South Devon College students excel in motor trades

“The 'real' world is an illusionary place, Andy... as I'm sure you'll find out when you're a grown-up!”

“Karen I'm afraid I've only dealt with Solicitors in the real world, in fact I do only deal with the real world; but at least we've finally got closer to the truth on the 'Karen - box of frogs' front.”

“Just an expression, Ladybugs. I actually have holes in most of my shoes on account of all the walking I do... When I say 'well-heeled', I suppose I mean 'well turned out when I need to be'. Blimey, don't you go on? It's after 10pm, you know... I'm going to bed to watch Newsnight. Are you all watching Blackout, by the way? I love well-researched, factual programes about municipal government, don't you?”

“I like to get in my rejection letter first, Andy. The simple truth is they won't hire me cos it always upsets the power dynamics in the typing pool having someone so much cleverer than them. That was certainly the case at Kitsons and Eastleys, so it's not as if I haven't tried. They usually end up saying I'm mentally ill, suffer from excessive wind or some other foul slur in order to keep me in my place in the female pecking order. Not a desirable occupation for someone of my unnatural abilities, I'm sure you'll agree. I also forgot to mention that solicitors charge by the hour and I type exceptionally fast. A younger, less experienced typist is therefore much more profitable, if you think about it logically. Even if she can bash out a letter at 80wpm, it's easier for them to slow her down with endless grammatical corrections or by distracting her by pretending to stare up her skirt. It's simple economics, really. Are you beginning to see why I don't like lawyers, Andy? It's not me being picky, you understand, just years of being discriminated against (hey maybe I should write a rap song bout it?)

I am really sorry to disillusion you. You do seem like such a nice boy, I have to say, even if you haven't been exposed to the murky underworld of the legal profession to quite the same extent as I have... BTW, if you should ever get into a scrape, I can recommend a good lawyer in Dartmouth, though!”

“@andy063

She did say on this piece that she was well-heeled so she obviously doesn't need the money although having said that, she did say the bus fares were too expensive for her. I think I have lost the plot somewhere.”

“He.... I will let him know. Thank you.”

“Karen You asked if I knew of any local jobs so I looked; you didn't say anything about local legal firms being beneath you and your skills. Obviously a local solicitor may not be as exciting as an American corporation in the city but you said you were fed up with the rat-race..... As you can't travel or commute and can't get the equipment for your new enterpise I'm suprised you're so picky”

“I don't think this is the best way to discuss your friend's skin complaint, Ladybugs. But if she would like to telephone me on the number on my business card, I'd be happy to discuss what I'm doing to develop my practice here in Paignton. It's still early days yet, and one of my biggest problems at the moment is sourcing the best kind of equipment. It's only currently available wholesale from China. I'm also short of start-up capital and don't want to take on a load of debt at my age. One can never have enough training in anything, incidentally, and Electrotherapy is still quite an innovation in England although what I do is perfectly safe because I use low frequency sound wave therapy. I've been using it for 2 years now on myself and never cease to be amazed at its benefits. There still isn't any formally recognised training body here for one thing. The Institute of Physiotherapists can't even recommend anything, although I have a contact at Hereford University who lectures on the intl. circuit in ET. There are forms of electroacupuncture that work along similar principles, but a lot of people still don't like needles, I guess?

Anyhow, enough about ET. I just thought I'd respond to your questions, anyway.

As regards working for solicitors, Andy, I think I've probably done quite enough thankless typing for solicitors in my time. The ones in Torbay aren't very good, actually. I applied to them when I first moved down here, but I think they were perhaps daunted by the fact that I've worked for much better American and City firms in London. In any case, having since obtained a First Class Honours in social policy, I'm rather long in the tooth for all that now. Also, solicitors do have a tendency to repeat themselves quite a lot - why get paid to type something once when you can double your money and get paid to type the same thing twice... or perhaps even three or four times, after all?!

(I think that last point perhaps best sums up why I'm not already working for local solicitors in Torbay, Andy... lol)”

“Um........I don't quite know what to say......I know she has written a fictional book.....perhaps she is working on a new one. :(”

“Ladybugs I initially thought Karen was retired from what she said on other storys.”