Tuesday 1 March 2011

Pan caked

What the Headteacher says about me, right, is that I sit there not saying anything, and then at the end I wham in with the sharp observation or question that shows I was taking it in all the time.  This is only part of the truth, of course, and a lot less than half.  Mostly it's that other people are speaking and I don't always get a chance, the other is that the less you say, the more what you do stands out.  Given half a chance, I waffle on with the rest.

As I said a while ago, the governors okayed looking into the school becoming an academy.  This will go back to them - us - later this month for a decision on whether to apply.  Our business manager spent half term researching and working on figures, and we had a meeting (Head, Deputy, Business Manager and me) this afternoon to discuss the latest.  After going through things, I said "so, what'd be good about staying as we are?"

Apparently, that focussed our minds and put it in a nutshell.  Who knew?  I just thought I was playing Devil's Advocate.  Good book, that.  Haven't read it for years.  But I digress.

Then there was another meeting, with heads and chairs of other schools and our head asked me to explain what the governors were doing, and of course someone then asked what were the advantages.  Ever heard me being eloquent, darlings?  I know, a retiring little blossom I am, a very primrose of modesty, so it's a rarity.  These are meetings where, because I know least, I say least.  Not for some minutes there this evening, however.

Although, as I concluded, I do have an open mind still.  The evidence points one way, and my personal inclination points the same way, but I'm clear about my reasons for both, and the balance could tip, if more evidence comes in.  Anyway, it's up to the governors, not me.

I finally rolled home at 7 o'clock this evening.  So I thought that the Sage deserved pancakes.

16 comments:

Eddie 2-Sox said...

You're early for Pancake Day. Christians tried to hijack it for their own ends, can you believe it!

Z said...

What's wrong with pancakes every day?

Christians are sneaky types and always want the best for themselves.

Eddie 2-Sox said...

Some christians are a lot more fun than others, dear Z.


You are well versed in the Art Of War by the sound of it - let the other lot bluster and think they're better than you, then hit them with an irresistible sucker punch that proves they're not. I like your style.

Roses said...

You rock!

I like your ninja approach to meetings. All sweetness and light and then suddenly you're tip toeing throught the corpses of the arguments.

Glad you enjoyed pancakes last night. Sounds like a successful end to the day.

Christopher said...

Ah. I thought everything had been prepared, weighed and balanced, tossed up in the air to see which way things were turning, landed sunny side up, taken on board and subsequently digested.

Clearly there's more to come.

How do we know said...

Wow... thats a fun approach to attending meetings.

You know something really funny? I get the same feedback too.. all the way from college days.. that i sit thru 2 hours without saying a word, and just when its a call for "Any last qustions?" I come up with a toppler.

But my reason is that , i truly think that .. my questions are so basic, and being shy as one is, i always think that someone else will think of this and ask.. so I wait till the end, and whn no one else asks those questions.. i do.. then they blame me for turning everything over its head.

The sage was lucky abt the pancakes.

Z said...

I wasn't actually meaning that I suddenly wham in and destroy all the arguments - I'm more constructive than that. But I do come up with a different angle sometimes - and I'm quite good at seeing connections, which is the useful thing about being a dabbler. Knowing a little about a lot means that you can sometimes make links that aren't obvious.

I rarely plan ahead what I'm going to say, however. Sometimes, someone will tell me I made a good point and I've already forgotten what I said.

HDWK, we've got someone on the Finance committee who always asks the simple, basic questions. I've been observing this for a while, and I've concluded that he knows exactly what's going on all the time. The simplest questions are the most searching.

Chris, I made pancakes, not waffles, darling.
We're still consulting and fact-finding - it's a pretty big undertaking, though only a few of us will, in practice, notice much difference. I very much want to go ahead, but the decision has to be taken objectively, so I'm keeping my feelings out of it. Unless asked

Dave said...

I only allow myself pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. Otherwise I would be even stouter than I am now.

Z said...

Pancakes aren't that fattening, Dave, much less so than cake, for instance.

Dave said...

It depends what you have with them.

Z said...

What do you have with them, then?

Dave said...

I have salt on them initially, to eat as a savoury starter. After that, well it depends what I've got in the house. Maple syrup and cream is quite tasty.

Unknown said...

I'm a traditionalist. The very best thing with pancakes, for me, is muscavado sugar and lemon.

Dave said...

I've just read that a pancake with no additions makes up 6% of a woman's daily calorie intake. A mere 17 of them then - or two with decent fillings - and you wouldn't need to eat anything else all day.

Z said...

I like the taste of pancakes, so have the least possible addition; a good squeeze of lemon juice and a bare sprinkling of white sugar. When the family lived here, they were offered quartered oranges and lemons, sugar and golden syrup. I have cooked Crèpes Suzette, but they were a bit rich and I didn't think the extras were an improvement, nor would cream be, for me.

I ate two, the Sage ate five.

Anonymous said...

I learned to do things systematically. Sometimes when I sat in a kind of meeting I was astounded how things were handled, and how airy some things were handeled. Asking simple questions is good to bring things back to earth. And sometimes a bit of simple maths is good too - I am terrible at mathematics, so it must be really simple, but even I can ad costs. If they are not hidden.