ATTN: UK.... Botkins!

[bal maiden]

Hmm, depending on where they mean by 'greater London area', I could swing by. But that description really doesn't narrow it down much.

[JesusFightClub]

Send them to public school (well, duh.)

That'd mean the opposite in the UK :D

[latraviata]

That'd mean the opposite in the UK :D

Yes, funny isn't it??

I've posted on wordly distractions (what are you listening) the work of the great contemporary composer Cuteneurorad who started a musical conjunction with an American rapper!

[uber frau]

. quote="JesusFightClub"]

Send them to public school (well, duh.)

That'd mean the opposite in the UK :D

[julie paradox]

Brits would know what you meant by "state school".

Possibly because we've got so many different categories - maintained, aided, controlled and academies are the main ones at the moment I think. Some places still have grammar (selective) schools [though the non-grammar schools in those areas don't call themselves Secondary Moderns any more] while others are totally comprehensive (non-selective) - older people on my estate still talk about children moving up to "the comp". The primary school I attended was a County Primary (as opposed, I think, to a church one). Sixth-form colleges, further education colleges and higher education colleges further complicate the mix (post-16 education. Main exams are at 16 and for the next year or two compulsory education ends there too).

Usual disclaimer about how Scotland may vary.

[MysteryHaggis]

Usual disclaimer about how Scotland may vary.

:grin: true that.

No grammar schools in Scotland. State education is (majority) "non denominational", ie 'Protestant by default', at least 8 years ago when I left school, or state Catholic schools (which non-catholics can also go to for catchment/academic /whatever reasons but you do have to ask AFAIK).

A not-so-great leftover from our history of sectarianism, but at least less confusing than the English system which makes my head spin.

[LondonRosa]

I'm in London - hence my user name! I don't really follow the Botkins but I've never met any fundies before so it could be interesting. Depends on what this event is though, and where in London.

[Miggy]

Please Geoff, fly the other direction. USA - Australia - Russia. We are a logical stopover, right? I promise to come to your talk. MrMiggy doesn't believe you exist. He says you are actually a bored housewife making up a character on the internet. I would love the opportunity to see which one of us is right.

[JesusFightClub]

As MysteryHaggis said, we understand the term "state school" and use that in opposition to "public" or "private" school ;)

No grammars or "free schools" here. My (Scottish) dad went through the 11 plus system when we still had it and I don't think I am wrong in saying that it coloured his entire life. He failed the 11 plus and left his secondary at 14 to work in the local mill. I would have failed the 11 plus if it had been me being tested at 11, and I undoubtedly would have left school, like my dad, sooner than usual. In my case I would have left school at 16, not 14, and it would have been Tesco, not the mill, but it makes me twitchy to think of it.

[julie paradox]

oh my, how did I forget free schools?!

We've had an... interesting time with the one that's just opened here. It was in Private Eye and everything.

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

Dear brothers and sisters in Great Britain,

My father, Geoffrey Botkin, my sister Anna Sofia, and I will be traveling to England in a few weeks, on our way home from a speaking engagement in St. Petersburg, and will be speaking at an all-day gathering/event on March the 15 (Saturday) in the greater London area. We would like, at this event, to speak on whatever topic(s) you would find most pertinent, and also take time to just get to know you all and answer questions.

How many of you would be interested in coming to this event (our hosts are wondering how large a venue to book), and what topics would you be most interested in hearing about? Please let me know as soon as possible!

We look forward to meeting as many of you as we can!

In Christ,

Elizabeth Botkin

Oh my.

So, Anna and Elizabeth were tagged in some guy's location on Facebook this morning....in St. Petersburg. I'm really curious what they're doing there since they didn't talk about it anywhere else.

[Marian the Librarian]

So, Anna and Elizabeth were tagged in some guy's location on Facebook this morning....in St. Petersburg. I'm really curious what they're doing there since they didn't talk about it anywhere else.

Link, pretty please? Thanks!

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

Am I allowed to link to that? I don't know if their FB is public....if you go to either of their FB walls, it is there. Guy named Mark Robinette tagged them in Palace Square. No pics or anything, just one of those location things you can put on FB.

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

Well,it seems that Mark Robinette's page is public if you want to go look. I guess that they are there with the "Slavic Reformation Society". I'm not entirely sure how to break links, but it shows up right away in google. Off to read up.

[hoipolloi]

Am I allowed to link to that? I don't know if their FB is public....if you go to either of their FB walls, it is there. Guy named Mark Robinette tagged them in Palace Square. No pics or anything, just one of those location things you can put on FB.

Their FB walls are not public, unlike Nolan's so this information doesn't seem to be visible to those who are not friends. On both, the most recent information visible dates to November 2013.

Robinette's wall is public & it looks he's there for the first eva home schooling conference in Russia, which is probably why the Botkins are there.

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

Their FB walls are not public, unlike Nolan's so this information doesn't seem to be visible to those who are not friends. On both, the most recent information visible dates to November 2013.

Robinette's wall is public & it looks he's there for the first eva home schooling conference in Russia, which is probably why the Botkins are there.

So then is what I posted okay? I know we can summarize Facebook stuff, but is a tagged location over the line? :embarrassed:

[hoipolloi]

So then is what I posted okay? I know we can summarize Facebook stuff, but is a tagged location over the line? :embarrassed:

Yes, what you posted is OK, per FJ's Rules: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15380

A question remains, however, about Kimerical's source for the letter s/he apparently quoted verbatim in the OP.

Kimerical - where did you see this letter from Elizabeth Botkin?

[docmom]

Where the hell is their mother in all of this? Does she have to stay home and tend to the hearth?

If I were their mother, I'd hide at home, too. Maybe with the poolboy and some bonbons watching forbidden shows on Netflix.

[Marian the Librarian]

No doubt Geoff will parlay this into another fantastically inflated line item for his legend-in-his-own-mind resume: "Extensive experience in the fields of US-Slavic diplomatic relations, Russian literature and language, Cyrillic/English transcription, and perestroikan wine and cuisine."

[redcurls]

Oh joy... This is the PERFECT time to visit Russia. Maybe they'll get stuck there...

[Mary C Doates]

So, Anna and Elizabeth were tagged in some guy's location on Facebook this morning....in St. Petersburg. I'm really curious what they're doing there since they didn't talk about it anywhere else.

Were they dressed up as the Grand Duchesses Tatiana and Anastasia, looking wistfully off into the distance while posing in front of some former Tsarist castle? I can totally see this.

[samurai_sarah]

Were they dressed up as the Grand Duchesses Tatiana and Anastasia, looking wistfully off into the distance while posing in front of some former Tsarist castle? I can totally see this.

Ooh, can we also have a greenly glowing Rasputin, and a rather adorable bat side-kick? It'd only improve the pictures, I swear! :whistle:

[Mary C Doates]

Ooh, can we also have a greenly glowing Rasputin, and a rather adorable bat side-kick? It'd only improve the pictures, I swear! :whistle:

I think Geoff would make a convincing Rasputin--gotta trim his goatee a little, but he's got the vaguely sinister look already. I bet Doug Phillips (who is a tool) has a suitable costume to loan him.

[samurai_sarah]

I think Geoff would make a convincing Rasputin--gotta trim his goatee a little, but he's got the vaguely sinister look already. I bet Doug Phillips (who is a tool) has a suitable costume to loan him.

Fair point, but who'll be the adorable bat side-kick? Pete "Sippycup" Bradrick would fit, I suppose... :lol:

[debrand]

Maybe one of the sisters is courting a Russian. That would be interesting.

There was a Gleb Botkin who founded a neopagan church called The Church Of Aphrodite. I am sure that he isn't related to our Botkins but it is a humorous coincidence that someone with their last name started a pagan church that worships a goddess.