Machiavelli

The slightly sullen tone that has emerged with my morning class seems to be bearing unexpected fruit. They are all working. No strange diversions from Old Gomez, (aka The Grand Old Duke of York, and Don Quixote). M. this morning brought up the fact that the SoW is looking very behind, and I said that it would be, because of all the time wasted. Reality may have dawned, but it’s probably a couple of weeks too late.

T3 rarely gets annoyed, but PTI’s interruption of her class this morning to ask who was absent has narked her – and her morning class, (who I teach writing to in the afternoons). He came into my class, but that was during a lull, so I couldn’t protest. This afternoon he took one of my students (one of the Brokeback Mountain duo) out to, apparently, give him a dressing down about attendance. And I heard him doing likewise with Young Gomez in the corridor. So someone has told this Good Soldier to get tough with these slackers, and he is following orders with his customary zeal. I fear the worst.

More annoyances with the furniture for the second bedroom. PTI , having also taken on responsibility for the doings at the bungalows, spoke to Mr Fix It, and said that I could get furniture like that being supplied for the still empty bungalows. Which sounded reasonable, but PTI came into my classroom and told me that it will cost the equivalent of £600. Yeah, right. I’m not saying anyone’s skimming off the top, or anything. But that sounds rather steep for what is frankly bog standard stuff. I won’t pay that for it, anyhow.

I spoke to LM about it, who asked me to email him, “seeking clarification”, putting it on record, in other words. Also, this will cover his arse if it should blow up into something bigger – in other words if I flounce out. Which I’m not going to do, but he’s a bit paranoid after getting the blame for TOHH’s departure; (he was also, technically, KST’s line manager, and his return is in doubt, so he’s had a fair casualty rate). As much as I like LM, and admire him as a fellow educationalist and teaching-manager, I do wonder if he’s perhaps his own worst enemy in dealing with arseholes like HD. Maybe he’s just too much of a nice bloke?

For example, we were talking this afternoon about PTI, and the way he’s throwing his weight about over the students’ punctuality in blithe indifference to their collective sensitivities not to say self importance. LM was fretting about this, and wondering what he should do. I usually keep my counsel outside of this blog, but suggested he should do nothing. PTI’s a prick, and it’s great fun watching him drive at top speed into the massive wall of a nasty cultural crash.

But I suppose if you compare LM’s attitude with mine, he comes out of things rather better in moral terms. There’s food for thought. I read Machiavelli years ago, and LM says he intends to read him. Which might explain it.

I’ll be 48 tomorrow. That’s the third birthday I’ve had in this country on my ownsome.