Workplace sexism: TUC appoints a woman as General Secretary

[amateur51]

Oh do please get back on topic, amsey! ... what ahinton's 'Global Bibliography of Prison Systems n stuff' has to do with the recent appointment of Ms O'Grady at the TUC, heaven only knows ... .

Just concentrate on getting your John Terry: The Verdict thread sorted scotty & leave the tea to me - it was you that said that tea was a woman-thing in the first place

[ahinton]

Oh no, it isn't! There is Black Tea, Green Tea, Benefit Blend Teas, Earl Grey Tea, White Tea, Yellow Tea, Herbal Tea either in Tea Bags or as Loose Leaf Tea.

And English Breakfast Tea does more than linger, I have you know!

Of couse there ae plenty of different teas (I thought that everyone would have unedrstood that I understood that!), but tea is nevertheless tea!

[ahinton]

Ahinton's rather bitter-sounding post is so full of inaccuracies

I meant (but forgot) to begin my earlier response to this by assuring you that there was and is no bitterness as such in my post; on the contrary, I sought merely to draw attention to matters that I found unconducive and as perplexing as they were uncongenial - that's all.

[ahinton]

Thank you, scottycelt, for this and for your #105 . As far as the press is concerned the quality of both The Herald ("Glasgow" was dropped from the title about twenty years ago) and Edinburgh's The Scotsman has certainly dropped, as has the quality of all newspapers. I've lived in the west and the east, and bought both according to my location. I now read both online each day, and I have to say that there is precious little "Scottish" remaining in The Scotsman.

I knew about the dropping of "Glasgow" from the title of that paper but that was long after I left Scotland. I, too, lived in the west and the east - born in the latter and first attended school in the former (close to the stunning Gareloch); I also lived in the north for a time (Thurso and Inverness). I've not looked at either of those Scottish papers for a long time now so had not realised what had happend to the quality of journalism in them, although I regret that I'm not especially surprised.

By the way, speaking of attending school for the first time in Scotland, the entry standards in those days would have even Michael Gove reeling; special care, sympathy and help was given to those very few people who could not already read competently - and woe betide anyone else who was caught patronising them! A basic degree of numeracy was also expected and usually got. Scotty's misguided attempt to chide the use of the 24-hour clock, however, reminds me that we were taught metric measure first before imperial measure (quite logically, because this was all so much easier to sart with, as it's all structured on the Arabic system of counting in tens); what was misleading about this, however, as it turned out, was the expectation that we were given that the more difficult imperial system would soon be displaced by the metric one - and that wasn't last year either!

Scottish women wore hats and pinnies because that is what they did. Hats as a mark of respectability (hence the pejorative term "hairy"), and pinnies to protect their clothes - common sense when money was tight. When scotty was going to the chapel of a Sunday, I was going to the Kirk and the Sunday School, and all the women wore hats.

I don't even remember them doing this but, as I remarked earlier, if that's what they wanted to do on certain occasions, so be it; I do, however, remember what seemed to me to be very much like the treatment of women as second-class citizens who had their place and knew it - and I did find that most unpleasant. I didn't attent kirk, chapel, Sunday school or a cathedral in those days, so that was perhaps one reason why I don't exspecially recall women wearing hats...

scotty, if there's any more nonsense from anyone about teas, high or otherwise, perhaps we should just remind them of the expression "Yer tea's oot!"

I thought that it as actually "You'll have had yer tea!" (pace the Dougal and Hamish characters in ISIHAC)...

Now, I must go and get this watch seen to.

Good luck this time!

[Beef Oven]

Just concentrate on getting your John Terry: The Verdict thread sorted scotty & leave the tea to me - it was you that said that tea was a woman-thing in the first place

Tea, a woman's thing? I drink gallons of the stuff - how very dare you Scotty!

[ahinton]

I wonder if the members of the Scottish diaspora would like to set up their own thread (A la recherche du tea perdu?) and let others who are interested in the OP continue or even draw this discussion to a close

Neat thought, but I doubt that there would be sufficient of us to warrant this; one might as well advocate a Willesden Green thread.

Much as the prospect of A la recherche du tea perdu?(!), the tea is not lost to history; on the contrary, it's far easier today to purchase a wide variety of teas than it used to be! Maybe The Mad Hat-wearer's Tea-Pinny would be better. What would be much worse is Tea Total in Scotland, since this would - or at least ought to - be a contradiction in terms. By the way, speaking of beverages, in the part of France where I intend to end up, fine Scottish malt whisky is very popular and widely sold, which is quite a remarkable achievement in an area not far from Cognac where cognac and pineau des charentes ae sold everywhere, much of it by small local producers in small quantities, which goes to show that the French have excellent taste; they do draw the line at importing our other great product, raspberries, though...

Oh, dear, I've departed from the topic - but I have to admit that I'd sooner read about malt whisky and raspberries than arguments about perceptions or otherwise sexism and/or "sexism" arising from the appointment of a female GS at TUC...

[ahinton]

Tea, a woman's thing?

I don't agree with that either and evidence does not support such an assertion; I don't drink much of it, but I still think that this idea is nonsensical.

[Beef Oven]

I don;t agree with that either and evidence does not support such an assertion; I don't drink much of it, but I still think that this idea is nonsensical.

Kinnell! We agree on something!

[scottycelt]

Tea, a woman's thing? I drink gallons of the stuff - how very dare you Scotty!

Yes, so do I, Beefy, but I never said or even hinted at such a thing,! If you can find any reference to me saying anything remotely like it on this forum, or anywhere else, please do advise!

Some members here appear to adopt an 'imaginary position' regarding my posts, for reasons best known to themselves.

What the heck, I'm 'kinda' getting used to it now! (PG Tips)

[ahinton]

Kinnell! We agree on something!

That's not all that scotty and I agree about, as you'd already know if you'd read some of the other exchanges.

[ahinton]

Yes, so do I, Beefy, but I never said or even hinted at such a thing,! If you can find any reference to me saying anything remotely like it on this forum, or anywhere else, please do advise!

Some members here appear to adopt an 'imaginary position' regarding my posts, for reasons best known to themselves.

I must admit that I'd not noticed you having said or hinted at such an idea; I simply took am51's word for it. It's a dumb idea, whoever's it may have been.

(PG Tips)

That was a swift change of subject, scotty (and not just because of the beer mug either!)...

[Serial_Apologist]

This has come to be the most boring thread since French Frank set up this forum.

[Beef Oven]

That's not all that scotty and I agree about, as you'd already know if you'd read some of the other exchanges.

I couldn't read the other exchanges. Twice I tried and I fell asleep and the third time I tried I just burst into tears.

[JohnSkelton]

Twice I tried and I fell asleep and the third time I tried I just burst into tears.

Have you tried rehab?

[scottycelt]

This has come to be the most boring thread since French Frank set up this forum.

Well, it certainly is now !