TOT Baby boom part 1

The Boomers are Coming

After four decades dominated by youth culture, changing demographics will
soon lead to the ascendency of the elderly hippy. The newly-wrinkled are
about to become a powerful political and consumer group. Bill Wright speaks
for the stroppy, spoilt brats of the fifties who are now approaching old age
and will soon be banging their walking sticks on counters all across the
land.

During the Second World War many commodities were rationed, and it sometimes
seemed as if all the nice things in life were withheld. Tasty items like
bananas and chocolate were extremely scarce. For the servicemen abroad there
was one particular comfort that could be very hard to come by. It was
something that those of stern morality could only get at home, and thus it
was that the mass demobilisations of the mid-forties were followed by
several years of compensatory catching up. Family life had been postponed,
but now was the time to get back on track. Our brave British boys faced the
challenge as they had faced all the challenges that had come before. They
stood proudly to attention and then they got stuck in.
Half a decade later I started school, attended for a term, then came home
with a note. The headmistress was very sorry, but the whole of our year
needn't bother to come to school for the next two terms. My mother was
incredulous, but it was true. The fact was that the government's school
building programme simply wasn't keeping up with the ex-servicemen's
enthusiastic child-building programme. There were too many of us, by far. We
were the baby boom.
The two terms flew by. Only one thing of note occurred in the whole world
during that time: Keith Millward hit my finger with a hammer so I had to
have stitches.
Back at school we boomers progressed to the Juniors. The school was so new
that half a century later I still think of it whenever I small fresh paint,
and it was very large; but it was nowhere near large enough. Classrooms were
grossly overpopulated, and each teacher needed a stout middle aged assistant
called Mrs Smacker, whose sole job was to prowl amongst the hordes at the
far reaches of the room smacking people. She did this more or less at
random, or so it seemed. Despite this rough justice discipline was actually
quite lax. This was because of the educational philosophy that was in vogue
at the time. As any teacher knows all too well, education has always been
bedevilled by an ever-changing series of barmy theories, which shower down
on those at the chalk face from on high. In the fifties the new buzz phrase
was 'child-centred'. The 'child centred' movement was to go on in later
years to wreak dreadful and possibly irreparable havoc on society, but we
were there right at the start. To us, it meant that sometimes, just
sometimes, we could get away with murder when we didn't really expect to. No
doubt a lot of learned papers had been churned out, but to a kid it was that
simple. We became chancers. The boundaries were not rigid because the
boundary keepers were uncertain. My generation learnt their first major
lesson of life: belligerence pays. If in doubt, scream and shout.
At home our parents were finding that life was pretty good. Britain didn't
enjoy the USA's post-war utopia, but many people found themselves with a far
better standard of living than they could have dreamt of before the war.
Good quality council houses were built by the thousand, health care was
free, and wages were high. Mr Macmillan told the working classes, "You've
never had it so good" and for the majority it was true.

I used to enjoy your ramblings.

Now you're like Gordon Brown an irrelevance.

Don't not go online after you have been drinking. See a doctor.

If you have not been drinking... See a doctor.

In article , Grappler
scribeth thus
I used to enjoy your ramblings.

Now you're like Gordon Brown an irrelevance.

Don't not go online after you have been drinking. See a doctor.

If you have not been drinking... See a doctor.


Far more entertaining, amusing and too bloody true than anything you'll
ever write .. and from a named contributor unlike those who hide behind
nowhere.com ...
--
Tony Sayer

I used to enjoy your ramblings.

Now you're like Gordon Brown an irrelevance.

Don't not go online after you have been drinking. See a doctor.

If you have not been drinking... See a doctor.

Perhaps you should take you own advice and ask your doctor to arrange for
you to have a humour transplant.

Peter Crosland

Grappler wrote:
I used to enjoy your ramblings.

Now you're like Gordon Brown an irrelevance.

Don't not go online after you have been drinking. See a doctor.

If you have not been drinking... See a doctor.

Sense of humor available from Tesco on BOGOF as you seem to have mislaid
yours.
Dave
--
Blow my nose to email me

"Grappler" wrote in message
...
I used to enjoy your ramblings.
Now you're like Gordon Brown an irrelevance.
Don't not go online after you have been drinking. See a doctor.
If you have not been drinking... See a doctor.

The replies that I have read so far to your unwanted attempt to moderate
this group have been polite. Mine isn't - do f*** off!

As I sit here on the veranda of my lodge in Satara camp, Kruger NP, I am
catching up on the last few days of the group with a hard-earned sundowner
and a cigar. Bill's posts are just what the doctor ordered. If you do not
like them then KF him. He does not hide behind an ever changing ID to get
himself read!

I currently have no internet access so who knows when this will actually get
posted. Bet in the words of LZ (almost) "the sentiment remains the same".

"Grappler" wrote in message
...
I used to enjoy your ramblings.
Now you're like Gordon Brown an irrelevance.
Don't not go online after you have been drinking. See a doctor.
If you have not been drinking... See a doctor.

The replies that I have read so far to your unwanted attempt to moderate
this group have been polite. Mine isn't - do f*** off!

As I sit here on the veranda of my lodge in Satara camp, Kruger NP, I am
catching up on the last few days of the group with a hard-earned sundowner
and a cigar. Bill's posts are just what the doctor ordered. If you do not
like them then KF him. He does not hide behind an ever changing ID to get
himself read!

I currently have no internet access so who knows when this will actually get
posted. Bet in the words of LZ (almost) "the sentiment remains the same".

"Fitz" wrote in message
...
"Grappler" wrote in message
...
I used to enjoy your ramblings.
Now you're like Gordon Brown an irrelevance.
Don't not go online after you have been drinking. See a doctor.
If you have not been drinking... See a doctor.

The replies that I have read so far to your unwanted attempt to moderate
this group have been polite. Mine isn't - do f*** off!

As I sit here on the veranda of my lodge in Satara camp, Kruger NP, I am
catching up on the last few days of the group with a hard-earned sundowner
and a cigar. Bill's posts are just what the doctor ordered.

From t'other side o' Pennines I recon Bill.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

"Graham." wrote in message
...


"Fitz" wrote in message
...
"Grappler" wrote in message
...
I used to enjoy your ramblings.
Now you're like Gordon Brown an irrelevance.
Don't not go online after you have been drinking. See a doctor.
If you have not been drinking... See a doctor.

The replies that I have read so far to your unwanted attempt to moderate
this group have been polite. Mine isn't - do f*** off!

As I sit here on the veranda of my lodge in Satara camp, Kruger NP, I am
catching up on the last few days of the group with a hard-earned
sundowner and a cigar. Bill's posts are just what the doctor ordered.

From t'other side o' Pennines I recon Bill.

Aye, furrin' parts somewhere.

Bill