You are a 4th Year apprentice, what do you do next?

[Huge]

*applause*

[ARW]

Other violations that were not in use back in the 70's

No risk and method statement No hard hat (as worn today by the architect visiting the site and no one else) No PAT test stickers on the electrical appliances (I always carry spare stickers just in case another tradesman gets caught out - they only need a date writing on them and sticking onto the plug)

240V tools not 110V (actually both are allowed but tell that to a jobsworth) No DBS checks No cordoning off off the danger zones Working in a ceiling area with live circuits (all circuits must be turned off) Wearing flared jeans

[ARW]

Try

z) Quote a reply properly

[Huge]

[49 lines snipped]

. . . .

Not sure if you're serious because they are a snagging hazard or for fashion reasons, but I not they appear to be coming back yet again. I even saw some embroidered ones the other day.

[Tim Watts]

:->>>

[Dave Plowman (News)]

They can indeed be a safety hazard in some work environments. Same as any flapping around clothing. Like say a tie when using a lathe.

[tim...]

or even just

opening the bonnet of the car for a look inside

tim

[spuorgelgoog]

Flared jeans + hard hat would be very Village People ...

Owain

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Never ever did understand the purpose of a tie. And have never worn one since leaving school. Except for those formal occasions when it's expected.

[Robin]

I still miss the ready availability 5 days a week of a spectacles polishing cloth.

[Tim Watts]

Good man...

[spuorgelgoog]

I used to like a nice tie.

It's much cheaper to buy a variety of good ties then people don't notice the cheap suit.[1]

Owain

[1] Well, it would have been an expensive Savile Row suit for its first owner. Nine quid in Oxfam.

[Andrew]

Long hair ?. Very common with flared jeans.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Never did understand the purpose of a suit either. ;-)

[michael adams]

Ties served/serve as an easy means of identification for in-groups. As in old school ties, regimental ties, sporting club ties etc the significance of which most members of the public were totally unaware of.

Ironically the sporting of such ties was/is also a staple of con-men and imposters; as people who are able to recognise an Old Etonian tie without having been old Etonians themselves are very often the kind of snob who would fall victim to a con artist.

In the days when the most shirts were white, simply to facilitate laundering, ties offered men a relatively inexpensive way of self expression. Unless examined right up close for detail, a white shirt, is a white shirt, is a white shirt. By investing in a different tie for each day of the week, or not, a man could mark himself out as a bit of a dandy. Similar the range of patterns which were available in ties far exceeded the variety available in any other everyday item of clothing or footwear. In addition ties don't wear out as do other items of clothing and so can be seen as a better "investment" although still subject to fashion in the longer term.

Saying that, while they don't actually wear out, in the absence of a napkin, a dark coloured or patterned tie makes for a better defence against soup or food generally than does white shirt front, whether pristine or not.

Of course, at the end of the day there's no real reason why everybody shouldn't simply go around in shell suits and trainers all the time. As I'm sure many on the group already do. I believe some people even go to the supermarket in their pyjamas. Its just snobbery really that prevents the rest of us from following suit. Wouldn't you agree ?

michael adams

...

[spuorgelgoog]

I think you're confusing snobbery with good taste.

Owain

[ARW]

Weddings, funerals and court appearances then?

[Huge]

That's the only time I wear them now.

[tim...]

You don't have to go back very far when it was normal

When I were a kid my dad won't leave the house unless he had put his suit on, even for a trip to the diy store for some parts.

And we were just a "normal" lower middle class family.

tim

[Harry Bloomfield]

It happens that ARW formulated :

I thought apprentices were an expendable asset?