jon

So you decided (at least 30 minutes before the bus was due to leave, although I question your timing and I'm only allowing 10 mins for the swap), to go to St Andrews Station, ask the driver if hypothetically he would have room when the bus had filled up (which it wouldn't have by then) to carry a guitar that was basically the same size as the one you'd already travelled down with, be told no (even though it seems unlikely he could see into the future or that you couldn't at least get a later bus, or even a train, given the amount you stood to lose), at which you walked down to the Grassmarket, brokered a swap based on physical size rather than value, walked back to the bus station and headed home. I am genuinely interested now. This is the bartering equivalent of an Escher drawing.

But...but...Red Dog is at the West End of the Grass Market and the bus stop is off the East end of Princes Stret by York Place. How long did the bus driver wait? I genuinely don't follow the narrative of this gritty tale.

Which in turn were swapped for a Crate combo, the floyd rose bridge from a Satriani copy and the bevelLed body of a custom B.C. Rich Warlock. BEVELLED.

Think of it as National 5 Economics...

Right enough! It's a moot point anyway, as everyone knows we've got the best away kit in the world for this season: http://www.tangerine-clubshop.co.uk/du-2918-ss-away-jsy-14-15-adult

I'm not so sure - look at what her job is...

The plot thickens...

Wait, you're buying an amp to use for a week until you...get a new amp? We're going to have to stage an intervention, this whole thing is purest madness.

That article makes me want to microwave my head in protest at the irreversible stupidity of everything.

What on earth is going on? You swapped a guitar for a looper you didn't want after getting the bus to Edinburgh because, although you took an acoustic down on the bus, you couldn't take one back?! That sounds completely batshit mental. Even if it's a jumbo, put it between your legs (oo-er) and take it home. Madness.

I've got a 2002 LP Studio (owned from new), and it will always be my baby. I used it on all the Curators records, and I can't imagine ever not having it. It has taken a good few knocks over the years, but it's still going strong. However, it weighs an absolute ton and I live in fear of snapping the headstock. I've picked up plenty of other guitars over the years (I still have six electrics now...) and tend to gig with those now, but I bloody love my LP.

In reference to the OP, I should also say that National 3 (or indeed any National qualification) is available in every subject. For example, I had a Spanish kid join my class for most of S4. He had very rudimentary English, but I assessed him at N3 level, collated the evidence, and awarded him the qualification. If your school are telling you that N3 is only available in English and Maths, I'm afraid they are outright wrong.

'Droid, tell me about it! We've been battering our heads off walls all year. It's lunacy, and will have to result in at least a defacto syllabus. There are currently "mandatory" areas (for example, the domestic impact of WW1 on Scotland), and the SQA then provide "illustrative" examples of the sort of thing that could be taught under those mandatory headings. That is, in effect, the syllabus, but it allows the SQA to theoretically ask questions on material outwith the illustrative content and justify that by saying it was reasonable to expect that teachers would have covered that material. Again, I'm very doubtful that they would do that (they have to make themselves look good, and intentionally tripping up kids isn't in their interest, clearly), but it's certainly a worry. What's more concerning is that those bits of illustrative content have changed over the last year so, for example, I had to abandon Germany in the 1930s to cover the impact of WW1 on Scottish agriculture as it appeared in the SQA documentation online well after I'd actually taught the topic. Ho hum.

Cloud, there is a LOT of variation from school to school, but broadly speaking the position is this: The traditional pathway of SG>Higher>Advanced Higher is being moved away from. Theoretically, any student could undertake any level of qualification at any point between S4 and S6. A very able kid could, for example, attempt Higher in S4 rather than having to sit N5 first. Also, a student could study N5 level material in S4 but not sit the exam, and then sit Higher the following year. In practice, that tends not to be the case, for the moment at least. In my school, we expect an S4 N5 pass as an entry requirement to Higher in S5. That may change, but my feeling is that will remain the norm, even if unofficially. As for kids not sitting any exam until they do Higher, my feeling is that it's crazy not to allow kids experience of formal exams and everything that goes with them before they sit what will still be the most important school qualification they attempt. Exam practice is vital, and SG/N5 provide that as well as providing qualifications in their own right. Your second point is much more controversial, and there is no set answer. Some schools only allow 6 N5s, some will allow 8. It is very much dependent on the individual school and (often) parental pressure. I could go on, but you get the jist!

This cracking new single from The Xcerts:

Sorry, let me try that again in N2 form: GOOD IDEA GO BYE BYE TIME TIME Honestly...

My goodness, what a thread. A few things: CfE is more than you state here. Theoretically, from S1 to S3 all pupils will receive a "broad general education" (BGE) which should allow them to study a wide variety of subjects without the constraints of formal examinations. Then, S4 to S6 is for accreditation, generally speaking from National 3 upwards. N3 is assessed solely in school, and requires the student to meet certain standards that are meant to demonstrate understanding and/or analysis appropriate to that level. At N4, the same applies except the standards are higher and the candidate must also produce an Added Value Unit (basically an extended piece of project work). For N5, a successful candidate must meet all of the standards at N5 level, produce an assignment, and sit an externally marked final exam. Higher and Advanced higher remain broadly the same, although with some alterations. It is a noble idea. Now, the problems... I am a History teacher, so I can only speak for my subject, but here goes. N5 has significantly more content, higher analytical expectations and harder assessments than Standard Grade ever did. It is more equivalent to Int 2 (another qualification that is in the process of being phased out). However, it would be theoretically possible to pass N4 (there are no differentiated grades as there are in N5) in a week if a student was so inclined. I know this because I had a student this year who was off on long term sickness, but came back towards the end of the year. In three weeks, I had got her through N3 and then N4, as far as the letter of the law is concerned. There are definite issues there. N3 is, frankly, insultingly easy. Foundy Foundy, if you will. Furthermore, the SQA are adamant that there "is not, nor will there ever be, a syllabus for National 5 History". That's madness. Leaving aside the fact that you can buy SQA endorsed N5 textbooks which "cover the entire syllabus"', it means that each teacher or department has to make a best guess as to what to teach for, for example, the domestic impact of WW1 in Scotland. Do I teach Red Clydeside? The Rent Strikes? Any of the myriad of other impacts? How do I know what the kids might be asked about in their exam if there is no syllabus? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Add in to that the fact that many schools have completely failed to timetable correctly for the Nationals (I had to teach N5 over S3 and S4, as I did under SG, due to the fact that we actually LOST time in the reshuffle) and you near farce. The idea that (as, by the letter of the law, we should) it is possible to teach N5 History, complete with more content and harder assessment expectations than SG, in one year of three hours a week when we taught SG IN TWO years of three hours a week is almost hilariously ridiculous. I should stress that this is all personal opinion, and is no wat representative of the school I work in, but I thought a bit of clarity might be useful in this thread. IT CAN BE DONE, as the glorious SQA insist on telling us...

Get your ears around this! http://antimanifesto.bandcamp.com/album/anti-manifesto-round-one

Hi folks, Kev who runs Anti-Manifesto (Edinburgh punk/DIY label and collective) is celebrating ten years of blood, sweat and tears by releasing "Round One", a globe-spanning compilation of bands he's worked with over the last decade. All proceeds go to Cancer Research (the A-M family have sadly been affected by cancer too often). Head along to http://antimanifesto.bandcamp.com/album/anti-manifesto-round-one to see who he's managed to get involved and, if you can, buy a copy!

Thanks folks! We've made the whole back catalogue free to download, and we'll be doing a clearance sale of the last remaining copies of The Cold In The Walls and tshirts in the next week or two. What could be more hipster than a tshirt from a defunct Edinburgh band no-one's ever heard of? Nothing, I tells ya, nothing.

Hi folks, I've not been on here for a while, but I thought that seeing as we have had such ace support in Aberdeen over the years, you guys might be interested in our swansong. What with having kids and getting married, we've just not got the time to commit to the band for the foreseeable future, so here is our (free to download, along with the rest of our back catalogue) farewell sing "Cemetery Sea". Hope you enjoy. www.curators.bandcamp.com (The link function keeps crashing for me!)

Radiohead at the Caird Hall in 1997, just before OK Computer came out. An epic set featuring pretty much everything you could ever wish for, and all before Thom forgot that guitars are cool.

Yup, he's back (although only until January apparently). Great move for us.

I would die happy if he is forever more referred to as Gus Pooyet.