Saturday, November 12

Nannying nonsense

From the Editor's keyboard.
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In the same week a 15 year old school girl was stabbed six times with a pair of scissors while in the lunch queue at school, the British Standards Institution announced that fountain pens are now too dangerous for children under the age of 14.
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Amazingly, the headmaster of Collingwood College, Camberley, where the stabbing took place, announced in a subsequent press statement that contrary to the image evoked by the stabbing, his was actually a good school, evidence for his statement was apparently based on a Ofsted inspection - a "quality systems" box ticking exercise.
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Meanwhile over in North Wales, Chief Constable Richard Brunstrom whose love affair with fixed speed (revenue) cameras has been thwarted by the Home Office has found a new target: his own officers - well at least those that smoke. An internal advertisement authorised by the Chief, specifically bars smokers from becoming traffic officers and in a further decree, he has ordered staff who smoke at work to "end their nasty practice".
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Unbelievably, pictures of Victorian newly weds as well as romantic Romeo and Juliet images have been removed from Liverpool Register Office by the superintendant in charge - and the reason why? The pictures might offend same-sex couples taking vows.
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A humourous point could well be made at this juncture but I prefer (at the risk of sounding pompous) that the false philosophy behind this nonsensical ethos is nothing short of an insult to the millions of dead to whom this weekend we quite rightly pay tribute. Mind you, I expect to report this time next year that the pins with which we affix our poppies to our lapels will be banned by some public safety regulation.
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PT
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