December 4th 2011, 8:52Pm

Home, Bradford.

All in all, today has been a bit of a ballache. Despite my stiff legs, I managed to get to work in record time this morning! I may have to start turning up later though, the teacher I work with just uses me getting to work early as an excuse to make me work unpaid overtime.

The workday itself was relatively uneventful. I was covering for the first hour of the afternoon. I had no major problems but the kids were being ignorant little gits until I bought out the nasty on them. Then I heard for the next hour, in PE, they had been little angels! Irritating. I wish the teachers would actually give me something IMPORTANT to do with them, instead of just chucking 10-year old RE lesson plans at me.

I was further riled by some know-it-all teacher in the staff room who was rabbiting on about how great teacher's holidays are, how much time off she gets, and how her workload at home is nothing like what her other postgrad friends have to do. The other teachers looked at her as if to say "What the fuck are you talking about?". You can tell she is destined for headship, she is enough of a self-assured arsehole to get it. Only last week, she was grilling two of the teachers I work with about their lesson plans right there in the staff room in front of everybody. I could sabotage her whole career if I made some of the pictures she posts on Facebook public, but I have little to gain from that, and I am not that vindictive. I guess I am always very keen to defend the teachers I work with, sometimes to the point of blind loyalty. It's something I will have to think about, especially if I get posted to work with her next year!

On the way home, I got even more pissed off when a taxi driver pulled up in front of me, leaned out of his window and called me a 'wanker' complete with hand gestures, simply because I have the audacity to ride a bicycle, and because the cycle lane was blocked off, and I am not Chris Hoy he had to slow down slightly for me. However, joke is on that stupid prick, I jotted down the taxi number and called up his company to complain.

The world continued to conspire against me when I went to Morrisons (Supermarket) to get myself some tea. Because I used the self service checkout, and wanted to put my stuff in my backpack, the stupid woman monitoring the tills wanted to search my bag first! I showed her everything I had in the bag, but she wouldn't accept this, I pointed out that if I wasn't using self-service I wouldn't get searched, she wouldn't accept this, and I pointed out that I had been a regular customer for the past three years and owned a staff-discount card - she didn't accept either. Infuriated at being told how to do my shopping by this Supermarket Hitler, I just abandoned my shopping there at the checkout, and pissed off out of the store empty handed.

... So I've had to have a 'Rustlers' Burger and leftover pizza for my tea.

Hmm. Sometimes my principles get the better of me. Maybe I should stop defending teachers, cycle on the pavement, and shop in the exact way my supermarket wants me to. Maybe I should just lie down and take it for a while, see if that gives me an easier life. For the next 24 hours, I shall try to be a much more subserviant Rodge and stop fighting these little battles. I will let you know how it goes...

But before I do...

For the record, I know some of you were dubious, so here is my evidence that the phrase 'Jock-off' is indeed part of the Northern English Vernacular. It is a song my old friend Alan recorded with his 'band' when he was sixteen. Enjoy!