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A school is a microcosm of society. If we want to change the behaviour of the London rioters weshould study what happens in well-run schools.
Forchildren in their first term,the playgroundcan be afrightening experience. Teachers know this and keep a close eye on them.
Schools operate a policy of positive encouragement. Those who make an extra effort get a star,water the plants, feed the hamster, have a clap in morning assembly. Pride in oneself is the key here, knowing you can succeed if you try. (It is important to ensure everyone is good at something, even if it's not academic).
A school is a community, everyoneknows each other's name, and interacts.Ifa dosbarth (class) performs in theUrdd, the whole schoolbasks in the achievement of a win.A sense of pride in each other and team-building comes into play.
When young people leave school, a first job can benerve wracking, like going into the playground. Some offices operatea mentor policy,someone available to talkthings through with thenew employee. This is also a way of absorbing the work ethos, understanding what is expected of you.
There is no simple answer to the problem of what to dowith the rioters.
Behaviouralpsychologists say it is difficult to change ingrained behaviour and the riotershave been brought up in a culture of expectation, a 'pennies from heaven' mentality.
I would take away their mobile phones, get them off the internet, make them do somework (animal charities,perhaps) know that if they want to spend money they must first earn it.
Then a mentoring policy for the whole family might be another way of assistance. Active,retired people with experience of bringing up their own families couldbring a stability that issadly lackingat the moment.
Some MP, pontificatingon the radio about the London rioters,got me thinking.
'There is a big difference between those with money and those without', is one reason put forward for the violence and looting.
To suggest povertyleads to violence is humiliating for people who, through illness ordisability can't work but lead blameless lives.
In Victorian times, the poor were halfstarved, living in slums, whilst the rich displayed excessive wealth.
The key to partial understanding of the minds of the looters lies in the fact that theyleft bookshops alone, but targetedplaces that sold sports trainers, mobile phones and electrical gadgets. These were not starving mobs calling for bread, but picky people, looking for luxury goods, people used to living high on the hog, eating take-aways most nights.
Bad behaviour has its roots in bad motheringbut I'll leave that for now so Ican free my mindand make a few suggestions.
We'll begin with books. (I wonder how many illiterates were on the rampage? Yes, yes, I know there were all sorts but I'd still like to know.)
I loved story time when I taught young children and so did they.
Jung said we learn through symbol and myth.A good storyalways teaches something.
I've forgotten the title of one of my favourites but I'll give you the bones. There were two sisters, aged about seven, (first rule of story telling: make sure the listenerscan identify with the subject) always moaning.
Their beds were too small, they wanted separate bedrooms, more butter on their bread, more toyson their birthdays.
What did their exasperated mother do? She put the two of them in one small bed, gave them less butter, less toys. After a few days,they were allowed toreturn to their separate beds,have their usual share of the butter and she gave them a toy each.
'And they were very happy and never moaned again. The End.'
The class gave me a good clap for that one.
'Hands up who liked it?' Everyone.
'Why?'. They were taught a lesson'.'They stopped moaning'. 'They got a toy each'. 'They got back to their own beds'.
Justice had been done, order restored. Children don't like chaos, unpredictable behaviour.
We have to teach responsibility and we can. I'll go into that next time.
One hundred years ago this week an event ocurred in Llanelli, South Wales that shocked the nation. The first ever national rail strike had been called after a long period of industrial unrest particularly in Liverpool where two strikers had been shot dead by an an army officer during attacks on police vans taking convicted rioters to Walton jail. The army and local police, reinforced by a number of brutal police officers from Birmingham had fought several battles with strikers, all under the watchful eye of, and approved by, Home secretary Winston Churchill. This period of unrest culminating in August 1911 was described by the historian Eric Taplin as the nearest occasion that Britain has come to a revolution. The wave of strikes in Britain between 1910 and 1914 saw millions of workers fight over wages and conditions. This period of sustained industrial rebellion in British working class history became known as the Great Unrest.
There were plenty of reasons for rail workers to strike. Prices of basic goods were rising sharply and wages were stagnant or falling. A third of railway workers were paid less than 20 shillings a week. In Llanelli, large crowds of picketers halted rail traffic. Local magistrates had requested the help of the army and soldiers were drafted in as other industrial workers came onto the streets in solidarity, joining crowds of people from the railway and dockside communities. On Saturday 19 August 1911, as strikers attempted physically to prevent a train passing through, soldiers of the Worcester Regiment opened fire, killing two men and wounding others.
There were subsequent riots and, sadly as was the case last week, looting took place. The shops of the magistrates who brought in the troops were stormed and comprehensively looted. Battles took place with soldiers who tried to clear the streets at bayonet-point. Many protesters received bayonet and baton wounds, avoiding hospital for fear of arrest.
Significantly, at the height the battles the soldiers stood back and refused to engage, at one point penned in the railway station while crowds attacked it, smashing all the windows. For hours the authorities seemed paralysed, unable or unwilling to intervene as the trucks and sidings of the Great Western Railway Company were assailed, looted and burned, triggering an explosion which killed another four people. One soldier refused to fire on the crowd, was arrested, escaped from military custody and went on the run, raising the authorities fears of a wider mutiny.
Its important to remember the people who died in these incidents. At Llanelli, ironically neither of the men who were killed were railway workers or even directly involved. Jac John was a tinplate worker, shot as he stood in the garden of No 6 High Street, overlooking the railway line. The other man Leonard Worsell was shot in his own back garden, whilst in the midst of shaving.
The lesson of Llanelli must stay in our minds. It is almost unthinkable that the authorities would consider ordering British troops to fire on their fellow unarmed British subjects. Last week the knee jerk reaction of many people who saw crowds of rioters outnumbering beleaguered police was Call in the army! Even in some of the Middle East countries, notably Egypt, the military refused to fire on protesters. It was heartening to hear about unprecedented assistance of police with information following our recent riots. We must oppose any move to introduce draconian measures that would undermine our successful model of policing by consensus.
Cardiff City just went top of the Championship by beating the team tother side of the Severn.They beat Bristol City 3-1 with Capt. Mark Hudson getting the 1st goal from a cross by Craig Conway. .Conway then got the 2nd goal and Rob Earnshaw on his home debut [2nd time around] got the 3rd from a tap in after Don Cowie's shot had been parried by David James in goal.Cowie scored last weeks winner against West Ham and then got his 1st callup for Scotland.
Down in the Conference things wern't quite so good as Newport Co. lost their 1st game of the season,Wrecsam drew theirs 1-1 with Cambridge Utd.However Colwyn Bay played their 1st ever game in the Conference North after promotion last season and won 2-0 away from home at Bishop Stortford.
Swansea kick off their 1st ever Premier league campaign tomorrow against Man.City.It will be on ESPN 2 @ 2.55 eastern.
Wales beat England 19-9 yesterday in a hard fought game at the Millenium Stadium Cardiff.The good news though was that the win was a great moral booster for the upcoming World Cup in New Zealand as England are one of the favourites, the bad news was that Gavin Henson made his long awaited return to the side only to get badly injured.he will miss the World Cup.Les Jenkins.
Chips are one of my favourite foods. I peel the potatoes, rinse them, thendrythem in a cloth. Nextslice them, not too thinly. The fat must be quite hot when the chips goin, but not smoking. (Put one chip in to test).
Fry for about five or six minutes until they look as though they are nearly ready.Lift them out,heat the oil until really hot.Lowerthe chipsin again,just long enoughto crisp them. This will take two to three minutes. When they are goldenbrown drain them on kitchen paper. Rush them to the table: they must be hot when eaten.
We had some American friends over, years ago, and I'd made chips, or French Fries as they called them. I said I liked mayonnaise with chips, the American way. They appeared mystified and said they'd not had them like that in the States.
Later I mentioned a little girl we knew who had lived in America andsang a song for me called 'Shoo Fly Pie'.They'd not heard of this dish, either.
This wasthe early eighties, before I could Google anything. I looked through various American cookbooks and found that 'Shoo Fly Pie' was a Pennsylvanian Dutch dessert. The pies were filled with molasses and cream, sometimes apples.They were put to cool on the kitchen step and the flies had to be shooed away.
Today's 'Western Mail' said that the best chippy in Wales is 'Top Gun' in Whitchurch, Cardiff.
I don't know where the 'Gun' comes into it. 'Top Net' or 'TopLine', perhaps, but let's accept that the mind works in a mysterious way. I must drop in if I'm passing.
My favourite chippy is 'Something's Cooking' in Letterston, half way between here and Fishguard.They've won manyawards and there's alicensed restaurant as well as the takeaway. Delights such as Banoffee Pie, apple tart and cream are on the 'Sweets' menu.
Looking at the history of the chip, it seems itwas a happy accident, invented in Saratoga Springs, New York,in 1853. A diner kept sending back the potatoes he'd ordered, saying they were not thin enough. In desperation, the chef sliced them very finely, fried them until crisp, then ladled salt on them. Result: a new dish was born.
Incidentally, in school cookery classes, we had to make game chips, which were sliced very thinly.
'Sglodion' is a Welsh name used for chips, but it is only in recent years I've come across the term.
A Microwave is called a 'Popty Ping'. How the language changes to assimilate the latest developments.
Off on a tangent now, I asked Oliver, who was going to a party,how did one chat up a girl in Welsh. It's simple, really, I should have known: 'Ti'n dawnsio, bach?'
During the1940's we spent our holidays in Llansteffan, in a b@b at the end of a row of cottages which are still there. Apart from donkey rides, a walk around the castle and ice-creams there was little else to do but I don't remember being bored.
Llandrindod Wells was anotherof our destinations and Aberystwyth, too. For Aberystwyth,we caught the 'bus at Carmarthen Railway Station and changed at Aberaeron. My aunt waved usus off and we had cheese on toast at a cafe on the front as soon as we arrived.
Wesuppliedour own food, because this was wartime and it was cooked by the guest house owner. Knowingmy fondnessfor donkeys, I'd begiven acarrot from the gardentoreward the donkey I'd ridden.
On a Sundaymorning, we went to Chapel in Aberystwyth. To keep me quiet, my mother told me to listen to the minister because he'd bewelcoming the holiday makers and I wouldn't want to miss it.(She understood a bit about child psychology.)
Maudie and Ffion were studing Pompeii in school recently, as part ofan 'ancient civilisation' module.
Ffion showed a picture of herself, standing by a petrified figure, her face registering her shocked expression.
Maudie, being younger,was fascinatedby arealdog sleeping in one of the buildings.The girls tooktheir photo album, withpictures of the preserved mosaic floor and variousbuildings.
We sailed to Capri and went to Amalfi on another day. Their teacher asked which picture they would they like on the wall. They chose the one of themselves tacklinggiant ice-creams in Sophia Loren's favourite ice-cream parlour in Sorrento. (Nothing to do with Pompeii, but that's how the mind works, or as Falstaff said, 'Why should death rob life of fourpence?')
Experiences enrich our mind, anchor information.Not allparents areable to take their leave entitlement during school holidays andmany schools,understand this and see holidays asopportunities for further education.
School terms are too long for junior children.Ten week terms aretiring for them, the work suffering. Shorter but more frequentbreaks could be the answer, for tour operators and for pupils alike.
The Preseli Mountainsare beautiful all year round. Last winter snow fell and the sun shone creating a Rupert Bear sky. (Know whatI mean?Pinks, mingled with gold and blues). Harry, Oliver and Maudietoboganned down the slopesone afternoon. There were other families there, plus a few sheep.
In 1944 a B-24 Liberator plane crashed near one of the summits. Six people were killed, including the Canadian pilot.On Remembrance Dayapoppy wreath isfixed to a wooden post.
A professional photographer went up the Preselis very early one day last winter. He wanted to capture thestrains of dawn breaking through the night, the moodiness of the sky.
I thought the pictures wereatmospheric. 'Atmospheric? What do you mean?' he quizzed.
'They have intensity', I replied.
'Mmmh. I shan't be going there again, alone, early in the morning.'
He'd been spooked. He felt as though he was not alone, and kept looking around him.
I would not want to be in Carn Ingli, in Newport,at night time,near to an ancient burial place, but then, I would not want to be on the Steynton to Milford Haven road, either.
This week's'Western Telegraph'reports another sighting of a mystery woman spotted on the A4076. Drivers have encountered 'near misses' with this phantom. A woman was killed on this stretch of road
about forty years ago and aspectre appears between ten thirty at night and three o'clock in the morning.
A paranormal investigation groupis looking into the evidence and says Pembrokeshire is a 'hot spot' for paranormal activity.
Interested? Why not come down for a 'mystery' weekend and have yourself a good old fright?
One of my sons-in-law ranfrom Poppit Sands down to Amrothtwenty five years ago. It took him three days, instead of the usual two weeks walking trek.Ihave the 'Western Telegrah' picture of him andEmma and Kate before he set off. The girls had arranged tomeet him at various places on the way with food and drink.
On thefirst day he burnt his legs badly andsprayed embrocation on them, thinking his muscles were cramping.
Whenhe returned, theevening of the second day, hehad stepped on a grass snake, not seeing it under some leaves.
On the third night hewas weak and wobbly but had completed the run. They lived in Tunbridge Wells at the time and this was the highlight of the summer for him.
Years later, a columnist in the 'Sunday Times' wrote that he was attempting the Path. He'd heard the previous evening, in his guest house in St David's, of the chap (my son-in-law) who had run the Path in three days.
To celebrate his fortieth birthday a few years ago,my son-in law trekked from Lukla to Everest Base Camp.We heardquite a bit about thelentil stew withfried onion on top, plus lemon tea for afters.
Helosta stone in weight. Friends said it looked like a good diet- (ha ha ha). Maudie took the prayer wheels to school for 'comparative religions' studies.
Today's 'Western Mail' says that the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path attracts walkers from around the world and has been named one of the greatest hiking trails in the world. It compares with Peru's Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Mount Kilimanjaro and others, including the trail to Santiago de Compostella. (I'm keen on that one, but I'm not telling my son-in-law before I warn my daughter, otherwise we'll all be on it.)
I worked for the Pembrokeshire National Park at one time. I saw puffins, seals, urchin shells washed up on the beach, rock pools, seagulls galore, had chips in Tenby (smallest order: beans and chips), saw the mist rising over Strumble Head, got caught in traffic in Saundersfoot, was the only one on the beach in Newport, where I had fish fingers and chips in a little cafe near the beach and a pickled onion, too. (Food somehow anchors my brain). No wonder Pembrokeshire has been calledthe new 'hotspot'.
Come whenever the fancy takes you. Come in autumn and you can see golden beech leaves in the Gwaun Valley and there'll be more room on the roads, too, but you should come if you want a treat.
