More evidence that those in charge are liars and completely round the twist

[mangerton]

And for something to be racist ( or sexist) the 'perpetrator' has to be in a position of power over the 'victim' and have the intention to use that power.

And as recent events have shown, the citizens of Scotland no longer sit 'in awe' of England - if they ever did

No, we definitely never did. Especially scotty and me.

You make an interesting point in the first paragraph. I would agree, but I suspect that my definition of "power" might be different from yours. The "power" can be mental or psychological as well as physical. I have on occasion had to take over a phone call at work and say to the (male, older) caller, "Would you like someone to speak to your daughter like that?"

Workers in service industries are very easy targets for all sorts of bullies.

[Flosshilde]

Mangerton, you'll have to explain no.2 to me. I know where Dundee is (I have to - my parner's a Dundonian), & I know where Oban is. I feel for the repairman if he's in Dundee at 6.30pm & has to get to Oban to do a job that evening, but I don't see how it is relevant to the point you are making.

Amateur - I do understand Scotty's & Mangerton's point. The casual dismissal of Scotland & Scottish affairs is infuriating. The 'British' BC assumes that everyone is interested in the English Education system, the English police & legal system, the English health service, & so on, as it broadcasts information about them on the 'national' news bulletins. It says not a word about the equivelant services in Scotland, N. Ireland & Wales. That's left to the 'regional' news slots. Perhaps they should restrict the national news to truly UK-wide stuff, & then have the English stuff in an English regional bulletin.

[amateur51]

No, we definitely never did. Especially scotty and me.

You make an interesting point in the first paragraph. I would agree, but I suspect that my definition of "power" might be different from yours. The "power" can be mental or psychological as well as physical. I have on occasion had to take over a phone call at work and say to the (male, older) caller, "Would you like someone to speak to your daughter like that?"

Workers in service industries are very easy targets for all sorts of bullies.

As a Welshman with a very English accent (unless I'm in God's Own Country), you don't have to tell me about bullying like that - the number of times I've been invited to join in the ribaldry when the word 'Welsh' is followed by a side-splitting sexually-charged reference to 'sheep'

What is it about English people and sheep, I ask on such occasions, often to muttered imprecations and general collapse of stout party spirit

[Lateralthinking1]

I don't eat lamb because sheep are gentle creatures. However, I would spirit the force of ten thousand nuclear storms upon any creature that is not.

[mangerton]

Mangerton, you'll have to explain no.2 to me. I know where Dundee is (I have to - my parner's a Dundonian), & I know where Oban is. I feel for the repairman if he's in Dundee at 6.30pm & has to get to Oban to do a job that evening, but I don't see how it is relevant to the point you are making.

Flosshilde, you know how far apart they are - probably a two and a half hour drive. The repairman didn't, and thought it was "round the corner". Sorry, I should have explained it better.

Your point about the news..... How I wish! I wouldn't actually mind so much if they stated which parts of the country were affected. With devolution, it's sometimes difficult to tell, and one is left in a state of uncertainty.

[Flosshilde]

Oh, I see now. Was he English, or just geographically challenged? I'm always surprised, when I talk to people in Glasgow - even people one would expect to be interested - how little they travel in Scotland. (Edinburgh could be a foreign country! Well, it is almost - even the Scots living there sound English ). But then, how many English people travel extensively in England?

[Dave2002]

I have to say that I think this behaviour at No 10 is a damned disgrace. I am not any sort of a leftie, merely a low level civil servant who has to speak to the great British public on the phone.

We HAVE to give our REAL names if asked. No lying or fakery allowed.

As usual, it's interesting to see that there's one law for the rich and one for the poor.

mangerton

If you ask, my real name is John Brown. I think Scotty may have got it right.

Incidentally, ff is JoAnn Falletta or perhaps I got it wrong - maybe Elliott Carter!

[Lateralthinking1]

I used to be merely a low level civil servant who liked to speak to the great British public on the phone.

One of my catchphrases there - yes, I approached my role unconventionally - was "And remember, we are all members of the public too".

It was never once endorsed but rather always met with silence. They liked to take that hat off the moment they walked into the building.

In 2010, there was talk of everyone becoming more "outward facing" as if it were a brand new concept. Of course, no one spoke of being more receptive - in fact, quite the reverse.

[french frank]

Anyway, getting back: I think Kaufman was making a fuss because he thought he was getting at the Tories, and didn't realise it had been a common practice introduced by Labour.

Never mind security, should employees (public service or customer service) have to be railed at by angry people (MPs or not) for things that go wrong - or does it go with the job?

It doesn't actually matter who "Mrs E Adams" was, as long as it is possible to identify who wrote the letter; just as when someone on the phone says, Good morning, you're speaking to Clive - how can I help you? It doesn't really matter whether his name is Clive or not as long as you have a name to give later, should that be necessary.

Why doesn't No 10 employ people who have the wit to say that Mrs Adams isn't in today, but if Sir Gerald would be kind enough to quote the reference number on the letter he could speak to someone acquainted with the case?

[Lateralthinking1]

Speaking as someone who has spent tens of hours at public consultation exhibitions and having people waving their fists at me, shouting me down, and bursting into tears in front of me, all because of Labour Government proposals, not to mention the woman who went mad with several tins of paint and was wrestled to the floor by a female police officer, I did have my name - and I do mean my name - displayed clearly on my lapel, for which I was paid the princely sum of c. £25,000 p.a.

This was, it has to be said, the biggest public consultation exercise in this country of all time - at that same time, I co-managed seven temporary staff while they and about four of us permanents dealt with the bulk of 500,000 responses, when most of the public envisaged that there must be a whole building of staff devoted to the purpose. I should add that we were provided with South African bouncers in the various localities. They drank mugs of tea mostly.

Always of an anxious disposition, I was one of the sensitive types working principally on minimising damage to the environment and wildlife, which sort of helped. The public normally calmed down with me when they found that out and I was frequently thanked for being human and empathetic - "not one of the robots" who simply upset them by being condescending, bureaucratic and distant. Some managers felt that I was too "direct" at times, for which read completely open and sticking to the agreed line, while showing genuine understanding.

In fairness, we had many pleasant, extremely knowledgeable, specialists with us - some from the private sector. However, I have a very dim view indeed of the generally over-confident, grossly over-paid, sops who hide behind aliases and get their own troops to defend them in the firing line. One of the guys "in charge" was watching a lot of Wimbledon on the television on one of the months it all took place. He is now in a lucrative post in the private sector - similar area - while several of us are on benefits.

[LHC]

As a Welshman with a very English accent (unless I'm in God's Own Country), you don't have to tell me about bullying like that - the number of times I've been invited to join in the ribaldry when the word 'Welsh' is followed by a side-splitting sexually-charged reference to 'sheep'

What is it about English people and sheep, I ask on such occasions, often to muttered imprecations and general collapse of stout party spirit

Am51, when presented with such ribald comments a Welsh friend of mine used to respond with "Yes, Welsh Lamb, we **** 'em and you eat 'em", which tended to make the merry japesters go quiet.

(hope I don't get into trouble for this).

[Flosshilde]

Am51, when presented with such ribald comments a Welsh friend of mine used to respond with "Yes, Welsh Lamb, we **** 'em and you eat 'em", which tended to make the merry japesters go quiet.

(hope I don't get into trouble for this).

Maybe why I make sure that I buy Scottish lamb

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Listen to the news on the B (alleged) BC - though actually EBC would be a better description.

Have you read John Wyndham's "The Kraken Wakes"? The main characters work for the English Broadcasting Corporation (and like almost all Wyndhan characters, are heavy smokers).

[mangerton]

Have you read John Wyndham's "The Kraken Wakes"? The main characters work for the English Broadcasting Corporation (and like almost all Wyndhan characters, are heavy smokers).

Many years ago! Many (most?) people smoked at the time of which he was writing.

[mangerton]

Maybe why I make sure that I buy Scottish lamb

That might not be wise, thinking of the Rolling Stones' parody.

"Hey, McLeod, get off my ewe."