Today I've mostly bin...

[giraffe]

This was in a free magazine that came through the front door. If it were April I'd think it was a joke.

Custard Creams Can Seriously Damage Your Health

Custard creams have been labelled Britain's most dangerous biscuits according to research undertaken by research company Mindlab. They found that an estimated 25 million people had been injured by biscuits, with around 500 people a year requiring hospital treatment because of biscuit injuries.

Scalding while dunking, choking on crumbs and breaking a tooth on a biscuit are the most common injuries suffered. The research also found that some people had poked themselves in the eye with a biscuit, and some had been bitten by a "wild animal", usually a dog, when trying to eat their biscuit! If this news has you worried there is some good news - the study found that the safest biscuit to eat is a jaffa cake.

[SparkOut]

But it's the at least I was disagreeing with! It won't take at least a period of time. It will never happen - for exactly those tribal philosophy reasons. "We" even go out of our way to exile those who cross the tribal boundaries or who dare to suggest that "They" might have a point. After all, that's what Politics is.

Well OK, back to the politics... but "at least" (in another context) I hope to be more optimistic than usual. Normally I'd be very cynical and less than positive on some subjects like this about "human nature" but in fact, I'm going to mention things like post-war relations with Germany and Japan through to the Mostar Bridge in Bosnia-Hercegovina as indicators that very strong cultural/racial prejudices don't have to last forever. I don't mean that human nature is improving everywhere (Iran/Zimbabwe/North Korea/other places closer to home) nor even that in Germany/Japan/Bosnia there are no tensions at all, but there is hope that in some circumstances people can begin to see past these old division lines.
Not quite answering your point, I know, and I agree with you for the most part. I just thought it worth mentioning.

[Bunnylump]

OK I'm really worried now. Custard creams is all our stingy school pays for. I shall now have to approach them wearing eye protection in th epresence of a first aider in the staff room now. .

And Giraffe, I agree, I don't care what ever anyone does in their own space, but I would object to that kind of thing for young children. Having said that, My daughter's 18th birthday party was a complete eye opener for me. She organised the party with her friend who was also 18. Between them they seemed to have so many gay or weird and wonderfully dressed friends I was quite shocked. And I have to say I am NOT easily shocked. I must say that most of them were completely charming individuals, however! Still, variety is the spice of life!! On the other hand, when by son was involved in a national competition organised by the National Youth Theatre, there were virtually no "lovies" and no evidence at all of kids with tendencies towards same sex liaisons or cross dressing at all. It was really good fun - they ended up performing their play at the Tricycle Theatre in London.

[Scurra]

I'm going to mention things like post-war relations with Germany and Japan through to the Mostar Bridge in Bosnia-Hercegovina as indicators that very strong cultural/racial prejudices don't have to last forever.

Yeah, but you can find examples of that throughout history. And, for the most part, they work - for a couple of generations; maybe even a couple of centuries. Then someone pops up and starts the whole tribal prejudice thing up again, and we're back to square one. Not that I'm saying that we can't learn from history - just that the evidence seems stacked against it.

[SparkOut]

Then someone pops up and starts...

Yes, it's usually someone who "pops up" (often with some blood on his hands) into a position of power, and one of the issues of that sort of "leadership" is that they tend to instill a deliberate them/us cultural framework, as one of the key methods of controlling their own population and direct negative feelings towards "them" rather than the "us" who wish to hold onto that power.
But that said, and agreeing wholeheartedly that historical lessons are not globally learnt, I'm a little of the feeling that the as politics change, the "sets" of those in the "them" and the "us" changes too. Liberal West/Soviet East for example. "Us in Europe" (including former communist states as EU members) now has a different collection of "thems".
Of course, the Arab/Israeli situation seems to be a rather more unanswerable problem.
Anyway, I almost entirely agree with you in the most part. I just thought I'd mention a positive balance for reasons of not wishing to be a totally pessimistic cynic.

[Bunnylump]

I just thought I'd mention a positive balance for reasons of not wishing to be a totally pessimistic cynic.

Good on you. I am a firm believer in the idea that if you EXPECT goodness from people, you do generally GET it. But that's on one of my optimistic days.

I was just looking back at this serious discussion I seem to have sparked, and then run away from. It made me giggle to see you two putting the world to rights and coincidentally Giraffe and me putting in a serious political comment about custard creams slap bang in the middle of it...

[katsmom]

My best friend is gay. (It took me 7 years to realize it-but that is another story all together) He and his partner are getting married this Christmas and Katherine and I are going to the wedding. She has known Mr. B. and Mr. R. her whole life, and knows they love each other. Both gentlemen are the most kindhearted men I have ever met. They spent a lot of time answering questions for her this past year when she started to wonder about why they live together. I am very glad we let her talk to them, because she doesn't gawk and say terribly embarrassing things when she sees other gay couples in public, unlike her friends who say some rather nasty things.

While not racist, it does hinge on prejudices, and I'm glad this is one she doesn't have. And for me that's a great thing. It seems that most of the male teachers in the department are gay. Funny that, most male teachers I've worked with over the years here have been. I wonder if HK is a magnet for gay EFL teachers

My day was quite funny. I went to the Dr. in the morning because that little guy wouldn't get off my chest. He sent me to a specialist to check my intestines? I'm not sure when they moved up into my chest, but apparently they are connected. Well, after a bit of uncomfortable procedures, they told me I had torn the muscles around my esophagus and my diaphragm. That seasickness and what followed was just too much for me I guess. But what was so funny was the dr. telling me that it's usually drunks that do this, and next time, don't vomit so hard. As if there is any way to do it softly.

I went and met my puzzle manufacturer friend for dinner afterwords (the same one with the wife and the enema voice over) he had a few gifts for me: 3 puzzles (yipee!)

[Bunnylump]

Ah, so your secret is out now Katsmom. Now we know you're a dipso we won't feel so sorry for you!! Seriously though, I hope you recover quickly.

Tonight I'm off to see some old colleagues from work who are singing in something called "mad about musicals". Obviously I want to support them because they are my friends, but if I'm honest I am NOT mad about musicals. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that in general I really don't like musicals!! It did make me laugh though, because one of them was after a wedding dress for one of her costumes, and asked me if I still had mine. I really don't know what she was on at the time, because I just burst out laughing. She is 4 feet 9 (and a quarter), and so I'm a whole foot taller than her!!

[Laura]

Just imagine if you'd wanted to borrow hers? A mini-wedding dress!!! That would have been interesting. At least with yours she could have taken it up.

[Bunnylump]

Oh trust me, the thought of me in a mini dress of any description would be enough to make a person queasy! Long gone are the days when I could get away with a ra ra skirt!! And oh yes, folks, I really did used to wear one of those - turquoise, with silver stilettoes a "New Romantic" frilly blouse and a shaggy perm. And no, before you ask, I was NOT a "Lady of the night", just young and stupid, with no taste whatsoever!! I have to remind myself of things like that when I'm challenging 6th form girls on some of their more outlandish outfits they come into school wearing!!

[strep98]

Oh trust me, the thought of me in a mini dress of any description would be enough to make a person queasy! Long gone are the days when I could get away with a ra ra skirt!! And oh yes, folks, I really did used to wear one of those - turquoise, with silver stilettoes a "New Romantic" frilly blouse and a shaggy perm. And no, before you ask, I was NOT a "Lady of the night", just young and stupid, with no taste whatsoever!!

My fashion mishap was a seqiuned purple boob tube. I am fairly flat chested and so you can guess I spend most of my time hitching it back up to cover my modesty. My best friend (who is also gay), used to carry a tube of superglue arond so he could embarrass me by yelling across a dance floor "do you need the glue darling the fried eggs are on show". Why he is my best friend still after 30 years I have no idea.

[katsmom]

Strep, I feel your pain. Mine was a B-52 loveshack style dress and no hips. Wriggling away on the dance floor it just kept wriggling up. Every few minutes Mr. B would dance over to me, slap me on the backside and pull down my dress. Par for the course, me dancing means me drunk so I really didn't give a hoot. But he has been forever teasing me about how good it was that this happened before my bum headed south! Being a carpenters dream, I have instinctively always known better than to wear a boob tube Had someone mentioned super glue, I might have tried one!

[giraffe]

...........fishing Fernando's earpod out of the tumble dryer (after it had been through the washing machine) and shouting at him for not taking care of his things.

Also taking Lally to her first senior school entrance exam. It was for one of those new-fangled academy schools. They certainly have super facilities, but we were shown round by a couple of sixth formers, and no staff were there, so it was very difficult to get a feel for the school. Anyway she gets a break from exams until December.

[LAT]

How strange to have no staff there.

[giraffe]

There were no staff at all, it was really weird. The headmaster addressed us, but by DVD, shown on a big screen! He said no staff were present, so that they couldn't influence the selection process by spending more time with one family than another. It meant though that you couldn't ask any questions about the curriculum, or anything important. Most peculiar, a bit big brotherish, having this big face addressing you from the wall.

[LAT]

but so much of how you feel about a school depends on what you think of the head in particular and key staff members so how on earth can you make a decision based on a video film?
Did Lally like the school?

[giraffe]

Lally doesn't get to see it unless they offer her a place. They only let parents look round while the kids are sitting the test. They don't have an open day or anything. I would have found the head moreimpressive if his disembodied head had beeen able to pronouce students. He kept calling them Stoodents!! It's so oversubscribed that they don't have to entice people to apply, in fact they had another school, which used to be the worst in the borough until they were turned into an academy under a deputy head from the one we were at today, there touting for people to apply to them. How weird is that?

[Bunnylump]

OK this is weird. You know I was saying the other day about the diseased horse chestnuts around here? On Countryfile at the moment there is an bit about research which is being conducted at Boxmoor Common (about a mile from me)!

[MBH]

Being a carpenters dream,...

Thank you - it took me 3 reads of this before it clicked (then I laughed myself silly) Hadn't heard this phrase used before - must be a 'girl thing'

Hope you're feeling better soon. Any use of the word 'torn' in relation to body parts is NOT a gound thing


*MBH wants to see pics of Sis in her Ra-ra skirt!!!!*

[clvrlad]

so your not as flat as a board?

as least your some ones dream katsmom