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Is a Virtual ‘Thon a possibility?

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    https://us04web.zoom.us/j/7422731051...J4bU5PN3h4Zz09

    p/w 116623

    I am currently having microphone issues so bear with me if I'm silent

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      Will join you lovely people later if I can - have sole charge of our daughter this evening so that may not be possible.

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        Zoom is telling me this meeting will end in 9 minutes. I will end the meeting then and send a new link a password

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          https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9394260669...daY0s2d0l1UT09

          p/w 276484

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            Come and join us

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              My Zoom is only letting me host in 40 minute batches so a new link will follow shortly

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                https://us04web.zoom.us/j/9394260669...daY0s2d0l1UT09

                p/w 276484

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                  Back soon

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                    Too pissed to stay. Enjoyable as ever.

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                      Great stuff! And thanks to Satchmo for organising.

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                        Seconded. I enjoyed reminiscing with you all about youthful, care-free, no reservations travel.

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                          Yes, thanks Satchmo! Good that these are happening pretty regularly now.

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                            Morning all. Sorry I couldn't take part fully as my mic wasn't working. Either that or you all think I just talk nonsense and deliberately muted me

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                              Shame I missed this - thought it was next week, inevitably.

                              I was ‘out out’ anyway. (In a ‘real’ pub! Shock, horror!)

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                                Thanks all again. Smaller turnout but no less enjoyable.

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                                  Bugger, I've literally just twigged it was last night. I had it in my head it would be tonight for some reason, until it dawned on me a moment ago and I dashed here to check that, yes, I did indeed miss it. Apologies for not poking my head in, was looking forward to saying hi. Who else was there last night?

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                                    Satch, Cal, TAB. Sporting, GO, DG (or was it Metal Mickey?), EEG. At one point it was literally four Yorkshiremen.

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                                      I think there's a big Champions League game* that will clash with the next meeting date so I would like to propose doing the next one on August 22nd, which I'd be happy to host. The next date after that I could host would be September 12th. Thus I propose Aug 22 and Sep 12 as the next 2 meetings, which I will host.

                                      Once per 3 weeks would also work better for me going forward because my life is about to get very busy. We might get bigger attendances if we spread them out more.

                                      *Seeded to be Man City v Juventus?
                                      Last edited by Satchmo Distel; 06-08-2020, 21:27.

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                                        I think that's a good idea.

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                                          It's not on tonight?

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                                            Apparently not. I'll have to miss the one on the 22nd due to holidays, but hope to make the one after.

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                                              I'm watching the football at 3pm EST so have moved it to next Saturday, as above. I also think 3-week intervals are better.

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                                                Originally posted by HORN Reborn View Post
                                                I want to know why Sporting got fired after nine days.
                                                Originally posted by HORN Reborn View Post

                                                Even I lasted four months (at WHSmith) in the 1980s before getting the chop.
                                                Okay, so a mite delayed in the telling but the Farnworths story can now be told. But first, a little backtracking and no doubt some deviation.

                                                The original plan that my then girlfriend had had was to spend a couple of years somewhere in England, for the experience and to improve her already excellent command of the language. I wasn't so keen to move away from Gijon but love is love so I went first and started looking around in Norwich for accommodation. Why Norwich? Well, it wasn't far from where my mum lived. It's a university city. It was just...a possibility, a random choice. (Where would you have chosen?)

                                                I had a room in a shared house all arranged when my girlfriend was offered a job as a teaching assistant in South Wales. I was born in the north of the country and am pretty sure I had never visited the south. Anyway, change of plan.

                                                My girlfriend was "assigned" a room in Penygraig, near Tonypandy, in a house owned by a child psychologist, while she was a teaching assistant in the area. (The idea was eventually to live together, but it was difficult to find suitable accommodation. "No housing benefit claimants. No DHSS. " I didn't yet have a job.)

                                                One of the other people renting a room there was a lovely girl whose boyfriend was Muslim. The boyfriend's father had disowned his son for going out with someone from the wrong religion. I've no idea what happened in the end. I also remember having a few drinks with some secondary school teachers in the town who proudly regaled me with tales of how they'd been thrown into jail on rugby tours on the continent. The child psychologist was a rugby fan as well and had a debenture for Wales’ home international matches. He was a lovely guy, but I'm digressing even more.

                                                Eventually (before that, I was sleeping in my girlfriend's room, usually on the floor as the bed was super-narrow) I found a single-bedroom flat in the Danescourt area of Llandaff.
                                                It was compact but very comfortable, though every time I cooked I had to turn off the fire alarm as the slightest amount of smoke caused it to go off. My landlord was a nice, friendly man, but in the end I had to vacate it, as my housing benefit didn't cover enough of the rent to make it viable for me to stay there. (I think I was receiving 55 pounds a week and had to make up a shortfall of maybe 30 pounds, which was difficult.

                                                Cardiff was really odd, though nice. Llandaff was full of lovely houses and close to fine parks, but adjacent too to sink estates and pubs I would have never have dared to step inside. The city centre is pretty cool, with its castle, shopping arcades, independent shops, We went to Chapter Arts Centre a lot. It rained all the bloody time, though.And it was cold. But I was in love and love cures all.

                                                But I didn't have a regular job.

                                                I was alternating between signing on and doing bits of private tutoring. Mostly English but some basic maths too (keeping one chapter of the book ahead of the teenager) as well as some Spanish. I applied for some "real" jobs. (Or the dole office made me apply for them.) Unloading work for Littlewoods. Assistant Trainee Manager at the YMCA (70 quid a week, crap pay even back then), admin assistant at the DHSS (really didn't fancy this and deliberately bombed the interview).

                                                (In the middle of all this I did a RSA CELTA (old name) course at International House in Hastings, which would turn out t be an excellent investment.)

                                                So in November 1994 I was offered another interview for work at a new department store opening in Cardiff. Farnworths. (My girlfriend's stint as a teaching assistant had come to its year's end, but she was doing some evening class teaching as well as working at Pillar's restaurant in Cardiff. Maybe Various Artist has heard of it?) At Farnworths my responsibilities were twofold. One, unload and unpack lorry deliveries. Christ, they were heavy. And we were working ten to eleven hours a day, 6 days a week. My back and arms and everything ached. But it was 3 quid 50 an hour. Not so bad. The other thing we had to do was price checking. This was fiddly and difficult. I wanted to do window dressing. I never knew window dressing was a thing.

                                                Nine days into my job the boss's assistant pulled me aside and uttered the fatal words, "We're going to have you let you go". Why? I had left the stockroom door open. (True at first, we all had, but false after three or so days). Second reason: I had refused to do work required of me. Completely false.

                                                I suspect for some reason or other my face didn't fit.

                                                If you've read all this sorry for the unreturnable five minutes of your life.



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                                                  Anyway, is this on today?

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                                                    Yes, I will post a link just before 1500 EST

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