CHILD-MINDING

It seems that lots of child-minders are giving up. Some are regarded by Ofsted, the education quango, as "inadequate". Many give red tape and bureaucracy as the reason for giving up. The have to jump through hoops and have their criminal records and so on checked. And on top of that they now have to work to a curriculum. EYFS is the Early Years Foundation Stage and sets out what the under-fives should be doing. For hundreds of years mothers at home have brought up their children without any such formal guidelines. Many will have introduced an element of learning into their child's pre-school life. But I believe this new initiative is OTT. It merely gives Ofsted a chance to extend its empire, adds more petty bureaucrats and red tape into the lives of people who were minding children quite well - making sure they didn't run into the road or fall into the garden pond.

PC LANGUAGE

Chichester District Council (in Sussex, a southern English county) have issued guidelines that staff should not use the phrase "the man in the street" as a way of indicating the average person. "General Public" is the preferred term according to the guide. "Manning the switchboard" should be superseded by "staffing the switchboard". Our local authorities have too much of our money to throw away on such projects and too short of important other things to do. Why not "de-man" the councils and let them find a proper job.

OLYMPIC JUNKET

The British team in Beijing is just over 300 athletes. A figure dwarfed by those who are tagging along for the ride. The BBC are sending over 430 staff at a cost to the taxpayer of around £3 million. The London Development Agency are sending only 13 but again the cost is given as £3 million apparently because they have hired a private members club in the city for the duration. Then there are various government and local government contingents. And two police forces although I'm not clear why Dorset need an input; and the Met must have plenty of crimes to solve at home. I expect they'll all have a wonderful time.

PLATFORM SMOKING

A woman was this week thrown on to a railway track. Apparently she accosted two men who were smoking on a station platform in spite of notices saying smoking was forbidden. They threw her on the track and she was fortunate that other passengers got her back with only minor cuts and bruises before the next train arrived. Also she missed the live rail (electrified track). Well the men's response seems more than a little extreme but perhaps the experience will teach her not be such a busybody. As far as one can tell from TV images of the station the platform was wide open to the elements so smoking could not really be a problem any more than it would be in Raigmore Hospital car park where smoking is also forbidden.