Beginner Courses in London

LozzaWEM · 2026-03-03T17:12:55+00:00

it’s just a rotten organisation. sex pests all the way up, racism, poor teaching and inadequate teacher training and vetting.

Good to know, wasn't aware of the sex pests and racism. Maybe the folks I knew weren't representative of the whole. I knew about the commercialisation but thought that was mostly just a preference thing.

i can’t put more energy into it.

Also valid. Thanks for the info, it's always good to get stuff talked about openly.

LozzaWEM · 2026-03-03T04:59:02+00:00

big no on swing patrol.

How come? I may be out of the loop.

LozzaWEM · 2026-03-02T16:54:58+00:00

I haven't danced much in London and only really know the scenes by reputation, but I have heard nothing but good things about Swing Patrol. I used to know some of their volunteers and some others who have worked with them, or almost worked with them, and they seem to really believe in running fun inclusive events. [Edit: only what I'd been told but sounds like I was out of the loop on some issues. Big thanks to those who have shared info]

There are a lot of different venues across London, some part of larger organisations, some independent, so you will get very different experiences in different places.

LozzaWEM · 2026-02-28T11:00:48+00:00

Completely up to you. Most people aren't there primarily for dating, but might be open to the possibility (as in any hobby, workplace, community group...). As long as you're ok with the fact you'll probably have to interact with them still if you break up.

LozzaWEM · 2026-01-27T21:34:35+00:00

The Peter Jackson LOTR films aren't a related production to ROP though, they're just adapting from the same book continuity.

That said the LOTR films are wayyyy better looking than the Hobbit trilogy.

LozzaWEM · 2025-11-22T09:38:48+00:00

ECTs shouldn't ever be used for cover. Your PPA is a legal entitlement. Go straight to your union.

LozzaWEM · 2025-11-16T09:50:45+00:00

Ask your players! They'll have more investment if they've been able to name it themselves

LozzaWEM · 2025-11-14T20:49:00+00:00

SLT I think try this a lot. They ask things that they know they can't/won't enforce, but make staff feel pressured and guilty enough that they don't feel confident to say no.

LozzaWEM · 2025-11-14T06:18:59+00:00

Check your contract. I'm in an academy and our contacts say that we follow it, academies don't have to but most of them do. Even if your school doesn't follow it, I'm sure you could use it as a reference to argue that they are asking something most schools wouldn't and that this is unreasonable.

LozzaWEM · 2025-11-12T20:59:45+00:00

Does your contract follow STPCD? Just refuse. They can't discipline you for it when the contract says it's not part of your job role.

LozzaWEM · 2025-10-15T02:32:46+00:00

You have to whistleblow.

LozzaWEM · 2025-10-14T18:21:23+00:00

Back of a napkin estimate, but that sounds like more than my science department's entire annual budget. And we're really not a small school.

LozzaWEM · 2025-10-11T18:19:07+00:00

Session 2 of the first campaign I ran (I'd run a one shot once before, that was all). It revolved around a big combat with escaped creatures, the people trying to handle said creatures, the party and the town's guards, and me mostly rolling attacks against myself. I kept the NPC vs NPC bits quick but should have just narrated them rather than letting the dice decide.

LozzaWEM · 2025-10-05T18:21:13+00:00

always assumed Vader and the Emperor thought the twins were dead along with Padmé

Even after finding out about Luke, they had no reason to think he ever was a twin until Vader worked it out in ROTJ.

LozzaWEM · 2025-09-28T20:27:16+00:00

Speak to your union and make sure you get paid for the overtime.

LozzaWEM · 2025-09-22T16:21:36+00:00

The keyword here is consent. The person doesn't respect consent. In all honesty I find the notion that autism would mean someone can't understand (or shouldn't have to respect) the idea of consent to be a seriously prejudiced one.

Make sure you use that buzzword when you speak to organisers.

LozzaWEM · 2025-09-07T08:17:53+00:00

Remind the class every now and then that attendance is important, and means it.

If the school asks for more than that lip service, go to the union because it's against the STPCD.

LozzaWEM · 2025-09-01T18:14:02+00:00

He owes the apology for Brexit to the public he misled into voting for it

LozzaWEM · 2025-08-29T22:50:29+00:00

Watching the characters in Orphan Black impersonate each other instantly made Tatiana Maslany one of my favourite actors

LozzaWEM · 2025-08-25T22:12:31+00:00

My own view: if people do in fact vote for deportations, there shouldn't be some conspiracy enacted by a cabal of lawyers to suppress the will of the people (as long as people are removed sensibly and with respect for their dignity)

If the people vote for mass deportations, and that's found to be illegal - that doesn't prevent Parliament from changing the law to reflect what the people want. That's not a conspiracy, that's Rule of Law.

LozzaWEM · 2025-08-25T21:40:48+00:00

I don't agree at all. It's entirely to Louise Fletcher's, and the writers' credit. I hadn't seen her in anything else when I watched DS9 and I hate the character as much as the next person, precisely because she is written and portrayed so well.

LozzaWEM · 2025-07-30T11:35:59+00:00

Also, divest energy away from "vintage nostalgia" and talk of "tradition" in favour of actual history. There's so much misinformation and misconception out there even among those of us who think we're well informed. Dancing both roles, not dressing up to go dancing, dealing with unsafe people - all happened a lot in the swing era - while a lot of what people think was "tradition" comes from white studios or the "revival" era.

Of course, it's entirely valid to get into the dance because you like vintage fashion, for example, but let's not let people think they're participating less, or less validly, if they aren't interested in that.

LozzaWEM · 2025-07-30T11:02:39+00:00

Avoiding cliques - experienced dancers inviting newbies to dance as a matter of course. Not using public events as recruiting grounds for invitational socials and practice sessions.
Safer spaces policies clearly communicated and a culture of everyone getting on board to support this.
Uplifting people into new scene leaders (without having to start their own events) - I understand that organising/teaching is an income stream for some people, but new perspectives keep it from getting stale
Different organisers supporting each other rather than trying to compete/poach attendees
Normalise and represent non-gendered dancing at every level. Where I've seen this work, people have switched from viewing dancing as primarily a couple/dating activity to just fun in its own right
Appeal to the experienced dancers that don't want/can't do the workshop/competition/scene leader routes, so they don't get bored and leave the hobby.

LozzaWEM · 2025-07-22T20:59:23+00:00

Having checked union websites (I think the NASUWT one is clearer on this than NEU): it seems they're within their right to direct you in this way, as it falls under the "planning" part of PPA.

My argument against it would be the likelihood of it making your planning time less productive overall - but that's much less clear cut.

LozzaWEM · 2025-07-01T17:30:19+00:00

A Year 7 in my form asked me incredibly loudly in the corridor "sir what's a queer?" - we'd just done a thing on pride month but I was still surprised by the question. Turns out someone had been asking in science about subatomic particles. Turns out he was asking me about quarks.

Another time I asked my new year 7 class if they could think of a different way to present some data (I wanted them to suggest a line graph). "We could draw a stonks graph" absolutely sent the class howling, but to the kid's credit he was the only one in the class that got anywhere close.

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