School Sports Day

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It’s that time of year again, school’s almost out, the kids are breaking up for the summer holidays and parents are taking time off work to attend the annual sports day. School sports day, a chance for children to demonstrate their prowess at running, the long and high jumps and throwing the cricket ball. The problem is that  these days many schools deem it inappropriate for children to compete with one another, it’s not fair that little Peter should endure the humiliation of coming last in the 100 metres or that little Jane should suffer as her best friend Mary overtakes her in the sack race. Instead, it’s either arranged that everybody crosses the line at the same time and/or whatever the result everybody receives a prize.
The question is, if schools are there to provide our children with a good grounding for life and to prepare them for the outside world what is this actually going to teach them? That in the real world there is no competition and everybody rubs along nicely receiving equal treatment? That the rewards are always shared equally?
Of course, it is all complete nonsense and is a perfect example of political correctness at it’s worst. We all know (or at least those of us in the private sector know) that life in the real world is dirty, cut-throat and highly competitive. If you are not good enough you don’t get on, if your product is inferior to your competitor’s you don’t sell it and you don’t earn any money. Nobody is going to buy your inferior goods because they like you or because you are a good person.

These schools are failing our children who should be taught to be competitive and to be hungry for success. All children should receive equal encouragement at school and should be urged to do their best at all times. If they do their best and don’t win the race then they should be encouraged to keep at it and try again. If they still can’t make any progress then they should be encouraged to try something else. There is never any disgrace in failure provided you’ve given it your best shot. To reward failure is a travesty and I ask again what kind of message does it give to children!

If everybody receives a prize then the prize is worthless. The prize should be the sole reward of the winner because in the real world that’s the way it is; that’s how it goes whether we like it not.

How much water do we really need?

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At last somebody has had the courage  to openly deride the nonsensical advice given to us on water consumption.  Dr Margaret McCartney, writing in the British Medical Journal, stated what most people with any degree of common sense have been saying for years, namely that the advice of the NHS to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day is complete codswallop – she actually used the word nonsense but both words apply!
For years now we’ve been bombarded with advice from successive Governments  (who presumably have been acting with the best of intentions) and the giant bottled water companies (who presumably have not!) to drink ridiculous amounts of water just to stay alive. The result has been that many impressionable folk never leave home without taking with them a large bottle of Evian presumably just in case they collapse choking in their local high street. Railway stations, airports and even shopping malls are full of people clutching plastic bottles as though preparing for a walk across the desert or an assault on Everest. Joggers, walkers and gym-goers are rarely seen without this life-saving implement prompting many of us to wonder how on Earth we survived all those water-free years of running, cycling, rugby and football training without ending up on life support machines.
Although it’s absurdly funny to observe the gullible clutching their plastic bottle like some cool and trendy  fashion accessory that is not the main issue. There is a serious point here and that is that we should listen to the advice of environmental groups who warn us of the damage caused by the disposal of billions of plastic bottles worldwide and the deaths of thousands of sea creatures like turtles, dolphins and whales who mistake bottles, along with plastic bags, for food. That might cause a few to splutter into their drinks.

Defecating Dogs

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We’ve all stood in dog excrement at some time or another haven’t we? It’s not very pleasant, it sticks to your shoes like glue and stinks to high heaven. So, when the law changed and dog owners were compelled to pick up after their animals we all thought it was a great idea.
Doggy waste would now be placed in plastic bags so that neither we nor our children, in particular, would ever again walk the stuff on to our nice clean carpets. Unfortunately, there has been a downside because, whilst most dog owners behave responsibly, others simply throw the waste-filled bags on to pathways, on to pavements, into hedges, and even on to the branches of trees. How crass and anti-social is that? At least  excrement left on the pavement  is biodegradable and will eventually rot or be washed away by the rain whereas, in a bag, it is a filthy eyesore and will remain so for as long as it takes the plastic bag to rot. Can we suggest, ever so politely, that those irresponsible dog-owners either use freely available biodegradable waste bags or use the bins provided by local council. Failing that can you just take the waste back home with you.

Estate Agent Speak

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I wish somebody would
muck out my equine facility!

I drove past a house today outside of which was a “For Sale” board advertising the sale of a “Cottage with Equine Facilities”. If the intention of that flowery language was to provoke admiration of the agent’s intelligence and command of the English language I suspect the result is more likely to be the opposite! Isn’t the word “stables” PC anymore or am I missing something?

Pigs in a trough – The News of the World scandal

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The closing down of the News of the World, amidst much wailing and gnashing of teeth, is, of course, the biggest news story of the day. There are many fine journalists in this country but there are others who are perfectly represented by the 1980s television programme, Spitting Image, as pigs fighting over food in a trough.
 Any journalist suspected of involvement in the telephone hacking referred to in the press and any policemen alleged to have taken bribes should be investigated as quickly as possible. As usual there will be calls for a public enquiry, no doubt because it is in the interests of certain politicians for this course of action to be taken. It is the wrong course, however, and, irrespective of the embarassment to those in authority, a criminal investigation should be undertaken immediately with those found guilty facing the full weight of the law. Their victims deserve no less.

Some good news from the BBC!

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Over recent years many have despaired of the slanted and clearly left wing prejudiced news reporting of the BBC. How refreshing and encouraging therefore that Lord Patten, in his first major speech as the new chairman of the BBC, urged the Corporation to be more impartial and “take account of the full breadth of opinion that exists on most controversial topics”. In plain language, that the Corporation should try to be more representative of the country as a whole rather than simply reflecting the views of the metropolitan elite who seem to dictate much of what happens in this country. That is good news. Let’s hope his employees were listening to him.

Foreign Aid

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Well, it’s July 6th and the first topical blog for common sense. Right on cue our Prime Minister has stated that yet more hundreds of millions of pounds of UK taxpayers money will be given away in foreign aid, this time to Afghanistan. This follows hot on the heels of pledges of £1.4 billion in aid to Pakistan (which recently spent a similar amount on the purchase of two squadrons of fighter planes from China) and several hundreds of millions of pounds to India (which is currently spending billions of pounds on its space exploration programme).

Aside from questioning how each recipient is actually going to spend our money are we not also entitled to ask how on earth the Government can actually spend money that it says we haven’t got? We are constantly being warned of the necessity of austerity measures and a general tightening of belts as cuts are made in the funding of vital public services such as Health, Education and the Police.

Something doesn’t quite add up does it? If the money is there then shouldn’t it be spent on relieving poverty and suffering in our country, shouldn’t it be used for example so that more police can walk our streets or so that poor old Mr Smith who has paid tax for the last 50 years can be admitted to a care home without having to sell his house. Charity begins at home Mr Cameron and in so saying we are not demonstrating “hard heartedness” as you recently stated. No, we are simply showing some common sense.

Common Sense

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First blog for common sense! This blog is intended to be an outlet for the expression of views on topics that concern or irritate us such as bureaucratic bungling, continuing European crises and the crazy examples of political correctness that blight our daily lives. It is in no way intended to be a platform for any political party (How could it be? Those running our political parties seem, at times, to be totally lacking in common sense and seem far removed from those who voted them into power in the first place!). The blog is intended to expose some of the absurdities of modern life, the things that really irritate the ordinary man and woman in the street, people like you and me, people who work hard for a living, pay their taxes and abide by the law only to look on with astonishment at how the country is mismanaged and  misgoverned? Doesn’t anybody listen to us? We all complain at home, at the office and in pubs and clubs but most of us do nothing about it. Well, this is our chance and I intend to post a blog twice a week commencing July 6th, 2011.

PS. The picture is of Thomas Paine a free-thinking Englishman who emigrated to the American Colonies in 1774. Once there he published a pamphlet, popular on both sides of the Atlantic, called “Common Sense” in which he advocated  independence for the Colonies. This blog doesn’t necessarily agree with all that he said but the title of the pamphlet was a good one and the need for common sense in our daily lives is as strong now as it ever was.