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They replied with a template email copy and pasted from the FCO site, irrelevant to my particular case, obviously not having bothered to read my short email properly.


Do you not find as an expat in the last 15 years, the embassies and their services have generally turned to shit to the point now it's nearly worthless speaking to them?

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Just now, johnnydun said:

Yes, just their jobs. Going into burning buildings is exactly what they signed up for. They too, do a good job.

Yes, we all agree that the firefighters in NYC that day were doing their jobs. Following 11/9 though, the public lined the streets and applauded firefighters. Those firefighters would have been doing their jobs all their lives and never been applauded - until that fateful day.

Is it too much to accept that yes, while just doing their job, it was the exceptional circumstances that generated the public show of appreciation? Just like this coronavirus malarky. Soon enough, NHS workers will still be doing their jobs, but the circumstances won’t see the applause moment or the extra praise being given to them.

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4 minutes ago, johnnydun said:

I was saving folks lives by doing my job correctly, if I didn't we could of had another Piper Alpha. The offshore industry is a battle ground of political ideology.

Good luck to your wife and I hope she stays safe.

 So you were doing a fine job in what would be in normal circumstance  the job which by your your assessment you signed up for.  The staff at the really sharp end of the NHS are being asked to staff and provide emergency care to an almost exponentially increasing clinical load of patients many of whom will die while putting themselves and their families  at absolutely direct risk of the same disease.  I'm struggling to see why anyone  would feel a round of applause for that group of people would be somehow inappropriate or undeserved.. 

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44 minutes ago, johnnydun said:

Looking at it from a different perspective, I worked offshore for years, risking my life every time I got on a helicopter spending weeks on end away from family to provide gas to heat homes, another necessity. Do they deserve a round of applause? No of course not, because it's what they signed up for.

 

Let's be honest here, you'd have got about 100k for working half a year 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. Your typical NHS worker won't get anywhere near that.

Edited by red23
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8 minutes ago, johnnydun said:

I was saving folks lives by doing my job correctly, if I didn't we could of had another Piper Alpha. The offshore industry is a battle ground of political ideology.

Good luck to your wife and I hope she stays safe.

As I said I had no intention of being a dick. On ideology, the battleground I refer to I is the difference between a nationalised industry vs a private one, the hawks that would wish privatisation of the NHS and whether that has had a material impact on where we are right now - obviously that particular horse bolted in your industry many moons ago, for better or worse. 

I’ve no doubt  your professionalism in ensuring Piper Alpha doesn’t happen again is without reproach but I suppose the analogy I am trying to make  is that there are lots of terrible problems already set loose which must be managed and contained by those in the front line, rather than prevented in the first instance. Prevention is not an option, and was never an option from the moment patient A became infected.

Thanks for your wishes and I hope you and yours are safe too.

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3 minutes ago, red23 said:

Let's be honest here, you'd have got about 100k for working half a year 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. Your typical NHS worker won't get anywhere near that.

100k a year? Do me a favour! 

They knew the salary when they signed up, that's not my fault.

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13 minutes ago, johnnydun said:

I was saving folks lives by doing my job correctly, if I didn't we could of had another Piper Alpha. The offshore industry is a battle ground of political ideology.

Good luck to your wife and I hope she stays safe.

What was your job offshore?

With the permit and isolation systems they have in the north sea it would be very difficult to cause a major incident. Unless doing so purposely

Even if your the oim it's not like you can just open valves willy nilly.

I also work offshore yet I don't feel like I deserve a round of applause.

But the doctors and nurses do.

We get paid more for going on the helicopters. More than we would on the beach for the same job. So that's exactly what we signed up for.

The doctors and nurses are going above and beyond in terms off effort and stress.

Also the supermarket workers and others deserve recognised also.

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36 minutes ago, johnnydun said:

100k a year? Do me a favour! 

They knew the salary when they signed up, that's not my fault.

I don't think people join the NHS for money unlike offshore. These are people who do it because it's a career and something they want to do knowing full well they will never be well paid.

I can't even begin to imagine how frustrating it must be working for the NHS. Can only imagine the middle management swanning around pissing money up the wall while you try do your best with little resources and ridiculous politics, the same way every institution is  - it would be like having a window in to the way the SFA or local council is run.

Would you applaud the rescue workers for Piper Alpha? some of those who died trying to rescue people or were they just doing what they signed up for?

Edited by red23
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Italy absolutely ruthless in front of goal in an unstoppable performance! China, as expected have clearly burnt out and gradually slipping down the table as the top of the table starts to resemble the FIFA co-effcients that could be great news for Scotland!

The UK keep trying to drive forward and captain of the team reacted to the fans applause but getting himself on the score sheet. Can Boris go in for the kill?

The rotten veg cure for India seems to be stalling their attempted rise, but Turkey are quietly going about their business and could put in a challenge for the top 10.

At this stage we can only guess the US could be as deadly as Italy in front of goal, but we have yet to see if they have they have the underlying constitution to be as lethal.

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30 minutes ago, johnnydun said:

I was saving folks lives by doing my job correctly, if I didn't we could of had another Piper Alpha. The offshore industry is a battle ground of political ideology.

Good luck to your wife and I hope she stays safe.


Are you still dancin' wi' Ginger Rogers?

 

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10 minutes ago, johnnydun said:

They knew the salary when they signed up, that's not my fault.

Teachers, especially new teachers, are my main gripe with this, my sister being a perfect example.

Decide to be a teacher > uni for 4 years > 1 year probation > complain about pay.

I hope NHS frontline staff get some bonus at the end of this. Whether that is in the form of a pay rise / cash bonus / additional personal allowance I don't know, but it would be of more use than a clap.

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Says a lot about the structure of this country when the PM and his key cabinet members, and of course the future King of England, can be tested for Covid-19, while NHS staff in hospitals are told to self isolate if they, or anyone in their household are showing symptoms.

Surely they are equally important in the grand scheme of things? 

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5 minutes ago, ICTJohnboy said:

Says a lot about the structure of this country when the PM and his key cabinet members, and of course the future King of England, can be tested for Covid-19, while NHS staff in hospitals are told to self isolate if they, or anyone in their household are showing symptoms.

Surely they are equally important in the grand scheme of things? 

For all I think he’s an absolute clown I can see how you can justify the PM being a key figure in the coordinated approach to tackling the crisis.

f**k knows what the excuse for the unelected heir to an unelected figurehead is though. 

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18 minutes ago, Dee Man said:

Here's a letter from your future. 

Basically, if you don't die, you're going to become a fat b*****d:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/27/a-letter-to-the-uk-from-italy-this-is-what-we-know-about-your-future

The joke's on the coronavirus - I'm already a fat b*****d

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31 minutes ago, BingMcCrosby said:

What was your job offshore?

With the permit and isolation systems they have in the north sea it would be very difficult to cause a major incident. Unless doing so purposely

Even if your the oim it's not like you can just open valves willy nilly.

I also work offshore yet I don't feel like I deserve a round of applause.

But the doctors and nurses do.

We get paid more for going on the helicopters. More than we would on the beach for the same job. So that's exactly what we signed up for.

The doctors and nurses are going above and beyond in terms off effort and stress.

Also the supermarket workers and others deserve recognised also.

I was 19 years offshore, working mainly in Valves then on to Pumps.

It would be quite easy to cause a major incident if I didn't rebuild a pilot or relief vavle correctly, it is also quite easy to operate a valve willy nilly, if you felt the urge to of course. I did have one error about 15 years ago that shut down the whole Brent field, but that's a story for another day.

I think the NHS staff are grossly underpaid for what they do, this needs to be recognised more than a clap imo. I am not dissing the NHS staff for what they do at all.

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