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  1. #1
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    Barmy UK loses the plot once again - about Valentine Cards

    A primary school in Weston-super-Mare has been criticised for banning Valentine cards to save pupils the "emotional trauma" of being rejected.

    Children at Ashcombe Primary School were stopped from exchanging cards because the head teacher said they were not emotionally mature enough to cope.

    Peter Turner told parents of the 430 pupils that cards would be confiscated.

    One pupil's mother said: "I think it's outrageous. They're just children. Why spoil their fun?"

    The woman, whose son attends the school, said: "It's comical really. I couldn't believe it when I saw the newsletter.


    It's only a bit of fun once a year and it doesn't mean anything to kids that age
    MP Ann Widdecombe

    "My son is six and he's had a little girlfriend since nursery. They say they're going to get married, but we don't read anything into it."

    Mr Turner said in the newsletter that children get upset when they are "dumped" which interrupts their learning.

    He said children should wait until they are mature enough emotionally and socially to understand the commitment in having a boyfriend or girlfriend.

    A woman who has a seven-year-old at the school said: "I think it's absolutely ridiculous.

    'Parents laughing'

    "It's a tradition, I can remember when I used to receive cards from boys in school. It's a lovely thing to do.

    "Most of the parents were laughing about it, but the children are wondering what's going on because they've sent cards before."

    Conservative MP Ann Widdecombe also criticised the move.

    She said: "It's only a bit of fun once a year and it doesn't mean anything to kids that age.

    "I just think it is rather silly. Haven't they anything better to worry about at that school?"

    A spokesman for North Somerset Council said the head teacher was happy to discuss the issue with any parents who have concerns.

    He said: "Ashcombe is a primary school and they believe that children under the age of 11 are still emotionally and socially developing and therefore cards declaring love can be confusing.

    "Any families wishing to send cards are asked to send them in the post or deliver to home addresses by hand."
    Jesus, my country is really starting to piss me off.

  2. #2
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    I wish theyd ban all these daft days, bloody Easter eggs have been in the shop for nearly 2 weeks already.

  3. #3
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    Primary schoolgirls getting pregnant aged 10

    Without getting a Valentines Card presumably!
    Primary schoolgirls getting pregnant aged 10 - Telegraph

  4. #4
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    How is it that these PC obsessed baffoons get the jobs in the first place. The Uk just keeps making a fool of itself. Any wonder so many are fleeing. Think it was last year that, officially, more people left the UK than arrived to reside for the first time, think I remember reading about it in the Telegraph or something.

  5. #5
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    Quite sad, really. Kids just have a harder and harder time getting the chance to be kids.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton View Post
    Quite sad, really. Kids just have a harder and harder time getting the chance to be kids.
    i dont know what american kids can do in primary school, but we can't play conkers anymore due to safety reasons. crap really cos we all played the game before with no harm done

    we're not allowed tree houses, instead we have to ask planning permission!

    i suppose the Philippine government wont ban the sale of new born chicks to kids who use them for live toys. this would be banned by the RSPCA

  7. #7
    Philippine Expat
    Davis Knowlton's Avatar
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    ^Pardon my ignorance, but what's 'conkers'?

  8. #8
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  9. #9
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    Marbles, I believe . . .

  10. #10
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    you know i knew you were gonna ask as so i thought you might have a butchers on Wiki. but no matter. here's wiki for you

    Conkers or conker is a game traditionally played mostly by children in Britain, Ireland and some former British colonies using the seeds of horse-chestnut trees – the name conker is also applied to the seed and to the tree itself. The game is played by two players, each with a conker threaded onto a piece of string: they take turns to strike each other's conker until one breaks.



    In North America, the game currently has no official status or competitions. Its popularity has surely declined, but it is not thought to be an extinct game. It was played during the late 1940s and early 1950s in New York in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, and in the 1950s and early 1960s in the Amalgamated section of the Bronx and a winning chestnut was referred to as a "killer". It was also played in Queens, the upper West Side of Manhattan, in the Mohawk Valley area of upstate New York and in Westmount, Quebec and other English-speaking parts of Montreal into the 1970s. It was being played in the 1960s in Rhode Island

  11. #11
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    Davis Knowlton's Avatar
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    ^^^ and ^Thanks. Should have done that myself. ^^Sounds a bit more violent than marbles. I am fairly certain that this would be banned in the US as well. In fact, I read an article about an elementary school in California (sorry, don't have a link) which proposed banning all competitive sports because there would be losers and they would then grow up feeling bad about themselves. World gone mad.......

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton View Post
    ^^^ and ^Thanks. Should have done that myself. ^^Sounds a bit more violent than marbles. I am fairly certain that this would be banned in the US as well. In fact, I read an article about an elementary school in California (sorry, don't have a link) which proposed banning all competitive sports because there would be losers and they would then grow up feeling bad about themselves. World gone mad.......
    actully i read abit more about the conkers on wiki. seems they were banned not cos of the thought kids might smack them round the heads of others, but were afraid of the legal consequences if children were injured from shards while playing the game.

    now a conker isnt made of glass. its soft nut. and in 2004, several schools banned Conkers over concerns that they may cause problems for pupils with nut allergies. Health advisers said that there were no known dangers from conkers for nut-allergy sufferers, although some may experience a mild rash through handling them

    to be honest i think kids who have nut allergies would stay clear of them wouldnt you

  13. #13
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    When I was a kid, I remember one place we lived where there were lots of huge water chestnut trees. We used to have great street fights with them - up to 20 or 30 kids. A great time. But then again, that was before kids had to be walked to the bus stop and had to wear pots on their heads to ride their bikes. A time which is, unfortunately, gone forever.

  14. #14
    Thailand Expat AntRobertson's Avatar
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    I'm all for anything to do with banning Valentines Day.

    It's a toss of a day, designed solely to sell flowers, cards, and chocolates and too make forgetful guys like me look like pricks.

  15. #15
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    So they will not be able to deal with the emotional trauma of being dumped
    Do they ever learn anything of value in the real world. They will ban playgrounds next on account of the hard surface being a danger to skinned knees.

  16. #16
    A Cockless Wonder
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    Quote Originally Posted by WujouMao
    A primary school in Weston-super-Mare has been criticised for banning Valentine cards to save pupils the "emotional trauma" of being rejected.
    Unless it is from a little gay boy to another little gay boy in which case a special gay exception will apply since anything else would be repression of gay freedom rights.

  17. #17
    The Pikey Hunter
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    Quote Originally Posted by Davis Knowlton
    Sounds a bit more violent than marbles.
    Certainly is!

    The correct technique is:

    1) drill the hole for the string..
    2) soak it in vinegar over night
    3) bake in the oven
    4) thread it with a good length of string


    To the match!

    1) Allow your opponent first bash at your conker - gives them false sense of security
    2) While his eyes are focused on his conker dangling at the end of his string, whack him over the skull with yours and follow up as necessary.
    You, sir, are a God among men....
    Short Men, who aren't terribly bright....
    More like dwarves with learning disabilities....
    You are a God among Dwarves With Learning Disabilities.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by WujouMao View Post

    i dont know what american kids can do in primary school, but we can't play conkers anymore due to safety reasons. crap really cos we all played the game before with no harm done
    The reason for this is more due to school's liability for litigation originated by kid's parents who's little darlings could come home with bumps and bruises. This is the reason behind a hell of a lot of so called "nanny state" crap. Local councils etc now cannot hold simple things like fetes without doing a full blown risk analysis to show they've covered all eventualities. If they don't do it they won't get insurance cover which they have to do to protect themselves agains litigation and even if they do the cost of insurance is often prohibitive.

    we're not allowed tree houses, instead we have to ask planning permission!
    Not entirely true, it depends on the size and height of the proposed tree house and where your home is located, like if it's in a conservation area. Some people were building structures that were almost second homes and calling them "tree houses" to avoid planning permission. In any case I never had a tree house as a kid and I don't feel disadvantaged in any way.

    i suppose the Philippine government wont ban the sale of new born chicks to kids who use them for live toys. this would be banned by the RSPCA
    The one bit where you are right and I don't think many people would object to banning the mishandling/cruelty to live animals. However it has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. The RNLI (Lifeboat Institution) holds an annual fare in Devon where they used to have "Conger cuddling contests". This is where contestants stand on logs and swipe at each other with dead conger eels (not my idea of fun but what the heck?). Some animal rights nutter objected to this and threatened to hold a protest. The RNLI backed down wishing, as a charity, to avoid any bad publicity.

    As for this topic I do find myself in some agreement with the school. These are kids and I think they should be allowed their childhood without being dragged into the web of commercialism that is Valentine's day.

    btw how much do you know about this day of luuuurve.
    Pre-Christian era

    In ancient Rome, 13, 14 and 15 February were celebrated as Lupercalia, a pagan fertility festival. This seems to be the basis for a celebration of love on this date. It was marked in a subtly different way in those days, however. According to Noel Lenski, classics professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, speaking in the National Geographic, young men would strip naked and use goat- or dog-skin whips to spank the backsides of young women in order to improve their fertility; an early IVF, if you will.
    Still sure you want your kids to get in on this? Personally I quite like the idea, better than bloody cards, roses and meals out.
    The rest:-
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/relationships/valentines-day/7187784/History-of-Valentines-Day.html

  19. #19
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    The latest thing I heard was that the port of Dover was going to be sold to the French..................Bloody outrageous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  20. #20
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    Poo Poo

    Kids nowadays are mollycoddled little obese bastards who wouldn't know a conker if it hit them round the head.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by patsycat View Post
    Poo Poo

    Kids nowadays are mollycoddled little obese bastards who wouldn't know a conker if it hit them round the head.
    Actually most of the kids these days are in no danger of being hit round the head by a conker unless the tree overhangs their TV set.
    The latest thing I heard was that the port of Dover was going to be sold to the French..................Bloody outrageous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Sorry jaiyenyen I can't find how to quote two posts within one reply, I'll figure it out one day.
    It's actually more the opposite, there was an article last week in the Daily Telegraph about the port of Calaise. Apparently the French there are doing their best to become part of Britain attracting various Olympic squads to their training facilities for 2012. Not only that they want spectators to base themselves there as well. Only a couple of hours by train from London, good food and good wine.

    Bloody Frogs, I wouldn't mind if they sent their decent plonk over but all we get in Britain is Piat Dor and other such dishwater. And what's wrong with bangers and mash and peas?

    British grub, been fillin' bellies since 1066.

  22. #22
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    How can kids be hit with 'shards' of conker? they aint made of glass are they? They should really ban pencils in case someone gets stabbed in the eye and those compass things with the sharp end, lethal schools are, I don't know how we survived

  23. #23
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    How is it that we allow these PC quangos such as 'Health and safety' to wield so much power? Clearly the majority think their ideas are nonsense and yet this small minority control so much of our lives.

  24. #24
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    Can you get "Conkers" on Wii?

  25. #25
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    Anybody sending Valentines cards should be shot through the heart with an arrow.

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