Secret Island Day 2008

[Moonraker]

Sounds like a lovely day! Why is corfe castle so far away???

Depends where you live, I guess. It's about an hour's drive from me - I can't understand why I don't go down there more often!

[Petermax]

The "lively discussion" we had was along the lines of 'if the fire brigade are seen to showing children how to light fires, and one then goes and sets light to their neighbours shed, the fire brigade may then be culpable'. Presumably if we were to show children how to slice bread and they stabbed someone with a knife we would also be culpable... Apparently it is government policy that no-one under 18 should touch a matchbox; Viv

It certainly sounds like a very good day indeed. Rather worrying though about the so called government policy regarding matches and under 18s. As a seven year old back in 1973 I had a Thomas Salter bunsen burner and Meccano stationary steam engine, both powered by methylated spirits. Naturally, I ignited both these items myself by means of matches, once my father was satisfied that I would exercise due caution and keep the meths bottle out of harms way.

Apologies for going off topic but things were so straightforward during the Life On Mars era, I just despair sometimes.

[Keith Robinson]

Ridiculous that the Government's policy is for children not to touch matches! Surely SOME things can be left to the discretion of the parents?? Meanwhile, kids are allowed BB guns which shoot real pellets and can seriously injure or kill!

What WOULD Julian say?

Apologies for going off topic but things were so straightforward during the Life On Mars era, I just despair sometimes.

My apologies too, for going off topic a little... but one thing that struck me as I returned to England this year was how ridiculous the police are made to look because of laws that restrict them from doing their job. The football hooligans struck again, hundreds of drunken idiots looking for a fight, and they beat an officer to the ground and broke his arm ON CAMERA... Meanwhile, elsewhere, police get in trouble for "being a bit rough" on potential trouble-makers. Can you blame them? I heard a policeman report that when he was an officer in the 1970s, football hooliganism would never have happened.

Back on topic again, giving matches to a child should be something a parent is able to do without fear of breaking any laws. What about Scouts? What about a group of responsible children camping out? If a child is stupid enough to use matches to start fires for fun, he's going to get those matches very easily no matter what laws there are. As Viv said, isn't it better to teach them right from wrong at a young age?

Perhaps even dafter, though, is the US law that states you can't drink until you're 21. You can drive at just 16, and at 18 you can vote AND serve in Iraq and put your life on the line for the country. But no drinking, please, as you have to be the mature, responsible type for that.

Rant over.

[JuliaE]

Sounds like a lovely day! Why is corfe castle so far away???

Depends where you live, I guess. It's about an hour's drive from me - I can't understand why I don't go down there more often!

Well, that's right But from Germany it is far away!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Heh - I'm a parent and I'd never heard that the government had decreed that nobody below the age of eighteen should touch matches (and let's not forget that some sixteen and seventeen-year-olds may be working full-time or married or living away from home anyway!) Ah well, the good thing about some of these ridiculous rules is that hardly anyone knows they actually exist!

Why is corfe castle so far away???

That sounds like one of Dame Slap's unanswerable questions!

Anita

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

It sounds like a good (if a little hectic) time was had by all.

I think that it was the organiser and Key Helpers (Rosie & John) that had the hectic time! Many visitors said how relaxed the atmosphere was, just wandering around the castle and finding things to do

They weren't to know that my 2 book orders, one with reference "shop" and the other "castle" were bulked together by the wholesaler, and required an hour to re-sort and box up, or that the van hire people had run out of vans by the time I got around to booking so that John had to bring his work van over which needed partially emptying before I could load the gazebos from my garage, or the discussion with the archaelogist about where to put the fire in the castle grounds...

What shall we do next year?

Viv

[Tony Summerfield]

What shall we do next year?

Viv

On Noddy's 60th Anniversary!!

[Moonraker]

What shall we do next year?

Emigrate?

[Lucky Star]

What shall we do next year?

Viv

Next year is the 70th anniversary of The Enchanted Wood being published. You could plant an enormous tree and arrange for lands to come to the top of it.

On second thoughts better not. The Health & Safety Nazi's would probably have a fit at the thought of children actually climbing trees.