What has happened to commonsense and personal responsibility?

www.edp24.co.uk/news/environment/video-captures-dramatic-moment-part-of-a-cliff-collapses-1-5432115. (This is a newspaper article and takes ages to load.)

Our cliffs are sand. There are warning signs where you access the beach saying not to climb the cliffs. Locals don’t.

Totally irresponsible, and putting others in danger, Lifeboat crew,Coastguards and other rescue services. Sense has long gone with some people.

There is no such thing as 'personal responsibility' nowadays. You can't tell anyone they've done the wrong because you're 'victim blaming!' which is just not fair <stamps foot>

Public Information Films should be reinstated. I can't be the only person to have been terrified by Donald Pleasance intoning, 'I am the spirit of dark and lonely water'....

"nature" lesson as referred to by grandtante was one of my favourite lessons. She's right of course, lessons like that aren't taught any more - it's all national curriculum, which has its place but increasingly children are missing out on music, signing, dance, art, nature studies and play.

I failed to learn to swim till my mid twenties, despite every encouragement at school swimming lessons and when chucked into freezing outdoor and indoor swimming pools by well meaning adults. As for swimming in the freezing cold sea on holiday in north Wales, I shiver at the thought. So, when we all went fishing for stickle backs in the pond in the field at the back of our houses, I took the warning "not to fall in" that we were all given by our parents, very seriously. We were a group of about 10 children aged 8 - 11. We didn't fall in, because the consequence of going home with wet socks was so humiliating, or for some poor kids, terrifying, we just didn't fall in. My cousin fell out of a tree and broke his arm, that had us all "thinking on".
I feel for children these days,who have so little opportunity to take risks and run a bit wild out of sight of their parents. I don't blame the parents. The roads are so dangerous that riding bikes and ponies is generally impossible till mid teens. If any danger befalls the children, their parents are roundly castigated for letting them out of sight.
Rant of the evening over.

They probably aren`t there anymore, I hope not anyway, and it was the fault, I presume of the local council. When I was a child, we used to go on a yearly trip to Whitby. On the beach there were swings and a slide, directly in front of the cliffs, on which there was a sign, in red and white, saying, "Danger, falling cliffs." And there were parents there, letting their children play there. Fortunately, my mother had the sense to keep us away from there.

DD didn't do much running wild as a child because all her free time was taken up with gymnastics. Her brother on the other hand used to disappear for the whole day. He was always out on his bike - I thought he was riding round the village, it was a long time before I discovered that he was travelling miles! Funnily enough the only accidents he had were five minutes from home. He regularly fell out of trees but was nearly grown up before he told me about falling through the ice on a frozen stream!

Sue, I have an interest in the old Public Information Films and that one has to be the scariest of all time.

Time to bring it back!!!

Baggs wrote (page one)
"Also outgoing, the sort that sweep people off their feet and carry them out to sea. "
I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about tides etc, having grown up on the NE coast. But this one caught me out when paddling on the french Atlantic coast. I ended up on my bum!
There's a french phrase for these under-currents, which cause many drownings. I can't remember it.

Where there is obvious (well, to anyone who thinks) danger then people should be aware and act accordingly. The problem, I think, stems in part from childhoods spent devoid of risks and so people don't know what risks are manageable. My sons were raised to take risks; they cycle, hike, camp, sail, windsurf, snorkel, climb - and in all these things there are inherent dangers, but The Wonderful Man did an excellent job of teaching our sons which dangers can be managed and which cannot. There are times I have been on the edge of my seat for days when one of my boys has been on Dartmoor for three days/nights in dreadful weather, or cycling from one end of the country to the other, but whilst accidents can and do happen I know that my menfolk will have assessed the risks and taken appropriate precautions.

the problem with common sense is that its not common

and too many people have too little sense

probably nurtured by the facebook generation

Common Sense - Rest in Peace, dear friend.

An Obituary printed in the London Times - Interesting and sadly rather true.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with
us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were
long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such
valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn’t always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can
earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations
were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing
a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a
teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they
themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further
when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin
to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted
to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals
received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you
couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you
for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a
steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded
a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and
Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is
To Blame, and I’m A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still
remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Glosgran

Ain't that the truth. √

fennel I think you’re talking about ‘rip tides’. Very dangerous. The French wording is contre-courant.

Says it all Glosgran