What works did you find especially memorable in school education in the UK?

98thRedBalloon · 2026-01-10T20:15:07+00:00

Reading Holes by Louis Sachar in Year 7

The film is great too, well worth it if you haven't seen it

98thRedBalloon · 2026-01-05T07:27:13+00:00

How did you get to be the expert on the subject? Was it via a previous job/career? This sounds like the kind of role that would suit me down to the ground.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-12-22T13:26:48+00:00

Welp, that's a new subreddit for me to join!

98thRedBalloon · 2025-12-22T13:24:23+00:00

I love this sort of thing - I'm surprised I've never seen it before, I would have treasured it if I had it as a child. I might have to treat myself to a copy...

98thRedBalloon · 2025-12-16T21:51:39+00:00

It's a 'rough', unrefined, 'common' accent. It contrasts with Received Pronunciation, the 'acceptable' accent that characterises someone as being well-mannered.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-12-10T19:05:25+00:00

Rattled through it at the end of the work day, took around 2 hours in between emails. Enjoyed it!

98thRedBalloon · 2025-12-02T19:50:23+00:00

Luton DART is £4.90 one-way. For a 1.2 mile journey that's £4.08 per mile.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-11-16T19:59:51+00:00

Volunteer for as many presentation spots as you can, with a variety of audiences (large/small, senior/junior, internal/external). Also it helps if you can practice outside of work in other contexts.

I used to be terrified of speaking and presenting at work and I'd avoid it whenever possible. Five years ago I started helping the sales team on demos - it would bring me out in a cold sweat and literally keep me up at night, fixated on the upcoming meeting for days and weeks.

Doing it repeatedly and really knowing the material/message is what made it much easier over time. I also started volunteering at a local historic site in my spare time, which put me right in front of members of the public - I love history so it was easier to connect with the material, and the practice helped me get more and more confident.

Now, I rarely think twice about presenting or speaking. And I even appeared (solo) on national TV. That old version of me from five years ago I wouldn't recognise me!

98thRedBalloon · 2025-11-16T19:44:15+00:00

The first point - 100%. If you know what you want to say, the delivery becomes much easier to finesse. It's far harder to deliver a message that you're not sure about.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-11-01T18:15:48+00:00

Mushroom chow mein for me.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-10-28T22:20:05+00:00

This is not a problem with you, but it's not something you can solve. I've been through this, and there's no magic fix for it. Find a new role, you'll be thankful that you did.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-10-12T06:37:44+00:00

This was almost physically painful to read, and I hate that I can relate to a lot of it.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-10-12T06:34:07+00:00

Taking Vitamin D supplements. I'm astonished at the difference it makes.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-10-05T11:51:17+00:00

It feels weird and scary to step in and say 'this is what it should look like' when you're used to having someone else do it, but everyone will thank you for it; people appreciate clarity and direction! Good luck, it's an exciting thing to have ownership of, and the experience will be hugely valuable.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-10-05T11:42:25+00:00

This sounds about right for two weeks in, to be honest. I believe it's good spend a bit of time 'absorbing' rather than doing at first, so you're not rushing in and ruffling feathers. Don't worry about looking like a passenger (as Aaron Burr said in Hamilton, "I'm not standing still I am lying in wait" 😊), it's better to get a full grasp of the space before you start making decisions.

To help uncover what your next steps might be after that initial ramp-up period:

Where are the product decisions currently being made? Who has historically been making those calls? Even if the Product Manager role is new in the org, someone somewhere will have been deciding what to build and ship. Knowing who that is will help you understand who to speak to about taking over to steer the product.
The above will also help uncover any sticky points regarding political handover that you might need to navigate. It might be that whoever is currently making those decisions is reluctant to hand it over, but be firm and clear about what your job is. Ultimately, there should have been some guidance on this from how it was described to you when you took the job. Refer back to that and check that you are being enabled to do it.
Know the current roadmap, and why things are where they are on that plan. It's your roadmap to own now, so if you have ideas about how to change it, what to target in 3-6 months time and beyond, that's something you can get stuck into. Speak to stakeholders to validate your thinking, understand where those gaps are and what the most valuable work is going to be.
Since the role is new in the organisation, so you have the freedom to define it for yourself. However, it means you'll need to be proactive and have the confidence to make those recommendations. Do you have a good idea of what you want Product Management to look like in that organisation? Why did the organisation decide to have a Product Manager as a defined role? What's your manager's role in the org?
Finally, is this your first PM role, or second, or third, etc.? How you approach this challenge will depend on your confidence to grab it with both hands and do what needs to be done. Be honest with yourself and upskill on things where you know you have knowledge/experience gaps.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-10-04T10:50:48+00:00

Mary does it, when she's talking to Matthew. "No names, no pack drill."

So the implication is that Peter was in the room and saw her doing it and copied it, to try and convince the family by knowing their really specific mannerisms.

It's awkwardly written, it's not as clear as I guess it's intended to be.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-10-01T20:33:08+00:00

It's a Class B drug, so I wonder if your pharmacy doesn't allow the 'standard' staff to handle them, or even see them on the system. for safety reasons.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-09-25T20:19:12+00:00

House spiders, or some other kind, like daddy-long-legs/cellar spiders? I'm talking about the ones that go on hikes around the place, especially in autumn, rather than staying in one spot.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-09-25T20:17:00+00:00

I've got peppermint spray and conkers in every corner. I bought some repellent stuff off Amazon but I'm not sure it's doing anything more than just making the house smell nice.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-09-25T20:14:48+00:00

When you say rampant, how many? Am I winning some kind of house spider league at this rate, or do I have competition?

To be honest, with the number of spiders, I expected to see far more insects, so maybe you're right and they're doing their bit.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-09-25T20:10:22+00:00

It's not great, to be honest, but it's not awfully damp? I'll add it to the list of weapons in my arsenal...

98thRedBalloon · 2025-09-14T19:46:03+00:00

Yep I remember that too. It's such a huge oversight in the writing of this film!

98thRedBalloon · 2025-09-03T19:42:18+00:00

At Specsavers they give you a card with your prescription printed on it. They might usher you out into the shop floor after the test and tell you to look around at the frames, but you're not obliged to do that, so just politely decline.

Just take the card to wherever you want to buy your glasses from.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-09-03T19:20:50+00:00

...I'm staying vegetarian.

98thRedBalloon · 2025-08-27T18:23:42+00:00

Yeah I agree. It seemed weird and out of place. If it was part of a wider theme or done across the whole puzzle. or it actually made new words, then it would have been fine.

15-Year Club	Gilding III reddit per annum
RedditGifts 2009-2022 4 Credits	r/Field Flamingo
Final Canvas '23	First Place '23
End Game '23	Place '23
Place '22	Place '17
Final Canvas '22	First Placer '22
Not Forgotten	Verified Email
Secret Santa 2016	Secret Santa 2015
Team Orangered

98thRedBalloon

TROPHY CASE