The musings of a juggling mother

Rants & raves about life as a woman today, juggling work, home, kids, family, life the universe & everything.

© Mrs Aginoth. The right of Mrs Aginoth to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Bloody jobsworth!

It's Mothers day here in the UK today. Happy Mothers day to me:-0

As guessed, no flowers appeared at the front door:-( Although all the kids had made me cards - the girls when I was there, but Mstr A's at school - and he was desperate to make it a great surprise for me:-) I was (of course) suitably surprised.

We decided to take the kids down to sedgemoor splash - our nearest proper fun pool, with flumes, rapids & wave machine. this was a treat for mothers day & for Aggie getting out of hospital (he can't swim when he's covered in Psoriasis - and the kids really miss him being in the pool with them).

So we all packed into the car, and drove down the motorway in the pouring rain, paid for a couple of hours parking, and went into the reception area. Where we were told we couldn't swim as we exceeded the adult/child ratio.

No problem. I've faced this before (actually I face it alot). I asked to see the manager, and I explained that I am a qualified swimming teacher, lifeguard, lifeguard tutor, and pool manager. I requested that he uses his discretion "as laid down in the professional association guidelines" to be flexible.

NO, we can't go in

I explained that I am a memeber of said professional association, and I know for a fact that the guidelines DO NOT say the ratio should be 1:1 in pools such as this.

NO, we can't go in

I explain that this has been brought up in parliament and explicitly condemned by MP's, The DCMS, The Sports Minister, The HSE, and the Prime Minister.

NO, we can't go in

I point out that it is discriminatory to insist each child is accompanied by a parent, and that is against the law.

NO, we can't go in

I ask if I should send Mstr A outside to ask the next single adult to accompany him into the pool. The Duty Manager agrees that would be acceptable under his rules.

Aggie refuses to allow Mstr A to do this:-)

I request that we phone the Manager of the pool, to get clarification of the rules.

He refuses

I offer to sign a waiver accepting full responsibility for any incident that may happen

No, we may not go in

I ask if there are ANY circumstances where he would consider being flexible with the ratio guidelines.

he says no, there are NO circumstances he would ever adapt the guidelines.

I point out that I will be contacting the media, the manager, and his MP. He doesn't care.

I ask him to put in writing that he has taken this decision, personally, understanding all the facts explained above. He does so. We go home.

I have now written my letter & copied it in to two TV station, two radio stations, two newspapers, two MP's, the relevant professional associations, the Manager of the pool & the Chief Executive of the council. As soon as they get back from the commonwealth games, I am considering getting in touch with some old friends and pulling some high powered strings.

I have taken my kids to swimming pools across england, Wales, scotland and Northern ireland, and have NEVER been refused entry before. Not after a friendly chat with the manager:-) I understand the need for guidance but it is just that! NOT hard and fast rules. In fact, the professional association has released numerous statements and updates stating it MUST NOT be a blanket ban. The HSE has said it "deplores" the use of draconian measures such as this, and the guidelines DON'T EVEN SAY THAT in the first place!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

bloody Jobsworth

And a total idiot. I know what he gets paid (cos i didn't apply for his job on the basis that it wasn't enough). It definitely is not enough to take that kind of flak from a customer. Nor is it enough to accept that kind of responsibility. He is going to be in a lot of poo tomorrow when his manager asks why he didn't refer it up to them before the media became involved!

14 Comments:

  • At Sunday, March 26, 2006 9:58:00 pm, Blogger CyberKitten said…

    Mrs A.... Remind me never, ever, ever, EVER to piss you off..... [gulp]

     
  • At Sunday, March 26, 2006 10:14:00 pm, Blogger craziequeen said…

    What a woman :-DD

    cq

     
  • At Sunday, March 26, 2006 11:48:00 pm, Blogger mig bardsley said…

    I've never ever been refused entry to a swimming pool even as a single adult with 3 children in tow! What a weird situation.
    Er have they had a lot of drownings recently?

     
  • At Monday, March 27, 2006 7:08:00 am, Blogger me said…

    Sorry you didn't get to go swimming cause of the idiot at the pool thinking he was more powerful than he was/is.

    I didn't get any flowers (or even a card) yesterday for either mothers day or my birthday.(from dp or kids - kids are a bit little though) :-(

    I was annoyed yesterday too - another jobsworth, this time in boots the chemist. Actually it must of been on Saturday - my mum bought me a set of hair straightners for my virthday and whn I opened them yesterday morning it was plainly obviously that they were not new straightners - the branding was all rubbed off and the ceramic plates were wrecked. There was no way that anyone would put that anywhere near their hair. She is taking them back today but I can see them saying that we just swopped them for our old pair or something. We reckon that maybe a sales assitant has done exactly that - they have access to refix a security tag to the things after all.
    I didn't even have a birthday cake yesterday either. :-( was pretty disappointent - felt like everyone had forgotten about me, both birthday and mothers day wise.

    Oh well, enought feeling sorry for myself huh? LOL

    Look forward to seeing/reading about this in the media. :-)

     
  • At Monday, March 27, 2006 7:10:00 am, Blogger me said…

    excuse the awful spelling/typing in my post - I guess I need my cuppa before I visit my blogs in the morning......

     
  • At Monday, March 27, 2006 7:37:00 am, Blogger Paste said…

    H & S! Flippin 'eck! LOL

     
  • At Monday, March 27, 2006 6:59:00 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Ha!

    Mrs. A, I absolutely love you! *big smile* Intelligent, clever, kick-ass women rock!

    Guidlines are set up for the benefit of all; to maintain safety and/or the betterment of all involved. They provide guidance in deeming what's appropriate. They are NOT set in stone, unflexible rules.

    Jeesh. I had a similar problem with my son's school.

    Way to go, Mrs. A ... I'm right proud of you. :)

    Oh, and "Happy Mother's Day!"

     
  • At Monday, March 27, 2006 7:06:00 pm, Blogger Aginoth said…

    You got no flowers because you told me not to waste money on them...I can't win...

     
  • At Monday, March 27, 2006 9:08:00 pm, Blogger Juggling Mother said…

    Hon, that was 15 years ago!

     
  • At Monday, March 27, 2006 9:16:00 pm, Blogger Aginoth said…

    Actually I seem to recall I asked you on saturday...

     
  • At Monday, March 27, 2006 10:24:00 pm, Blogger Juggling Mother said…

    Yeah, while I bought some for your mother, you asked if I wanted to et some for myself too.

    Nit quite how its supposed to work!

     
  • At Tuesday, March 28, 2006 12:57:00 am, Blogger JR said…

    I can't believe that dummy put it in writing. I know lawsuits aren't as easily had over there as they are in the U.S., but NOBODY here will put anything in writing! LOL

     
  • At Tuesday, March 28, 2006 7:42:00 am, Blogger Juggling Mother said…

    VV - yeah, I was kind of surprised too. I threw that request in as a last resort to try and make him consult with a higher (more sensible) authority! I was amazed he agreed to write it.

    I wouldn't have put may signature on anything like that when I was his bosses boss! Pieces of paper like that come from the very top of an organisation IMO.

    Idiot!

     
  • At Tuesday, March 28, 2006 10:50:00 am, Blogger Kitty said…

    What a bloody idiot (him not you obviously) Sorry you had your day out ruined by such a pathetic small minded little power mad nitwit.

    Could be interesting if Wookiee and I ever agree to have another one since he won't go swimming. Not that he can't it's just something about being able to walk most of the length of the pool *lol*

     

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