How well schools work when they are depleted of students!
I once had this remark made to me in a slightly different form when I was in University and taking to a member of the Registry staff during one of the vacations. And he said it in complete seriousness.
But these last couple of days do illustrate vividly what he means. We have been reduced to seven students from the lower secondary forms and one single solitary student from the upper secondary school!
And the amount that we have been able to do! My marking is complete. I typed out some work for the English department’s contribution to an aspect of Carnival. We have had an English Department Meeting (all capital letters for that) and I have got together some more information about Salinger for my sixth form class. I have chatted to my colleagues: those few that are left in school. I have had a delightful lunch (with wine) and many cups of tea!
It is the sort of educational life to which I could get used very quickly indeed. But reality is only two working days away and we will immediately get swept up in the preparations for the next examination.
I once had this remark made to me in a slightly different form when I was in University and taking to a member of the Registry staff during one of the vacations. And he said it in complete seriousness.
But these last couple of days do illustrate vividly what he means. We have been reduced to seven students from the lower secondary forms and one single solitary student from the upper secondary school!
And the amount that we have been able to do! My marking is complete. I typed out some work for the English department’s contribution to an aspect of Carnival. We have had an English Department Meeting (all capital letters for that) and I have got together some more information about Salinger for my sixth form class. I have chatted to my colleagues: those few that are left in school. I have had a delightful lunch (with wine) and many cups of tea!
It is the sort of educational life to which I could get used very quickly indeed. But reality is only two working days away and we will immediately get swept up in the preparations for the next examination.
My relaxed day however came to an abrupt end when I went to pay in some money to my dying account with BBVA (The Worst Bank in the World.) Foolishly (as it turns out) I did not finally close the account when I moved to another bank. I have a ‘device’ which shoots out electronic signals so that I can sail through the pay stations on the motorway, while other, lesser mortals have to dig into their purses or scrabble about in their wallets for money or cards.
My ‘device’ had to be bought and then serviced by a bank. I decided to leave enough money in the account to pay for the occasional debits that would come from normal motoring. This has not worked out perfectly. Partly because I think there are still some organizations who still think I bank with BBVA but mainly because it looks as though BBVA has been taking money by false pretences.
Incomprehensible phone calls in both Spanish and impenetrable English from BBVA seemed to indicate the need for me to pay money into the account. This I did, only to find that BBVA had increased the amount I owed them threefold. And the amount I paid in was not visible credited! It further looks as though they are still charging me for the notorious Aval Bancario. This is an amount of money held in trust by the bank to show a potential landlord that you can pay the extortionate rent charged for properties near the sea.
You pay the money to the bank and then the bank proceeds to charge you something like €300 to set up this iniquitous method of legal theft and then €117 a quarter to service this money and to compensate the bank for the risk (?) involved in holding your money.
In Spain the web is full of people like me who ask plaintively why this evil form of bank rip-off is allowed. Answer, of course, came there none. Hardly surprising from a bunch of ill principled gangsters who between them brought the entire economy of the world to its collective knees.
However, far be it from me to pre-judge the amoral institution which I will be visiting tomorrow replete with documentation and with a trusty fluent Catalan and Spanish speaker at my side.
I am even taking time off school (which I think should be chargeable) to go to my branch. You must understand that in keeping with the abyssal (‘abysmal’ is simply too weak a word, I am thinking Marianas Trench here) level or depth of service offered by this so-called bank that it restricts its opening hours to mornings. On Thursday evenings every other branch of every other bank in Castelldefels stays open until fairly late in the evening. Not, of course, BBVA: it closes as 2.00 pm.
It will be very interesting to see what they say when they are presented with the evidence tomorrow.
My ‘device’ had to be bought and then serviced by a bank. I decided to leave enough money in the account to pay for the occasional debits that would come from normal motoring. This has not worked out perfectly. Partly because I think there are still some organizations who still think I bank with BBVA but mainly because it looks as though BBVA has been taking money by false pretences.
Incomprehensible phone calls in both Spanish and impenetrable English from BBVA seemed to indicate the need for me to pay money into the account. This I did, only to find that BBVA had increased the amount I owed them threefold. And the amount I paid in was not visible credited! It further looks as though they are still charging me for the notorious Aval Bancario. This is an amount of money held in trust by the bank to show a potential landlord that you can pay the extortionate rent charged for properties near the sea.
You pay the money to the bank and then the bank proceeds to charge you something like €300 to set up this iniquitous method of legal theft and then €117 a quarter to service this money and to compensate the bank for the risk (?) involved in holding your money.
In Spain the web is full of people like me who ask plaintively why this evil form of bank rip-off is allowed. Answer, of course, came there none. Hardly surprising from a bunch of ill principled gangsters who between them brought the entire economy of the world to its collective knees.
However, far be it from me to pre-judge the amoral institution which I will be visiting tomorrow replete with documentation and with a trusty fluent Catalan and Spanish speaker at my side.
I am even taking time off school (which I think should be chargeable) to go to my branch. You must understand that in keeping with the abyssal (‘abysmal’ is simply too weak a word, I am thinking Marianas Trench here) level or depth of service offered by this so-called bank that it restricts its opening hours to mornings. On Thursday evenings every other branch of every other bank in Castelldefels stays open until fairly late in the evening. Not, of course, BBVA: it closes as 2.00 pm.
It will be very interesting to see what they say when they are presented with the evidence tomorrow.
Perhaps I will have to eat Humble Pie.
But I doubt it.
Battle lines have now been drawn!
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