Respect is a two-way street
THIS column has commented before on use of the f-word in public places within hearing of children and families, but an incident in St Mary Street, Weymouth, took this annoyance to new heights.
A group of teenagers, shouting loudly, leaping about and shrieking so that everyone would pay them attention, was striding up the street waving balloons from a shop promotion.
Nothing wrong with that, but the teenagers weren’t interested in the shop promotion but more in what the balloons contained.
The gas used to inflate the balloons had a “Mickey Mouse” distorting effect on the teenagers’ voices and wasn’t it fun to use the f-word bellowed out in a loud squeaky voice. Well, no, it wasn’t much fun at all to those forced to listen to their swearing.
Students at Weymouth College have launched a campaign called Respect to highlight their wish for people to show each other respect in the community.
It is an excellent campaign but what a pity it might be undermined by incidents such as the balloons since the street was packed with people, many of whom had children, and they couldn’t get out of the way of the noisy group quick enough. Not much respect there.
A shimmering creation that Gok Wan would be proud of ... pity it cost an arm and a leg!
MUMS and Dads are already booking their places in care homes for mentally scarred parents as we career merrily towards the Prom season.
The overall cost for these silken shenannigans makes the row over Government debt look almost penny-pinching.
Now I’m sure every daughter and son taking part is well worth the money spent on them but adults have launched the sort of prom organisational exercise not seen since planning for the D-Day landings.
Sadly there doesn’t seem to be much equivalent teenage effort being devoted to looking after the shattered remains of parents once all the preening is over.
I’ve already warned my daughter that she’s mowing lawns and washing the car for the rest of the summer. Yeah... like that’s going to happen!
Aren’t they aware of the stress Dads suffer having to drive daughters on 117 trips to select a dress? I had suggested putting a piece of tinsel on her blazer and leaving it at that, but I withdrew the idea when the atmosphere got a touch frosty.
So we are, after a long struggle, now the proud possessors of a shimmering creation that Gok Wan wouldn’t turn his nose up. I just wish he’d been there to pay for it.
He wouldn’t have been quite so bouncy after that!
Why I’m steering clear of Norway
LONG live enjoying a quiet pint at the end of the day... but not if you live in Norway.
A Weymouth man had to travel there for work and, naturally, his company paid for him to travel over. It was just as well because a few simple socialising and shopping experiences left him facing these costs.
At Oslo airport a single scotch to recover from his travels cost a hefty £5.50.
If he wasn’t already in shock from that then he was the following night when the price of a pint cost him £10.
Fortunately his hosts picked up the bill the next night at an ordinary shopping mall restaurant... because the price of a tiny 330ml of ordinary lager equated to £15 a pint!
In a free moment he browsed shops and recoiled in horror from the price of a pair of jeans, which would have set him back a mind-boggling £100.
But if anyone needed a guide on saving for a holiday in Norway then they should take heed of this.
It was cheaper for this man’s company to fly him home for a couple of days and then go to all the expense of flying him back there than it was to simply let him remain in the country and pay his expenses.
And my wife wonders why I’m against going to Norway!
Double trouble
A TROUBLE shared is a trouble halved goes the saying, but two women out shopping in Weymouth might not agree.
They had clearly bought quite a lot and were chatting and taking their ease at a bus stop with their bags piled about them.
All seemed well with the world until their bus arrived and they broke off talking to pick up their bags. Then there was chaos.
By mistake they each picked up a bag handle belonging to the other and goods cascaded on to the pavement as carriers tore apart.
People tried to help as items rolled down the pavement but the damage had been done and even collecting everything didn’t solve the problem of where to put it.
Eventually the women were forced to miss their bus while one looked after the battered shopping and the other went in search of bags to put it in. I suppose you’d call it a “double wrecker” problem!
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