is so good to those in need. I'm proud of the way our country grants (and always has done) to those suffering in their own countries. We have so many people in the UK who have fled desperate situations from the Hugenots, Jews, Russians and Poles in the past to Somalians and Afghanis today. I say again, if we criticise this man for wanting to do the best for his family, (as we all would if we could) by making the best use of resources legally available to him then we must equally criticise people who exploit tax loopholes to avoid paying their share towards the upkeep of all of us. Criticism must be levelled at the system, not at him.

I can be as pedantic as you! Since he has been granted asylum, he is no longer an asylum seeker. Using your logic, a headline about you could read 'Infant seen to sink a pint of beer'. And you know darned well that both papers were using sensationalist headlines to sell their rags.

The Daily Heil and the Torygraph would do well to check their facts before printing such misleading banner headlines. Here is an excerpt from the official government website about housing benefit: Who isn't eligible You can't usually get Housing Benefit if: you have savings of over £16,000, unless you are getting the 'guarantee credit' of Pension Credit you live in the home of a close relative you're a full-time student (unless you're disabled or have children) you're an asylum seeker or are sponsored to be in the UK But then some of us had already realised he wasn't an asylum seeker. He'd been granted asylum 11 years ago and had been working and paying taxes and NI for at least some of that time.

I think I should move back home if petrol's that cheap down there! I pay 8p a litre more up here

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds_bucks_and_herts/10605156.stm

marriage