Friday 30 May 2008

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Best

The phone has been reconnected. I was impressed by the tenacity and perseverance of Luke, the BT engineer who came and did the job. Due to the extremely cramped position he had to adopt in mum's loft, I offered to act as his mate and pass the required tools and bits of equipment. There was a 30 minute period during which he was atop the telegraph pole between here and the exchange. It was here that the fault lay. However it is now fixed and we are back in touch with the rest of the world.

Mum has the Daily Telegraph for her daily paper, and I used to think of it as a bastion of Englishness and standards. Twice in the last week their English has been lacking. They write that "Limousines will bare the starlets away." , which conjures up an interesting mental picture and "Helicopters baring members of HM forces". Honestly! What school did these people go to? The verb is "to bear".

The news stories regarding the stabbings of young people are truly horrifying. It is hard to know what to suggest. Young people who feel it is necessary to demonstrate their commitment to a group by being part of a violent act are clearly lacking in moral values, and for that surely we can only lay the blame at the door of their parents.

The counter, of course, is the hundreds and hundreds of young people who contribute to to the general good of our society in so many different ways. Long may they continue to be motivated by their idealism, and stir us sceptics and cynics out of our apathy. And please can our media remind us from time to time that there is much good in the world.

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