recovered bodies from the water, are
appealing the ruling and local people in
Whitby have raised a petition for their
reinstatement. But the RNLI is
unrepentant, and say in a (somewhat
pious) statement that it did not tolerate,
“bullying, harassment or discrimination
in what should be a safe and inclusive
environment.”
Which is fair enough, but these were
non-pornographic items exchanged
between colleagues as jokey Secret Santa
gifts. No “bullying, harassment and
discrimination” in this case, but quite a
dollop of character assassination. As
Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail put
it, “Finding offence where none exists is
our new national pastime.”
St Wilfred’s Primary School in Blyth,
Northumberland, has banned pencil
cases in a bid to stop pupils from poor
families being, “stigmatised.” Head
teacher Pauline Johnstone said that the
ban was introduced, “so there’s no
comparison on the tables and children
are learning.”
It’s all part of the “Poverty Proofing the
School Day” project, led by Children
North East, a registered charity which
encourages teachers to look at ways in
which some pupils might be unwittingly
excluded. Apparently, designer goods,
including pencil cases, are now banned
so stop students from poorer families
being bullied. the “profile” of the container (aka the
ridges on the lid) to give the opener
more purchase to cut through the metal.
Phew – what a relief.
Meanwhile, the Snowflake Generation
have taken aim at one of the UK’s
national treasures: the Fray Bentos pie
can. Snowflakes are defined as the young
adults of today who easily take offence
and are less resilient than previous
generations, or are too emotionally
vulnerable to cope with views that
challenge their own. And the circular
Fray Bentos can has got them beaten. The next generation don’t promise any
better. Head teachers say that analogue
clocks are to be removed from exam
rooms because GCSE and A-level
students have complained that they were
unable to read the correct time. In a
digital age, only digital clocks will do it
seems, although some teachers have
argued on Twitter that they shouldn’t be
sitting these exams if they can’t read a
clock face. But the Association of School
and College Leaders says that teachers
want their students to feel as relaxed as
possible during exams. Having a
traditional clock in the room, they add,
could be a cause of unnecessary stress.
It seems the Snowflakes, bless ‘em, can’t
handle a can opener to gain access to the
flaky pastry and scrummy filling which
lies within. A post on YouTube showed
one delicate soul trying to smash his way
in with a screwdriver before
complaining, “This thing does not open.”
As more videos appeared, Fray Bentos,
part of the Baxters Food Group based in
Scotland, vowed to help, but simply
made matters worse. They
recommended using a “robust” can
opener costing £8.50 (€9.65) which is
about four times the cost of the Fray
Bentos can itself. Budget can openers,
explained Baxters, do not “deliver
consistent results.” Trials are underway,
we are told, and the focus has been on
27
But that’s not all. Earlier this year, a
senior paediatric doctor warned that
children are increasingly finding it hard
to hold pens and pencils because of an
excessive use of technology. Sally Payne,
the head paediatric occupational
therapist at the Heart of England
foundation NHS Trust, said that when
children are given a pencil at school,
they are increasingly unable to hold it.
Continued overleaf