Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Actually Dave, Jan (my fiancée ) got her 1st degree in Oxford and has just completed a masters which she paid for herself while working full time as a mature student.

She is now considering if she should start her doctorate next year or delay it for a while (again this will be paid for by herself and done while she is working full time).

BTW I believe Jan's comment was aimed at Bob and not at you Dave as I do agree that there are some really stupid courses out there that are all but useless in the real world.

Anto/Jan....Nice one, I'm really impressed. I on the other hand received little or no education (I even failed my eleven plus). However, I joined Her Majesty's Forces at the age of 16 and spent the following 24 years serving all over the world and had the misfortune to be involved in some rather unpleasant events. At the age of 33, I successfully completed my SATs and am confident that should I re-take my eleven plus I would still fail it. I do have a couple a certificates though (which I'm really proud of), one for not being impressed by people like yourselves and the other for laughing at people who take forums such as these with such seriousness.

Chill Dave, you're not the only one with a military background you know.

I can trace the military history in my family back for nearly 200 years and have the utmost respect for the brave men and women in the armed forces. Several of my closest friends are or were in the army.

I dare not think of my relatives that have been killed in service over the years - including two in the last 12 years and two more in the police during the troubles here in Northern Ireland. I still have a brother and a number of cousins serving in the army and air force and two more cousins in the Met in London.

I also have the utmost respect for people who make something of their lives despite a lack of education. My father had little schooling and did not learn to read until well into his 40's and to this day is unable to write more than a few words. Despite this he was a very successful and wealthy business man who travelled the world and can talk authoritively for hours on most subjects.

He however dissuaded me from joining the army as he always quoted his father who was RSM of the Gordon Highlanders and used to say the army is for monkeys who can't think for themselves and need to be told when to eat and when to s**t. Then again the old RSM had been in the army from the age of 14 and fought in Africa and India in the 19th C and WW1 where he was shot in the face and invalided out so he may have been a little bitter.

After spending a number of years building a successful business and becomming financially stable I was too old to join the army or the TA and instead have recently joined the Police Service of Northern Ireland. My ski holiday in January is to celebrate the end of just over one years training and I start active duty the day after I return.

Despite the so called 'peace' police officers here still live under a high threat of being shot, blown up, petrol bombed or burnt out of their homes and for little reward. I was issued with my gun a few months ago and carry it with me for my protection at all times day and night. I have joined because it's something I want to do, not for the money (as it's a quarter of what I used to earn) or the pension (as I'm too old and won't get a full pension on retirement).

While I may not have been involved in the same unpleasent events that you have I too have seen and been involved in some unplesent events through the years here in NI, including being mortared while in NIHQ at Theipval barracks, having a gun put to my head twice - once by Loyalists, once by the IRA - I've seen two people shot dead in front of me and I've been blown off my feet and picked up body parts following a horrific bomb attack when I was just a teenager. To date I have not had the misfortune of having to kill anyone, however my brother has while in the army - more than once...

The master's degree and doctorate that my fiancée is doing is purely for her own self worth and will not help her in her career, she just want's to prove to herself that she can do it - as she left school with little qualifications and entered university as a mature student.

While running my business I always hired people based on their ability, common sense and character, not their qualifications. A piece of paper proves that they can study and learn and pass a course or exam, not necessarily that they can do the job...

It's unfortunate that many employers today screen people out if they do not have the required qualifications and certificates. I do not hold qualifications as a measure of a person's character however you seem to have a chip on your shoulder about your lack of qualifications as you are making such an issue of it here.

I shall not engage you further in discussion other than to wish you luck with your certificates...

I'd rather talk about ski-ing in Bulgaria, which is what this site is about, rather than engage in petty personal insults.