“Dad if we won the lottery could we buy a deserted island and live there?

It’s kinda sad that an 11 year old thinks that way. But I fully understand why and YES I would jump at the chance. I remember a time when I loved my country. Those days have sadly gone. Like many folk from Yorkshire we would happily declare independence. York becoming a capital city sounds cool. The national dish could be the Yorkshire Pudding. Our national sports would be cricket and being grumpy. The national animal would be the Ferret. Instead of having a nuclear deterrent we could threaten people with our rhubarb sticks.

You might think this is daft but trust me this is off the scale sensibility compared to the stupidity of modern Britain. Nothing sums up the state of the union better than just one single news story. Given all the potentially catastrophic events circulating around us (and there are many) – the attention of the media and a good proportion of the population has been on …… the horror of a bakery introducing a vegan sausage roll across its 900 stores. The likes of Piers Morgan (one of the not funny loonies and self pronounced TV Star) went into meltdown saying things like “Nobody was waiting for a vegan bloody sausage you PC ravaged clowns”. The news story is everywhere, you just can’t get away from it. I use the term news story very loosely.

I waited with anticipation for our son to return. He would cheer me up, bring much needed sensibility to my world. Unfortunately not this time.

“Dad the school want me to either write left handed or type left handed until my right hand gets better, that includes trying to do exams with my weak hand. I told them that I struggle to coordinate my left hand and that’s the reason I can’t tie knots. Told them that the Doctor was trying to help me with it but the teacher said I just had to do it”

“Dad did you complain about the behaviour in our bottom class”

Yes….

“Well they did something”

Please let it be something positive

“They moved a really well behaved girl up a set because she was struggling with the behaviour in our class and they moved a really naughty boy in to replace her. It was a lot worse today”

Only thing left is to go and buy a lottery ticket. That remote island is calling. Anybody fancy joining us.

90 thoughts on “Countries gone mad”

  2. I would but then it would not be a deserted island 🙂 winning the lottery ticket on the hand is much better idea. I would share it with my family and then forget about my current (financial) worries and ate all that yorkshire pudding (absolutely one of my favorites; a British friend of mine introduced me to them. I can never have enough) by paying a visit to York (where I have never been to, and after your definition, has become an intriguing place to see). These half-fantasy/half-jokes being said, I am sorry that your son and you have experienced these today. I wish there were things we could do to turn such things around (sincere wish) – hang in there

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  10. So sorry about the school stuff, that is so rubbish. Almost unbelievable, like people demonstrating AGAINST vegan sausage rolls. We heard about that even here in Cambodia due to social media. Keep your spirits up.

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  11. “I remember a time when I loved my country. Those days have sadly gone.” Yeah. Me, too.

    I’d live in your independent York. Can we chisel it out from the mainland? We could eat pudding, play cricket, pet Ferrets and be grumpy. However, strawberry/rhubarb pie is awesome. Just sayin’…

    I’m so sorry for your son.

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  12. I started following your blog only a few days ago. I taught here for over thirty years – not in the UK – and am appalled at how your son experiences school. At the same time I recognise that government expenditure on schools around the world has dropped in a time of increasing costs, and that many needs for children, parents, and teachers are not being met. As he is eleven and in the UK I take it that he is now at secondary school, and being”high functioning” ie verbal autistic, is without teacher assistant / aide support. I suppose also that you do not have the option of other accessible schools to choose from or you would be sending him to one of those. I really feel for you both. Obviously home schooling for a solo parent greatly reduces your income and is not an easy option to choose. I hope you can find ways to support him and yourself.

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    1. Thank you for reading this. Yes school options are much of a muchness. The dedicated support is minimal (nothing really) and if it happens tends to be provided by people with no training in autism or dyslexia. Yes the single parenting thing does complicate the decision.

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  22. and then there is the USA where half the government is shut down over a battle about building a wall between us and mexico… all we can do is create our own little bubbles of peace and love and live there. That is where family comes in. Cheers my friend From Detroit Michigan yes Detroit, the murder capital of the US he he. that is where i live. what the data forgets to mention is that we are also fond of our hockey and we do that pretty great here in hockey town. not sure where this reply is going but i hope it made you smile. hey, if i may make a request. tell me what its like where you live as i will never be able to travel your way. post some pictures. whats popular where you live. what is the food like?

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    2. One of my favourite songs is Detroit Rock City by Kiss. To a lad from England Detroit seemed really cool. Detroit Lions and RedWings are also cool team names. You did make me smile. When you said murder capital of the US Immediately thought of Yorkshire as the Rhubard capital of England. Pretty similar really. Expect pictures of a Rhubard coming soon. Hope your new job is going well. Take care.

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  23. Feel the same about our news here in the US. Where is the reporting about some of the atrocities going on all around the globe. The most ridiculous human behavior, PC madness, is what seems to rule while horrors in some areas is ignored completely.

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  24. Please save room for me on that remote island! When I was 9, I broke my left arm playing baseball at school. I was left-handed. The nuns insisted I write with my right hand, and if I didn’t, if they caught me trying to write left-handed despite the cast, they smacked me on the head with a steel ruler. So, I eventually learned to write with the “right” hand. And I’ve never been able to write well, still remember the trauma of multiple head smackings, and was told it also had an effect on my already-poor vision. Yes, a remote island sounds great, and I will even help with the home-schooling!

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  26. Jeez, no wonder you’re looking into virtual school. Antics like these would drive me to keep kids out of school, too.

    this is common behavior in a lot of American public schools, too. It helps no one except maybe the teachers, maybe. Ugh.

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      1. Well it’s not like he’d have to STAY out. Maybe just a year or two online would help ease the academic pressure and then he’d feel more comfortable focusing on the social pressure when returning to the “traditional” school.

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