James

"Gardener's entrance" - another euphemism? Is this thread a coded campaign for cottaging?

Hi Moos - I pointed out that the middle class were to blame to highlight the fact that it's not just the 'underclass' who let their kids run riot sometimes, to the detriment of all of us.

I think there is a genuine point behind BETSY555's rant - namely that certain middle-class parents over-indulge their children and allow them to disrupt other people. It's a shame that anyone who says this is instantly branded a reactionary, miserable child-hater. On the contrary, I think children brought up with boundaries and a sense of respect for others are happier and more well-balanced. We seem to have a bizarre Jekyll-and-Hyde approach to kids in Britain - a basically child-unfriendly society where 'youths' are contantly demonised in the press combined with pressure to over-indulge your kids, treat them as mini-adults and cater to their every whim. Other European countries do it so much better - children are welcomed in shops, restaurants and 'adult' environments but expected to behave, and generally speaking, they do!

Barry's attitude seems great. However I will reserve my judgement until I see the aforementioned improvements actually come to light. Not being cynical or anything!

Why don't you use your brain instead of making such patronising, pointless remarks? If you ever get mugged would you appreciate someone telling you you shouldn't have been carrying your wallet/walking down that particular street?

What a ridiculous thing to say KKel. What are any of us supposed to do about the careless driving of certain scumbags? You can't exactly take preventative action to avoid them. My car was dented whilst parked outside my house. Presumably I should have anticipated this as well?

What a bizarre and antiquated idea - that men should need a different sort of hairdresser or fear compromising their delicate masculinity. What next - the return of separate withdrawing rooms for men and women? Why not go to a decent (unisex) hairdresser where they actually know how to style your hair to suit the shape of your face?

Have you tried the Creme Egg McFlurry? It's amazing!!!!!! (I am so ashamed, I read the Observer and everything)

I think your weird attempts to justify your squeamish PC instincts are skin-crawlingly uncomfortable actually Lenk. I don't know who you think you are helping either. Certainly none of the mostly disadvantaged black men who are shot or stabbed on the streets of London every year. Perhaps you should involve yourself actively in a charity or something, rather than going on witch-hunts on forums like this to demonstrate how politically correct you are. Dunno who you mean by "you all" as well... now who is being prejudiced and jumping to conclusions? I read a description of three female muggers on here a while ago. I remembered it and looked out for them. Thankfully I didn't encounter them. I'm at a loss to understand why you find the usefulness of a descrition so hard to grasp Lenk.

How about this bizarre scenario SCSB79? Perhaps the people who want to know a description want to know in case, for example, they are walking home late and see the persons described. Then they know to get the hell out of there. Extreme, bizarre and far-fetched I know! Gosh, how silly of me to suggest such a thing! No; of course not. In truth we are all card-carrying fascists. That's far more likely.

If the muggers were girls I'm sure you would point that out. Women making up approximately half of the population. So perhaps descriptions are not that useless after all... no hang on a minute, that would be sexist, wouldn't it?

So descriptions of offenders are pointless. Fascinating. The wisdom of certain posters on here is quite breathtaking.

Still waiting for a description...

Oh I love Tas. Please come here!

What is wishy-washy about being a liberal? Probably takes more courage than being a rightwing bigot.

Why not spend your money more wisely? You could put it in a wheelbarrow, for example, and burn it?

Not crisicising you Asset - like I said, we all have to do the best for our kids. What irks me though is the smug well-off people who send their kids to over-subscribed state schools (depriving poorer kids of places) and then look down upon those who go private as if they are somehow morally superior. In an ideal world all schools would be decent and free. But it's not an ideal world - so we all have to do the best with the options we have.

Charter has a somewhat bizarrely polarized intake of the extremely affluent and pretty poor. I wonder if this has any bearing on the CVA scores? I'm sure it's a decent school but it now has a tiny catchment area (about one mile I think) which shows that the government's strategy of creating a market in education is merely forcing more affluent parents to move near the better schools. As Charter improves further no doubt more of the places will go to parents like this, making a nonsense of the idea of comprehensive education. What is the difference between paying for a private school through fees and buying your way into a decent 'comprehensive' by buying a house near it? Merely a self-righteous feeling of smugness, I would suggest.

Whilst I agree that the basic principle of private education is morally unsound, I would argue that when faced with a choice between a dreadful, failing local state school and a private school, it's not "selfish" to strive to do the best for your children.

The problem is that it is a false dichotomy to assume that anyone who criticises the idea of private schools is automatically attacking the schools themselves. In my opinion there are a number of excellent private schools in South East London, including Alleyn's. But studies have shown that comprehensives in areas with high concentrations of selective and private schools consistently under-perform. Surely it's no mystery why this is... So for me the issue is how to preserve the traditions and high standards of places like Alleyn's whilst broadening access for kids from different backgrounds.

Agree about Cambridge. Now let me get back to my Socialist Worker.

Have to say, that school does seem to be a haven for over-privileged tossers. Although I'm sure there are nice kids there too.

Seriously? No! Not another Jude Law/Guy Ritchie/Norman Cook-style "I'm a geezer me" posho private schoolboy pretending to be working class. Ugh, how irritating.

That's a bit better

I believe Kelvin MacKenzie went there (the man responsible for the Sun's "GOTCHA" headline after the sinking of the Belgrano). Oh dear.