When I was at school there were not many options for the youngster who was just paddling along.  The brightest pupils were encouraged towards passing the 11+, the rest of us did our best!  It didn’t worry me at the time.  I was already lined up for a job after…

I have been friends with a chum for quit a few years now and although we don’t catch up with each other very often, maybe three or four times a year, we cover much ground when we do.  Lots of chat about what our families have been up to since…

When you have  youngsters in the house, especially a close mix of ages, the mid teens can bring a whole new range of challenges and problems.  They have their emotional side to deal with, all that anxiety over school exams for what seems like years of their life.  They are…

Whilst I was looking up the website of a local country house, my eye lit upon Vacancies.  After a small number of catering and seasonal posts listed for this year’s summer openings, there were a couple of more serious, meaty roles.   I was particularly interested in the Event Leader and…

When I was meeting a relative in London recently, having not seen each other for years, we decided to meet under the clock at Waterloo station.  I was amazed to find any trains were running – bearing in mind it was Easter Sunday and the much publicised train union strike…

Not that many years ago, I was interested in taking up an adult teaching career – having spent many a happy evening at college with other like minded adults, brushing up on what was the new fixation – getting myself an ms driving licence – basically as it turned out,…

When you at school thinking at future careers, you often overlook something because of lack of knowledge.  For my generation the choices that flooded the mind when asked “what are you going to be when you grow up” generally wavered between typist, secretary, nurse, nanny.  I would never have thought…

With the job market always under tremendous pressure, it is critical to prospective employers to know that any candidate is who they say they are, have appropriate qualifications if stipulated, and have not cheated in their exams, at any time.   There have been many many stories in the popular…

This is such a very busy time of year for job hunters.  Employment before Christmas and New Year holds key to  success and confidence.  Obviously it is much more difficult to buy anything without sufficient funds and no one wants to let down family and friends – so the frantic…

There are lots of families in my immediate area – most of the children go to the clutch of state schools within a mix of catchment areas.  There are also some fine independent schools dotted around, apparently affordable so not in the same league as the Eton, Harrows, Marlborough Colleges,…