Frozen Britain...

[Rustinho]

Totaly aggree too, i remember winters far worse than these today, schools didn't shut, we got to work, either by walking or buss as i dont ever remember them stopping, trains kept going but they were steam engines and therefor heavier, we cleared the pavement outside my mums and put saxa salt down,
there wasn't the problem with airports but i guess they did close, it's just that the great unwashed could never afford air travel so the problem never arose,
now it's all gone t1t's up, why cant people just bl00dy enjoy a good christmas at home,?

Regarding schools, I can tell you why (some) schools are so ready to shut in bad weather.

If a headmaster suspects that there might be a bad turnout at school because of the snow it is in their interests to close the school. If kids don't turn up because of the weather it counts as "unauthorised absence" on the school attendance figures. These figures are reportable to Ofsted and is something that is reflected on in giving the school a rating. If the school is shut then there is no unauthorised absence on that day and it makes the school look better to the Ofsted desk jockeys in Whitehall who publish the government statistics.

Another reason (although much less significant from what I understand) is that if one of the little dears falls over there is the chance of being sued c/o injurysolicitors4u.com or whoever and there is a chance that an individual teacher (or non-teaching staff even) could be held directly responsible and the trade unions aren't too happy about that prospect.

It's a sad statement on the way these things seem to work these days...

[tintin]

Just for Apache......

http://www.partydelights.co.uk/sweet...mo=sweets&fl=3

[flounderbout]

Ahh, but in our day there wasnt a paedophile on every street corner

I'd tentatively suggest that there are exactly the same number (relatively speaking) of paedophiles these days. The two things that have changed are a) there is a much higher level of reporting of child abuse/abduction and b) what reporting there is is completely hysterical. Hence the modern paranoia about child abduction, which is incredibly rare, just as it always has been. Sadly the vast majority of child abuse still takes place within the home.

I'm with Calos and Apache. We should all get a grip and let people take some responsibility for their damn lives instead of blaming everybody else for everything at every opportunity. Which means letting our kids have some responsibility too.

[Hazzo]

FFS you have all turned into your Dad's

There was nowt wrong with my Dad, so thanks.

As for the paedos, they weren't secreted into your community by council do-gooders who hid their presence from the locals, hence they tended to move on from this community pretty sharpish, sentence served or not. H

[soramad]

unfortunately I can remember trudging through snow to go to school in my wellies long socks and short trousers in my cap and gaberdine mac, making rafts and swimming in the local river, a camp coffee bottle full of cold tea in the summer and off we would go making dens,rafts, or just plain exploring.Also the wooden backed board duster used to come flying across the class room at the slightest hint of disruption or a crack on the back of the head from a pipe or ring from the teacher having creapt up on you. One of the main causes of crime these days (other than drugs) is the lack of discipline, health and safety we used to call common sense, human rights did not exist just good old fashioned justice.But then i'm old and enjoyed being young I do'nt think i would like to be young these days too restrictive.

[Apache]

Haha, you just reminded me of a time me and a mate from school 'broke in' to Lord Derby's estate (the grounds) in Knowsley near Liverpool. We were all of 10 years old.

We found a huge solid wood door in a barn and decided it would make a great raft so set off dragging this thing behind us to one of his fishing lakes, where we set sail only to sink in about 2ft of water in the shallows. We were spotted by one of m'luds groundskeepers and told off sternly that we weren't to come back again or he'd shoot us, then given a few plastic barrels and helped to tie them to the door.

We had a great time floating around, falling off, and generally p1ssing about accompanied by an old bloke with a shotgun who just got a kick out of having a laugh with couple of kids up to no good.

Life is still the same believe it or not. People are still people. The Daily Mail et al want us to believe otherwise. The sooner we kick those tw@ts into touch the better.

[Calos]

I'd feel dammed proud if I could turn into my father, he's a great guy worked hard all his life (for himself) took risks and did well for us as a familey I'm 42 in Jan, I still think of myself as young, and I was taught to respect older people and I still do; I'm always supprised at the gratitude I hear from older people when I talk to them, more of us should do the same let them know they are valued and respected.

"Don't tell him your name Pike!"

peace
cal

[Apache]

I'd feel dammed proud if I could turn into my father, he's a great guy worked hard all his life (for himself) took risks and did well for us as a familey I'm 42 in Jan, I still think of myself as young, and I was taught to respect older people and I still do; I'm always supprised at the gratitude I hear from older people when I talk to them, more of us should do the same let them know they are valued and respected.

"Don't tell him your name Pike!"

peace
cal

Could not agree more. Well said chap!

[Sancho]

1. I love it when people that I see on a forum every single night say 'in my day we didn't have computers, we had proper friends'. Kids these days, eh? Where do they get it from?

2. All that discipline and 'hard knocks' has turned is into the sort of people we are. The sort that drone on endlessly about how rubbish the world is and how terrible kids are.

[Apache]

1. I love it when people that I see on a forum every single night say 'in my day we didn't have computers, we had proper friends'. Kids these days, eh? Where do they get it from?

2. All that discipline and 'hard knocks' has turned is into the sort of people we are. The sort that drone on endlessly about how rubbish the world is and how terrible kids are.

Must confess I'm wondering what the feck you're on about

I'm mighty proud of my lad and my stepdaughter. They are both very fine individuals. They like different things to me, but they like the same things as me too. Just like my parents liked different stuff to me, but I like a lot of the stuff they did.

You're just one of those youngsters that dont know nowt though aren't you?

[Sancho]

Must confess I'm wondering what the feck you're on about

Me too . What I'm trying to say is firstly that no-one on this forum has any moral high-ground at all in saying that kids spend too much time on computers when they're sitting here typing messages to strangers all night.

Secondly, I just wish people would stop moaning and get on with it. I think half the stuff that people complain about kids having these days (such as phones, X-boxes etc) is just jealousy that they didn't have them when they were kids. Also all of those things like playing out all day, drinking from the hose etc; the only people stopping them from doing that are the parents. That's us.

In short, I think I am actually agreeing with "Life is still the same believe it or not. People are still people. The Daily Mail et al want us to believe otherwise."

[Apache]

In short, I think I am actually agreeing with "Life is still the same believe it or not. People are still people. The Daily Mail et al want us to believe otherwise."

And Algy flew off into the sunset - and as he did, he wiped a tear from his eye. All was right with the world... for now.

[Calos]

My son is 5 in Feb, he's loving the snow first time he's really seen it here, he can name every vegetable on our allotment even when it's seedling, and knows how much fun a bug-hunt is while dad is weeding, can ride a bike climb anything fearlessly, has no idea what an xbox or PS3 or psp is other than boring; and count to 100 without help in english and welsh and loves a good laugh with his dad.

My eldest daughter is 23 and a successful care worker, middle daughter is nearly 18 and has given us two wonderful grandchildren. Bit young but there it is, son-in-law is currently serving in the royal artillery, has been out to afganistan twice and made it home alive; and in one piece:We are greatful for the small things in my generation, because we know the small things are the big things.


peace
cal

[Sancho]

So that's two people with perfectly normal kids that they're proud of. Anyone got molly-coddled X-box slaves? No. Only the people that the Mail invent.

[BUSHWHACKER]

My three year old can count to 10 in Welsh.