Youth of Today

Two weeks ago, on a really hot day, I took the kids to the pool for their swimming lesson, but because it was hot we went straight from school so we could all have a nice long muck-around in the pool to chill out.  Unfortunately there was a bunch of hideous yoofs there who had pretty much taken over the hill area next to the big pool and were being really unpleasantly anti-social: muchos swearing, illicit smoking, being rough, kicking a football.  Because I wanted shade and to keep an eye on my kids I sat near them: this was a mistake, and after a ball kicked by one of them whistled past my ear I gave it up and moved our stuff.  It meant I couldn't see the kids if they were in the water so I had to stand pool-side in full sun, but it was better than being near the yobbos.  The lifeguards weren't really in a position to do anything about the situation; for a start their job is not crowd control, it's making sure people don't drown, and furthermore most of the lifeguards are quite young and the yobbos were in a big boisterous pack.  I was pretty cranky when we left.

One week ago as we approached the pool for swimming lesson, a journalist from the Real Estate Newspaper (ie a local/borough paper funded by lots of real estate adverts) doorstop interviewed me about whether I'd witnessed any incidents and so I told her all about it.  Then she asked whether I approved plans to set up a Police Register of known anti-social offenders, and although I felt a bit nanna-ish, I said I basically would approve because seriously! If you're in a public place you need to behave appropriately.  Which means consideration for other people.  And if you don't understand or respect this, then why should you be let into public areas to spoil it for everyone else?

Today the local rag arrived and there was my name, supporting bans on louts.  I felt completely embarrassed when I read it, I reckon I blushed for a good 10 minutes.  Which is not to say I don't stand by what I said, but eek!  I'm in the paper, being an outraged mother!  Hilariously, I read it to the kids this afternoon, and when they heard I was mentioned by name they looked delighted.  Then when I read the bit about "her two primary school aged children" I swear they puffed out their chests.  Cherub was later observed marching round the kitchen singing we're in the pa-per, Caroline and Climber and Cherub are in the pa-per.




(You can click on the photo to see it at Flickr, where it's a more reader-friendly size)