The more we know the more we are disappointed

[cailin maith]

Me three. I was about to book a hotel in London t'other day but the massive number of bad reviews put me off. One was titled "Don't stay here. One word: Cockroach"

That's the one word guaranteed to put the fear of God in me... horrible creatures <shudder>

[Moscow Mule]

Despite what you might think, having a minor criminal conviction doesn't completely screw your life up.

Mrs MM occasionally lectures at a teacher training college. In discussions with others at the college, she found out that over half of the kids on the course had some sort of anti-social behaviour conviction (which you can get for upsetting somebody in the street these days) which won't prevent them from working as teachers. The LEAs also maintain a thing called "List 99" which precludes you from working with kids.

As I understand it, signing the Sex Offenders register does not automatically get you on List 99. I might be wrong about that though...

[Moscow Mule]

That's the one word guaranteed to put the fear of God in me... horrible creatures <shudder>

Don't go to Mexico.

You need a can of raid & a zippo to get rid of the beasts they have out there.

[MaryPoppins]

Do you really want a gig with a ClientCo who considers you a perm? I know beggars can't be choosers in this climate, so tell them any old waffle they think they need to know, I suppose.

I have been asked this type of "what do you want to be doing in 5 years" question a couple of times, I felt at the time it was to gauge how I viewed going permy with them. I always answered with "contracting".

[expat]

Don't go to Mexico.

You need a can of raid & a zippo to get rid of the beasts they have out there.

Nah, in Mexico once I just beat them with the broken leg off the bed, and the ants carried them off for me.

In Central Africa, though, I slept in a police station where I faced them eyeball to eyeball, 4-inch antenna (the cockroaches, I mean), and had to spray them with a can of insecticide bearing the name of a major oil company. I don't know what refining by-products were in it, but it annihilated the roaches.

[Gibbon]

I regularly travel to Rome and like to use teh same hotel so I use Tripadvisor to keep it down teh ratings and prevent it been booked up for when I want to go

[cailin maith]

Don't go to Mexico.

You need a can of raid & a zippo to get rid of the beasts they have out there.

I've been to Mexico, thankfully no cockroaches in the Hotel (that I saw anyway!!)

[Mich the Tester]

I ate in a restaurant in Delhi and saw rats running about under the tables. I was a little concerned, but the gentleman at the next table attempted to reassure me by saying ‘no need to worry; if the rats are dead you should worry’.

[cailin maith]

I ate in a restaurant in Delhi and saw rats running about under the tables. I was a little concerned, but the gentleman at the next table attempted to reassure me by saying ‘no need to worry; if the rats are dead you should worry’.

[Paddy]

But sex convictions for teenage dalliances? OK, maybe British judges are sensible about this and don't want to convict a 16 year olod for shagging their 15 year old partner, but many foreign courts, especially in the US, see this differently. I once took a look at one of those American 'sex offender' sites and there were people who had had it off with their partner when one party was a couple of days too young and they were just old enough; those people's lives are f**ked for doing something which a hell of a lot of people have done and would be viewed as harmless by most of us, if we're being honest about ourselves. You'd think you can't put randy teenagers in the same category as those priests who fiddled with kids, but it's happening.

Friend’s son was 16yo when he made friends with a 15yo daughter of a family from hell who were always in trouble. The couple were discovered heavy petting by family from hell who went to the police. The CPS prosecuted for “Attempted Rape” (Rape only because the girl was under 16). When the case came to court the girl was 16 and he was 17. He was advised to plead guilty in order not to put through both the girl and himself through cross-examination. He got a six month suspended sentence that on appeal by the CPS led to a six month custodial sentence and an entry on the sex register.


This case makes a mockery of the law and a mockery over real rape cases.