There have recently been a couple of high-profile cases in the newspapers in which mentally ill people harmed children, and my Trust has responded to this in an alarming, and, as far as I am concerned, totally outrageous way: for each new situation with which we come into contact in the community, we now as nurses HAVE TO complete a 'Safeguarding Children' risk assessment-type document, and this involves asking EVERY SINGLE FAMILY that we see whether the mentally-ill person in the family is left alone AT ANY TIME with anyone under the age of 18 years. If the answer to this is 'Yes', we have to carry out further risk assessment as to whether there is any risk posed by this (we have a rating scale to adhere to for it) and if such is identified, we have to refer the matter to our superiors.

(11)  in conjunction with (10) above, a Real Nappy Officer be recruited, on a two-year contract, to promote the take-up of reusable nappies by parents, the health service and baby-care professionals.

Permit me to make some observations.  We have an enormous black-hole in the budget and have pledged to keep costs and recruitment under control. A "Real Nappy Officer" is precisely the sort of non-job malarkey that makes Council and the like a laughing stock and attracts public contempt. This position will not be confined to the salary, but covers pensions, office staffing and other on-costs. Harrow does NOT need a RCNS/USTTP (Reusable Crappy Nappy Supremo/ Urine Soaked Terry Towel Promoter).

Considering the current water constraints, how will this look when tens of thousands of washing machines are operating several extra cycles to wash the aforementioned soiled nappies? How much energy will be wasted drying the notoriously water retentive terry-towelling in the event of a tumble dryer being used. Will we then appoint a "Real Outdoor Washing Line Usage Coordinator" and a "Clothes Peg Safe Usage Officer"???  I know that we have a landfill problem, but the cost of the Infant Waste Product Reuseable Absorbant Material Operative is, I suspect, more than the landfill for all of the nappies in the entire borough. This is something I cannot support in the same way that I am totally unconvinced of the necessity of several hundred thousand pounds worth of "Local Area Champions" and the oncosts, "Teenage Pregnancy Coordinators" and other positions that should be considered for deletion. 

Three cheers for Patricia Moberly!

 Further more, I have ginger hair and since other colours are being scrutinised, i.e. Black, Brown, Yellow and so on,  should I be offended if I overhear someone asking for Gingerbread men, (persons), in a bakery?  I don’t think so!  Let colours be colours.  

The child, age 4, not yet in reception class, rebukes mum and says,  “You should not say that Mum. You should say – ice cream man or woman.”

My daughter went to a pre-school "Playgroup" which was run by people who have to go for training and who get paid (little or nothing) to do it. It was held at a small hall in our village.

For whatever reason its closed down.  So, my son who I would really like to be able to mix with other children in the village and play and learn together had nothing.

My wife and I were upset that people had nowhere to take their kids without it being expensive and decided to start what's commonly called "mums and toddler group" where parents can come and visit and let their little ones play do art and learn basics etc. This was going to be run by my wife and one other woman without pay once a week.

>>>>>>> Stay with me <<<<<<<<<

So we start to advertise it and call it "Mums and Toddlers Playgroup".  As we are handing out the flyers and putting up posters someone comes up and says, "You cant call it a playgroup because essentially it isn't . . .  its a Mums and Toddlers group".  We point out that it says that.  But we have used "Playgroup" too as - well - children will be playing in a group. Then someone else points out uhmm you shouldn't really use the words "Mums and Toddlers but "Carers and Toddlers"

I am one of those Dads who used to go to Mums and Toddler Groups and didn't care what it was called -  it didn't make me feel less of a man or neglected or whatever it is people are so concerned about. 

Then that was that until today when my wife gets a call from a UK Parent Action Group demanding we take down the posters and change the wording of our flyers and posters. 

So people who are setting something up purely out of selfless reasons and only for the good of all are made to feel like criminals for the words "Playgroup".  It makes us just not want to do it now but we will go ahead so we can offer something to our whole community.

 I'm off to bang my head against a wall for an hour or so, but I will be wearing full head protection in case you were wondering.

My wife taped me the programme This Morning which showed Laura Midgley discussing political correctness and I found it very interesting as I have just been given a ticking off from a manager at work for saying someone was an "idiot" in a discussion!  But with what was said on the programme about safety I found this piece on the internet - I thought it would bring a smile to some of your members. 

Click here to read the piece entitled "To all the kids who survived the 1930's 40's 50's 60's and 70's" in word format.

"Traditionally, one of the two devices is called the "master"
device and  the other a "slave," although this terminology is fading due to a lawsuit claiming that this language is racially and historically insensitive. (I'm not making this up.) So, some vendors are recycling the older connector terminology and calling the devices on each cable "primary" and "secondary;" although you may run into the older
master/slave terminology on your hardware."

My mother in law is continually corrected by well meaning do-gooders about what to call her grand-children who are of 'mixed race' ( I actually referred to them as half caste but have since been told that I should no longer use that term - even though it came from their mother's mouth!).  

She, as she is in her seventies, often refers to them as 'coloured' and then is corrected to the newer convention 'black' (how can they be black, I ask you, as their mother is white and father 'mixed race'?)  If she refers to them as 'coloured' she certainly means no malice and can remember a time when they would have been called all manner of unpleasantry.

 I am certain that all the hoo haa (can you still say that or does it refer to an uncomplimentary terminology from the turn of the century?) over what exactly to call all manner of mixed race people is even less welcome to the people to whom it refers, who after all are just like you and me - citizens of the UK.

I also went on a training course which dealt with "racism in the work place".  Another load of rubbish that was.  I was told, "When you hear the term black bin bag you automatically feel like a load of rubbish".  I told the trainer what I thought of this nonsense in no uncertain terms. 

I am a student studying for a degree in photography. Last December Glasgow had set up an outdoor ice rink in the city centre and I went along one night to photograph the skaters.  I arrived at 11.30pm, the temperature was –3. I along with everyone else was dressed from head to toe in outdoor clothing, including gloves and hats. It was a Tuesday night (and a school night) and I had just started to take photographs when this council guy runs up to me and screams in my face “there are children here” I knew exactly what he was implying but I asked him what he meant. He said that I was not allowed to photograph the ice skaters, as some of them were children, and that it was against the law (it’s not).  I just ignored him, and he left threatening to get the police. People who witnessed it were looking at me with suspicion.

The crazy thing was that the children were not dressed in swimming costumes, they were dressed for the very cold weather. This experience is not unusual. A class mate was photographing adults playing football at a council owned football ground, the area has around 8 football pitches, on some of the pitches kids teams were playing football. Within an hour of getting home, the police were at his door wanting to know why he had been taking photographs. He explained what he was doing, and showed them the digital photographs (all adult players), and they still contacted the college to confirm his story.

My mother has recently had a blood test at the North Hampshire Hospital and was told to expect a little scratch.  When asked what they meant she was told that they are no longer allowed to say 'small prick'!  

My father on the other hand has encountered other problems at Alton swimming pool, where they have changed the process for lane swimming so that it alternates between clockwise and anti-clockwise.  The reason for this is that if all lanes are swimming clockwise there is, apparently, a chance that those in the first lane, moving down the pool, could get their arms interlocked with those swimming up the pool in the second lane although it has never been a problem in the past!

My elderly mother is taking music lessons from an excellent teacher; the teacher told my mother that when he teaches in the schools he is not allowed to refer to the keys on the piano as being either black or white for fear of causing offence!!.  This reminds me of the reign of Hitler in Thirties Germany when children were indoctrinated in the schools then encouraged to go home and listen to their parents talking and report back to the teacher everything their parents said!!.

I work in a bakery in Sainsbury's and we do various cakes etc on the counter. One woman came up and asked me for a 'gingerbread person' Nobody says that! Its not even called that, and the item label says 'man'.  Very silly.