Hats on
Whoever said no more heroes any more? Well, they were wrong, the fella that topped the BBC’s poll of Greatest Britons the other year, IK Brunel has been popping up in South Devon more times than seagulls at Brian Boughton’s house.
Well, it has been 200 hundred years since Isambard’s birth, but why did the celebrations that should have focused on the amazing atmospheric railway - Phil Smith on his atmospheric walks describes the battle of ideas versus the money that the atmospheric adventure symoblises - (and maybe the Great Western Railway) try to include everything ‘old’ in the southern half of the county?
Soon enough though the old master engineer will be seen less than a cirl bunting. As long as the fashion for those hats stay on, I’ll be happy.
Posted by Cptn
August 12th, 2006
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If you’re feeling sinister
God, it’s rubbish being left handed. Not only are we saddled with the burden of superior artistic ability and mental prowess (just check out that headline for proof!), but we also find it a bugger to use scissors.
And despite the view that prejudice against left-handedness is a thing of the past, left-handed kids are still being given a raw deal in schools.
That’s according to a new study released to mark - ta-dah! - International Left-Handers Day.
It was carried out by The Left-Handers Club among 1,000 left-handers under 25 and in full time education to find out whether schools cater to the needs of their left-handed pupils.
Nearly all of those surveyed (99 per chuffing cent) had experienced difficulty with their handwriting, yet only 10 per cent had received specific guidance on left-handed writing techniques.
Despite teaching aids specifically for left-handed children being easily available, via specialist websites such as www.anythingleft-handed.co.uk positioning for writing left-handed.
This basic training is apparently essential, particularly since 76 per cent of students complained of backache or hand fatigue when writing due to a poor writing style.
Although this is the most obvious area of difficulty the survey highlights causes for concern in many areas of the curriculum.
Left-handers routinely struggle with right-hand biased equipment and older children using power tools designed for safety of right-handers routinely have to work at awkward angles and with insufficient access to safety features.
Basically, far too few teachers are aware of their left-handed students’ needs and crucially do not know how easily these needs can be met.
As a result, The Left-Handers Club is spearheading a campaign to make information and products easily accessible to every school and parent in the UK via a new website www.lefthandedchildren.org.
The site will provide all the latest information, teaching aids, school equipment and advice for helping left-handed school children in all areas of the curriculum.
And at last, with all this knowledge and equipment, we left handers will finally rule the world. Wuh-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Posted by Thin White Duke
August 12th, 2006
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