Author Topic: A volunteer's view  (Read 7535 times)

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #25 on: 15 August, 2022, 07:20:34 pm »
I didn't realise that England still had such crumbling wrecks in which we educate our teenagers. Toilet cubicles with no locks in 2022 WTF?
At St Ives (where I was a vol), the M+F toilets directly outside the dining hall, which offered cubicles only, had half the locks missing.
I saw the second worst toilets i have ever seen at the finish, but at least i never encountered any without locks
(worst were in the shell station at membury services)
AIUI the locks are removed/disengaged by the schools deliberately.  Some schools have gone so far as to remove doors from  cubes completely
How much can a koala bear?

CrinklyLion

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Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #26 on: 15 August, 2022, 07:24:36 pm »
Doors to toilet blocks, in some cases. Not cubicle doors.

hellymedic

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Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #27 on: 15 August, 2022, 07:31:34 pm »
I can understand why schools want to prevent bullying, drugs and self-harm in the toilet blocks but how can people with 'shy' bladders and bowels void their viscera?

CrinklyLion

  • The one with devious, cake-pushing ways....
Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #28 on: 15 August, 2022, 07:54:57 pm »
Lots of new build schools have toilet blocks designed such that there are individual 'private' cubicles and then a publically visible sink area - not unlike the arrangements in many public places (service stations, shopping centres, venues and so on - Manchester Arena is one, from memory) that I've been in. Some schools removed the external doors from pre-existing blocks to improve ventilation, due to covid, and apparently some have done so to address anti-social behaviour., although this hasn't happened in any of the schools I work in - I think that they did chock doors open in some cases for ventilation. The legal minimum provision is, from memory, one toilet per 20 pupils, across the whole school site. If these are provided as separate girls and boys facilities, a urinal can count as one toilet for the boys, although at least one third (again, from memory) of the required number should be provided as a toilet, not a urinal. Staff toilets have their own minimum requirements, and should be separate from pupil facilities with the exception of accessible facilities which may be made available to staff, visitors and pupils.

In Barney in 2013 (so at the comp, not the indie) if I remember rightly, Phil Dyson made the very pragmatic decision to designate all staff toilets as women's and all pupil toilets as men's, since he'd calculated that the ratios should work out about right that way given the gender split of participants.

I'm kicking 50 now, and when I was in secondary school remember that most people would avoid using the school toilets if at all possible, because they were all a bit grim. Some things aren't new...

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #29 on: 15 August, 2022, 08:08:06 pm »
There has been a lot of grumbling about those coffee urns on WhatsApp.  Some folks reckoned the trick was to have one dispensing coffee, one brewing MOAR coffee and one cooling off at any given time.  At which point I'd like to say a massive “Hurrah” to baristas Luca and Carmen for their marathon caffeine-pushing shift Sunday night/Monday morning.
Given that we had neither a Luca nor a Carmen, I think you may be referring to another control - and I don't think enough people were affected for there to have been a lot of grumbling, although, as a coffee addict, I do sympathise!  It looks as if Spalding had problems (a 'disaster' even!), as suggested by sizbut above, so perhaps you're referring to them?  We were certainly rotating our coffee urns around as you suggest, but they still couldn't hack the full distance.

On the toilets side, it seems to me that loads of places had problems there - we certainly had a shortage.  Orienteering clubs hire blocks of portaloos for races, and some of those at each control could well pay dividends.  (We had the additional interesting factor that the school is an ex-secondary school, hence its size, but now a primary, leading to some interesting sizing of seats, toilets and otherwise!)

Talking of Special Forces (couldn't somebody have come up with a less pretentious name? Sorry, but bugs me!), we had a team arrive on Tuesday afternoon as the surge loomed, and they did a fantastic job. Didn't bring any food with them though! ;-)

Mr Larrington

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Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #30 on: 15 August, 2022, 08:32:33 pm »
I was in Hessle, as were Luca and Carmen :)
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Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #31 on: 15 August, 2022, 08:40:40 pm »
Chevinhawk - Special Forces is a joke and I think you need all the humour you can get on an undertaking like this.  I'm wondering from your name whether or not you resent having The Chevin on your patch!  I've been up it a few times - though not a lOtley...

Mr Larrington

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Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #32 on: 15 August, 2022, 08:47:21 pm »
As a Captain in the Special Forces I can tell you that I was very disappointed not to have been issued with a machine pistol and the authority to use it on tetchy riders*.  We weren’t even tasked with raiding CTT's headquarters :(

* # encountered: 0.  We did have to tell a few off for being too cheerful though.
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Kim

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Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #33 on: 15 August, 2022, 08:55:48 pm »
I can understand why schools want to prevent bullying, drugs and self-harm in the toilet blocks but how can people with 'shy' bladders and bowels void their viscera?

If my experience of school toilets is anything to go by, by not drinking.  And at secondary school, where people had discovered smoking, that was primarily for respiratory reasons.  Bullying and the general hygiene level were almost secondary concerns.

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #34 on: 15 August, 2022, 09:23:29 pm »
Splendid theories on toilet cubical doors, but at Spalding it was as far as I could see quite simply wear and tear, abuse and overuse. Certainly not some design intent or policy. If I had to guess, from looking up whilst there, the schools building budget has been focussed on fire alarms and sprinklers (the pipes and cables for all that were all shiny and new in contrast to most everything else).

Still, most people seem to agree that hopefully we will be able to get back into Boston Spalding for the next LEL.

mmmmartin

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Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #35 on: 15 August, 2022, 09:33:24 pm »
<mutters into his beer about Conservative governments, "charity" status for bloody Eton but sod all for "ordinary people's schools">
Besides, it wouldn't be audacious if success were guaranteed.

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #36 on: 15 August, 2022, 09:44:48 pm »
Chevinhawk - Special Forces is a joke and I think you need all the humour you can get on an undertaking like this.  I'm wondering from your name whether or not you resent having the Chevin on your patch!  I've been up it a few times - though not a lOtley...
Goes to show humour is very personal!
Definitely don't resent the Chevin - love it! Feel really privileged to have those views so close to home. Don't do the diretissima (East Chevin Road) that often, but regularly approach more from other (less brutal) directions!

CrinklyLion

  • The one with devious, cake-pushing ways....
Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #37 on: 15 August, 2022, 10:23:18 pm »
Splendid theories on toilet cubical doors, but at Spalding it was as far as I could see quite simply wear and tear, abuse and overuse.

Oh gods, yes. That is far FAR more likely to be the reason - I was just addressing the suggestion that in schools anywhere in the UK the following might actually be happening.
AIUI the locks are removed/disengaged by the schools deliberately.  Some schools have gone so far as to remove doors from  cubes completely
Schools aren't deliberately removing locks from cubicle doors, or doors from cubicles. The state of a lot of the maintained schools estate is pretty woeful, but it is mostly about finance.

I didn't realise that England still had such crumbling wrecks in which we educate our teenagers.
It's pretty bad in a lot of places. There'll be a few soggy classrooms around after tonight's downpour...

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #38 on: 15 August, 2022, 10:31:46 pm »
Splendid theories on toilet cubical doors, but at Spalding it was as far as I could see quite simply wear and tear, abuse and overuse. Certainly not some design intent or policy. If I had to guess, from looking up whilst there, the schools building budget has been focussed on fire alarms and sprinklers (the pipes and cables for all that were all shiny and new in contrast to most everything else).

Still, most people seem to agree that hopefully we will be able to get back into Boston for the next LEL.

Spalding wasn’t a control this year, presume you are referring to the control 5 years ago?

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #39 on: 15 August, 2022, 11:46:43 pm »
Splendid theories on toilet cubical doors, but at Spalding it was as far as I could see quite simply wear and tear, abuse and overuse. Certainly not some design intent or policy. If I had to guess, from looking up whilst there, the schools building budget has been focussed on fire alarms and sprinklers (the pipes and cables for all that were all shiny and new in contrast to most everything else).

Still, most people seem to agree that hopefully we will be able to get back into Boston for the next LEL.

Spalding wasn’t a control this year, presume you are referring to the control 5 years ago?

Strange, I must have been at another cycle event for the whole week then. 😏
Spalding Boston was a control this year. It replaced the intended control in Boston  Spalding which became unavailable at very short notice.

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #40 on: 16 August, 2022, 03:41:47 am »
Splendid theories on toilet cubical doors, but at Spalding it was as far as I could see quite simply wear and tear, abuse and overuse. Certainly not some design intent or policy. If I had to guess, from looking up whilst there, the schools building budget has been focussed on fire alarms and sprinklers (the pipes and cables for all that were all shiny and new in contrast to most everything else).

Still, most people seem to agree that hopefully we will be able to get back into Boston for the next LEL.

Spalding wasn’t a control this year, presume you are referring to the control 5 years ago?

Strange, I must have been at another cycle event for the whole week then. 😏
Spalding was a control this year. It replaced the intended control in Boston which became unavailable at very short notice.

I guess it’s not just the riders that get confused as to where they are!

I controlled at Boston. Lots of riders bought ice cream at Spalding, but no control there this year (2022). It was switched late in the day to Boston after, IIRC, the Spalding school changed its mind.

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #41 on: 16 August, 2022, 04:51:33 am »
Splendid theories on toilet cubical doors, but at Spalding it was as far as I could see quite simply wear and tear, abuse and overuse. Certainly not some design intent or policy. If I had to guess, from looking up whilst there, the schools building budget has been focussed on fire alarms and sprinklers (the pipes and cables for all that were all shiny and new in contrast to most everything else).

Still, most people seem to agree that hopefully we will be able to get back into Boston for the next LEL.

Spalding wasn’t a control this year, presume you are referring to the control 5 years ago?

Strange, I must have been at another cycle event for the whole week then. 😏
Spalding was a control this year. It replaced the intended control in Boston which became unavailable at very short notice.

Wrong way round

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #42 on: 16 August, 2022, 07:26:49 am »
I've just checked my train tickets and photos. I was definitely in Boston this time last week

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IanDG

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Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #43 on: 16 August, 2022, 07:32:06 am »
I know I got confused at times but I do remember where I was. I was definitely at Brampton . My brain fog doesn't seem so bad now.  ;D

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #44 on: 16 August, 2022, 07:50:32 am »
Indeed, my sleep is still catching up, and I didn't ride, we were in Boston because Spalding wasn't available. More sleep required.

Re: A volunteer's view
« Reply #45 on: 16 August, 2022, 07:52:38 am »
I forgot what day it was, whether I should be serving brekky or dinner (I’d know what I’d want as a rider if I’d had a late afternoon sleep), and I even forgot it was my son’s birthday when we were clearing up the control.
Bikes are for riding, not cleaning!