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Morning everyone,

Hi Doglet,

Beautiful morning here too, but rather parky ! no idea about weather next week, we'll see.

Here, being a village, there are school buses for kids who live a fair distance from our college (Some come from smaller villages/hamlets around), and others walk to school. Nothing against parents dropping their child wherever they want - but of course both the school and the college are a distance away from main road dangers.

There is a agricultural coop in the village where all grain is collected, and I get a couple of big bags full of various seeds, including sunflower, free from a guy who works there - basically what he brooms off the floor; very useful and quite a variety of seeds!

I also buy a lot of grease balls to hang off trees, birds love that particularly when it gets cold - sometimes I put a cheap pack of marg. on the window cill and watch them coming to eat it. BUT, not sure how to go about that with three cats around the house now !!!

BTW, I don't use facebook, twitter, and don't even know what Instagram is !!!

Morning!

Doglet, I'm wondering what use your cell phone would be to you if you were mugged! The muggers would surely have taken it??!!
I'm interested in the two types of spelling? I thought - in my innocence - that there was only one type - the correct version?!
Perhaps you could explain for those of us who don't understand ?
I think using phonics to learn to read is much the most sensible way ( that 'look see' method was awful) but I've never come across a phonetical way of spelling. Certainly my grandchildren just earn words as spelled in the dictionary.

Pigale, my cats have always unfortunately chased birds - but they wear a bell on their collars to warn of their coming! It helps a bit! the presence of the cats has never deterred the birds from feeding at the bird table though.
Our two squirrels are very tame and come and knock at the kitchen window for their nuts!

Good idea about the bell on collar Elle, I have not put a collar on them yet because they are so young (barely 5 months) and are still tend to 'tumble' down trees (after having climbed as high as possible!) ; I would not want them to get strangled; I will though, once they are a bit more confident and experienced.

Are your squirrels of the Grey variety? Mine (red) are not tame at all and are just happy jumping from top of one poplar to top of the next one! There is a big oak tree at the bottom of the garden, which provides them with a plenty of food to hoard away somewhere. I also have a tatty old shed and I am sure some animals hibernate there - perhaps some squirrel, not sure, but my dogs used to be very interested in that old shed !

As to the phonetic writing Doglet, I too would be interested to hear as to how the child switches from it to 'real' spelling !

Cat collars aren't like dog collars, Pigale - they come with a bit of elastic in the collar, so that if by any chance the cat does become 'caught up,' the elastic will stretch enabling the cat to get free. Mine all wore collars, complete with tags, from first going out.
Yes, we have grey squirrels. Our two present ones are the children of the previous one that used to come.
They - and their mum - have always been very tame. They tap on the window if I haven't seen them and take their nuts from my fingers so gently.
Mum used to come in and sit under the dining table, next to the dog (previous one), eating the nuts!

Ok Elle, you have convinced me!

I shall invest in three cat collars next time I go to the shops - Mummy had one which was so very tatty that I replaced it by a flee collar - she just needs a bell !

Temps rising up nicely, due to reach 19/20 again today - good while it lasts !

Hi Elle/pigale

It was called free expression ,the teacher told us that the correct spelling was "binding childrens minds" and they want to free them to explore.We did complain to the head but got the same reply,so she had a spelling list each night which did help

Hi again,

Was it an experiment on a National Level, or did it only take place in that particular school?

Hi

No I think it was a national experiment but was not received well by most parents.
I dont have cat collars after seeing the damaged done when the cat had it under his front leg and almost severed it,ours dont catch birds but rats mice frogs and legless lizards are usually the prey,our squirrels are busy hiding hazelnuts and every year we get saplings growing where the nuts have been left,they are very enjoyable to watch and it isnt their fault that they were introduced here.
Cold night here but a pleasant day tomorrow

Many years ago the primary school where my sons went was involved in a small scale (six schools nationally) experiment testing the theory you could teach everything through Art. Needless to say the children needed remedial maths when they got to secondary school. What a load of b*******.
Luckily this was before we moved here, though the younger one still got caught by the stupidity of "ideas more important than spelling and grammar" brigade.