Friday 19 August 2016

SMoasting Open Season

It's only a day after the A level results came out but already the Facebook Smoasters ( Social Media Boasters ) are out in droves shoving their children's multiple A* grades in those less fortuntates' faces.

What happened to that very British trait called modesty ? It's fine to share your glorious news with your family via phone calls, private texts, letters or emails but why the hell would you want to rub those whose dreams lie in tatters' noses in the shit ?

These obnoxious people usual accompany their bragging boast with a picture of a glass of celebratory champagne. I do hope they choke on it. I worry for their offspring if this is what their parents are role modelling as an acceptable form of behaviour.

So, my heart-felt congratulations instead are reserved for :


  • All of those students who had an academic mountain to climb 
  • Will doubtless have worked far harder than any of the A* proteges 
  • May not have achieved the giddy heights of academic stardom and yet will have borne their disappointments with far greater stoicism and humility than the A* braggarts would ever have managed
  • The parents who have stood by their struggling children,  provided the shoulders to cry on and the emotional support through their children's years of schooling

Shame on those who felt the need to publicly humiliate those who did not excel on results day, will have known this but felt the need to brag regardless and validate their gene pool of brilliance. Doubtless they will demand their right to celebrate their child's victories but had they paused for a minute to think about the misery and feelings of inadequacy they may have inflicted on others , might they not have realised that their pride can be expressed in more private ways ?  

So, for all those wonderful young men and women whose efforts in the face of adversity may not have been rewarded , you can stand on the higher moral ground and be certain in the knowledge that your achievements are far greater and one day will be rewarded. You have learnt a far greater lesson and will be stronger for it. Be brave, be proud and as Rudyard Kipling once wrote Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it '.

Wednesday 3 August 2016

Adult Colouring Books

They sound rather seedy but in fact are the antithesis of anything remotely adult.

Is it just me for whom the appeal of colouring-in is anathema ? I bought this yesterday in Primark  ( and that's a whole other blog post ) .



Needed a beach bag , love elephants , it was as cheap as chips and thought I'd have fun colouring it in with Sharpies. This is supposed to be very calming they  tell me. I've started on the trunk and I'm finding it anything but calming as I panic about the million things I should be doing before we go on holiday which are far higher priority than a spot of colouring in. I'm sure the cats would rather be fed, the plants watered, the lights set on auto-timer, the milk cancelled, the email auto message set to "I'm somewhere much nicer than my office, don't expect a reply to this email " ... but no, I'm debating whether to go with lime or mint green on my elephant's toe-nails.

Think I'll leave it to the younger generation. At my age I really should know better.

Incidentally,  the fact that I've found time to post this proves that I have elevated the art of procrastination to an art-form ... anything but packing.