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back to article Council chief overrules blackout on Scots 9-yr-old's school lunch blog!

An hour after accusing a nine-year-old girl of causing distress with her "inaccurate" lunch blog, the Argyll and Bute council has overturned its cameras-in-the-canteen ban and once again allowed school children the option of photographing their lunch. School Dinner by Glasgow blogger Veg, credit Martha Payne, used with …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    £2 a day

    I still want to know why the crap being served up is costing £2 a day. The photo showed above is one of the better ones.

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    1. Anomynous Coward
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      Re: £2 a day

      It would be interesting to see where the money goes.

      Would people pay a tax / levy / whatever dedicated to improving the quality of school meals? I think I would.

      Mind you, it may be that we're only seeing the worst of what is provided - what's the general standard like these days, parents? (Or kids, I suppose, if any are reading).

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    2. Linbox
      Reply Icon
      Headmaster

      Salaries

      In a smaller primary school of 100 kids, let's assume 60% take school dinners and the rest packed lunches. Out of the £120 income, you'll have to pay 2 cooks for 6-hours work (3 prep, 1.5 service, 1.5 cleanup), at minimum wage (£6.08) = £72.96. Plus let's assume 3 lunchtime 'supervisors', for 90 mins each = £27.36 gives a total salary cost of £100.32. Leaving exactly 33p per meal for ingredients. For that much money - you get radish and macaroni 'surprise'...

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      1. Anomynous Coward
        Reply Icon

        Re: Salaries

        Is that how they do these? I thought they were prepared more centrally and just shipped out and served.

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        1. Danny 14
          Reply Icon

          Re: Salaries

          maybe but you still need to pay people to serve the food, clean the pots etc.

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        2. Code Monkey
          Reply Icon

          Re: Salaries

          "Is that how they do these? I thought they were prepared more centrally and just shipped out and served."

          Possibly in cities. Possibly not somewhere as rural as Argyll.

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      2. Ian Johnston Silver badge
        Reply Icon
        Stop

        Re: Salaries

        Lochgilphead is a joint campus with 750 pupils from nursery to S6.

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      3. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Salaries

        as a general rule of thumb double salary costs to get real staff costs (recruitment, holidays, NI, training etc etc etc)

        Look what you get for a £2 gas station bulk manufactured sandwich for a comparison.

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    3. Ian Johnston Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      Re: £2 a day

      Ingredients for a child's lunch cost around a quid for a reasonable one and a bit more for a good one. Another 50p to a pound per day for preparation, serving and other staff costs seems OK.

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    4. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Boffin

      Re: £2 a day

      In Austrtalia the kids are priveliged to eat Vegemite out of a jar with a spoon for lunch.

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      1. Alan Newbury
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        Devil

        Re: £2 a day

        As an Australian, I have to point out that the spoon is optional

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    5. Rob Beard
      Reply Icon
      Paris Hilton

      Re: £2 a day

      I understand from my two younger daughters (aged 10 and 6) that their school meals are crap. So much so that my eldest daughter has gone onto packed lunches. Taking into consideration the £2 a day it was cosing for school dinners too it's saving us some money and she gets a much better variety of stuff.

      I'm not sure if it's just me, but I remember school dinners when I was in Primary school (25 years ago) to be pretty reasonable.

      Rob

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  2. david 63

    So who gets the sack?

    Thought so.

    If I brought down this kind of condemnation on the people I work for I'd last 5 minutes. If that.

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    1. Anomynous Coward
      Reply Icon

      Re: So who gets the sack?

      Never mind sacking, if I encountered anyone mad enough to believe banning the kid from taking photographs of her lunch was going to make this go away I would want them sectioned.

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    2. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So who gets the sack?

      It's been done.

      The top three communications officers at Argyll and Bute council were let go in the springtime. Clearly their replacements haven't been found yet and the PR is being handled by a trained monkey.

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      1. Graham Bartlett
        Reply Icon
        Facepalm

        Re: So who gets the sack?

        Having a "top" council communications officer seems something like having a "favourite" twatting-your-thumb-with-a-lump-hammer. As far as I can tell, the best you can hope for is that it doesn't cause permanent damage.

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  3. Winkypop Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Hurrah!

    Cold semolina for all !!!

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    1. Anomynous Coward
      Reply Icon

      Semolina is the one remaining thing that I have never eaten in adulthood as a result of the revolting school meals they tried to force me to eat.

      I am sure it must be possible to make it pleasant but frankly I the memory is so horrible I doubt I could even bring myself to lick it off Kelly Brook's norks.

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      1. Aaron Em
        Reply Icon

        Take it from a dago

        Semolina's great. It's a shame they ruined it for you.

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      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Somolina

        ...With a dollop of Jam.

        Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Somolina

          Or Semolina, even..

          And whoever swapped my E and O keys, just for that minute: Don't do it again!

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          1. TRT Silver badge
            Reply Icon
            Linux

            Re: Semolina

            Semolina is fantastic. My pet hate is fish fingers. Bleurgh! I would not could not will not shall not. Even if I am a penguin. :-/

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          2. Graham Bartlett
            Reply Icon

            With thanks to Ronnie Barker

            "Now I'm going to croop away to my little bod, and sed the lot of you..."

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Council in cahoots?

    Maybe this 9 yo is cleverer that we all suspected.....

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    1. g e
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      Re: Council in cahoots?

      Do you think she might have a den at home with oak-panelled walls, a fluffy cat and a map of the world with blinking lights on it?

      ** Jealous! **

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      1. david 63
        Reply Icon

        Re: Council in cahoots?

        It did occur to me.

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    2. Code Monkey
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      Thumb Up

      Re: Council in cahoots?

      If she can convince council officials to make a complete arse of themselves to raise £21k for charity, she's clearly a genius.

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      1. Anomynous Coward
        Reply Icon

        Re: Council in cahoots?

        "If she can convince council officials to make a complete arse of themselves to raise £21k for charity, she's clearly a genius."

        Well, the ban was implemented by some faceless, nameless official, whereas revoking the bans gets good headlines for the leader so who knows?

        At least a local (locally run, global in scope) charity that seems to be pretty bloody awesome is getting a wedge.

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        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Council in cahoots?

          "the ban was implemented by some faceless, nameless official, whereas revoking the bans gets good headlines for the leader"

          More people need to actually read Machiavelli. Paraphrasing, he recommends "get you underlings to make themselves unpopular, then make yourself popular by punishing them for it".

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      2. Steve Knox
        Reply Icon
        Paris Hilton

        Re: Council in cahoots?

        "If she can convince council officials to make a complete arse of themselves ..."

        I was not aware that that was considered a difficult task.

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        1. Robert E A Harvey
          Reply Icon

          Re: Council in cahoots?

          >I was not aware that that was considered a difficult task.

          One council round-by-ere gave itself planning permission on a chunk of land it owned, and then sold it off to a developer. part of the planning process is a purely nominal but legally required pass through the relevant Parish Council. After work started, it was pointed out that they hadn't passed it to the correct parish. Now no-one knows if the planning permission is legal or not.

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      3. davidp231
        Reply Icon
        Happy

        Re: Council in cahoots?

        Total's now at 51k since this morning (Saturday).

        I think whoever decided the ban was a good idea should be one of the first up against the wall when the Revolution comes.

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  5. jai

    jelly!!!!

    i have a real hankering for jelly now

    not so much for macaroni and raddishes....

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    1. Code Monkey
      Reply Icon

      Re: jelly!!!!

      I'll swap you my jelly for your macaroni

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    The Internet still works!

    With all the commercial activities going on I think its a very pleasant and different sight to see a mere blog causing an uproar like this. And not only that; but also causing changes in the school policies regarding the cafeteria food.

    And all by merely pictures and a story from a 9 year old.

    So when the upper brass did what they do best, namely bullying (IMO), the Internet "fought back".

    And then all of a sudden people start to realize that they actually opened up Pandora's box.

    Gotta love the power of the pen, backed by the Internet!

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    1. Anomynous Coward
      Reply Icon

      Re: The Internet still works!

      causing changes in the school policies regarding the cafeteria food

      Has it done that? They seemed to indicate they hadn't actually changed anything since the blog had been up (refuting claims to the contrary).

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      1. Hayden Clark Silver badge
        Reply Icon
        Happy

        Re: The Internet still works!

        Take a look at the pictures she took. The first few showed some pretty woeful meals, the later ones looked pretty OK. Also - note the "special lady in the white coat and hairnet" who was inspecting the food for several days later on.

        I'd guess they upped their game somewhat in the face of the exposure!

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        1. TRT Silver badge
          Reply Icon
          Thumb Up

          Re: The Internet still works!

          I love the one where she forgot her camera, so drew a picture instead. Pure. Genius.

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          1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
            Reply Icon
            Trollface

            Web outrage == WUTRAGE!

            ROW! ROW! FIGHT THE POWER!

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            1. Anonymous Coward
              Reply Icon
              Anonymous Coward

              ROW?

              What, as in argue, or as in, a boat?

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              1. Archie Woodnuts
                Reply Icon

                Re: ROW?

                As in doing the impossible and kicking reason to the kerb.

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    2. Anonymous IV
      Reply Icon
      Alert

      Re: The Internet still works!

      Mildly interesting to note that, for the villains of the piece (not villeins of the peace), Argyll & Bute Council, an anagram of 'Argyll Bute' is 'Great Bully'...!

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  7. Spoonsinger
    Unhappy

    I never thought my school dinners were that great,

    but at least they came on separate plates, (i.e. collect main course, then go up for pudding after), and did look edible - well infinitely more edible that that slop. How did it come to this?

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    1. OzBob
      Reply Icon
      Thumb Up

      Re: I never thought my school dinners were that great,

      I want my dinners to come in the teddy-bear shaped dishes she found. And I don't care than I am a 40-something male. (thats years, not stones).

      http://ballibeg.smugmug.com/photos/i-zNTSWjj/0/M/i-zNTSWjj-M.jpg

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  8. ukgnome
    Thumb Up

    I applaud the whole community that has sent a complaint off to the council and has commented and blogged and tweeted.

    This shows that the IT sector has a heart of gold. I salute everyone who has commented positively and will happily buy any of you a pint that complained to the council. All of this was achieved without an Anonymous DDOS so even more kudos to us techie types!

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  9. Captain Hogwash
    Headmaster

    Nutrition sorted. Now for numeracy.

    "...over £21k, ..., and almost three times the goal of £7k"

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  10. Tom 35
    Thumb Up

    Good for Martha

    She will get better food* (at least until things die down).

    The local council made themselves look like fools.

    Mary's Meals got a nice boost.

    *If you look at the blog it was not always saying bad things about the food, she often gave 9/10. But there were also some really poor 4/10 meals.

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  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It's been rather interesting to follow development of this "story" since VEG last night blogged about ban.

    Her blog page views have jumped from 2 million to now already over 3 million and donations for marys meals gone from £2000 to over £30000 already. Power of the internet...

    It was clear Streisand Effect will happen :) And it seems Argyll and Bute managed to get even in wikipedia about it this. Been waiting if that happens today, and it did.

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

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  12. Been there, done that, it never ends

    Math issues also

    "helped it raise over £21k, well over the £2k it had raised as of this morning, and almost three times the goal of £7k"- last time I checked, 21 was three times seven, not almost three.

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    1. Alex C
      Reply Icon

      Re: Math issues also

      Giving the author the benefit of the doubt, we all know that 2+2=5 for large values of 2 (e.g.2.3) and 2+2 = 3 of r small values of 2 (eg.g 1.7). Probably a rounding error in there that' wasn't worth the explanation.

      Happily the total earlier was £48k+, so I have no doubt they'll eventually raise enough for 7 kitchens. Good luck to them and if Argyll and Bude want more efficiently priced meals perhaps dedicate some of the school week to horticulture. Every kid should leave school with some practical experience of raising veg.

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