tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post3924071478699389038..comments2024-03-24T09:13:28.758+00:00Comments on The Plashing Vole: The little darlingsThe Plashing Volehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-67623111247153979082010-07-12T11:11:53.133+01:002010-07-12T11:11:53.133+01:00You're both utterly right.
On the careers thi...You're both utterly right. <br />On the careers thing, I know an extremely bright young woman who is now a fairly senior academic with loads of academic papers to her name as well as a PhD. When she met the careers adviser at the age of 15 and announced that she intended to do A-levels, the mentor repeatedly pressed her to do 'hair and beauty' instead. The arse. <br /><br />On a related note, a brewer I met told me this story: the J. D. Wetherspoon pub chain is named after the teacher (at Eton) who told its owners that they'd never amount to anything. Now that's what I call revenge!The Plashing Volehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13021407602157515927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-82699407549364862482010-07-10T08:59:20.171+01:002010-07-10T08:59:20.171+01:00Ah Blossom, you beat me to the comment box. You ar...Ah Blossom, you beat me to the comment box. You are completely right the war cry of "I'm Boooooorred! is a familiar sound to nearly all parents (and I don't need to be one to know that) Vole obviously missed a meeting on that one. <br /><br />It doesn't matter how good a parent you are, children have short attention spans and big imaginations and it can be hard work to keep up with them.<br /><br />As for the 'prom' thing Vole you are right on the money. The ease with which this horrific conformist fertility rite has passed into the British consciousness is scary. <br /><br />What is most infuriating about it is that it has nothing to do with children and everything to do with money. <br /><br />Although if you are looking for someone to blame for the rise of the prom then look no further than the British film industry (and its backers) who have not provided an alternative to the American teen movie. <br /><br />Perhaps making all ten year olds watch Carrie would scar them enough to put them off proms?<br /><br />Now that is good parenting.Benjamin Judgehttp://benjaminjudge.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-20819971143992923932010-07-09T21:50:40.024+01:002010-07-09T21:50:40.024+01:00Just an aside though, re gender stereotyping. I me...Just an aside though, re gender stereotyping. I met a lovely 15 year old girl today, doing two weeks' work experience, arranged by her school. After completing her A levels, she wishes to pursue a career as a barrister. She said this had been her dream since early childhood. So what work experience had her school arranged? A week in Dorothy Perkins and a week in a beauty salon. And, bless her, she didn't grunt once!Conniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09275520760565119121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6153845628469776909.post-44060429421517664382010-07-09T21:38:06.031+01:002010-07-09T21:38:06.031+01:00Mmm. Are we maybe being a tad touchy? I'm sure...Mmm. Are we maybe being a tad touchy? I'm sure every parent has experienced, while trying desperately to stimulate and amuse their child, the extremely irritating, ''I'm bored!' emitted in a nasal whine from their little Verruca Salt. Could the T-shirt have been suggesting that no matter what the parents did, the child would still moan about being bored? <br /><br />And when this little sweetheart reaches puberty, she'll no doubt adopt that other staple phrase, 'I hate you!' to regale her parents with. (Though never the grandparents. Grandparents and grandchildren remain saccharine sweet with each other, much to the frustration of the parents.) This particular expression would be devastating were it not for the fact that parents are so resigned to only hearing grunts from their teenagers that any utterances of genuine words, nay sentences, reassure them that their kids are still human.Conniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09275520760565119121noreply@blogger.com