Mary Whitehouse Should've Been Shot

A little harsh, perhaps, but only a little. I did intend this morning to write something serious and insightful, having spent the weekend being (almost) silent in a Benedictine Priory in Oxfordshire (quite the in thing, apparently, if you watch BBC2) trying to get closer to God. But then I remembered this article and realised I hadn't shared it with all of you yet.

The gist, if you have better things to do than read it (although that probably means you also have better things to do than reading this...) is that young children shouldn't be allowed to watch Dr Who because in one scene Dr Who is mean to a Dalek, and this might encourage children to pick on each other. Now, 1.) children at my primary school managed to pick on each other perfectly well without any encouragement and 2.) that someone won't let you play with her in the playground is not the same as a metal FICTIONAL TV villain on wheels that wants to take over the world (or whatever it is Daleks are meant to be doing.) Please give children just a little bit of credit!

Did you know that 95% of blackcurrants grown in the UK and Ireland become Ribena berries? Nor did I, which just goes to show you learn something new every day. My bottle of Ribena went on to tell me that "if you want to speak to a real Ribena Berry (well, someone who works for Ribena) then call our information line on...." Who calls these numbers? What do people say to them? Is there really a guy sitting in some office in Luton dressed as a giant blackcurant waiting for the phone to ring? Yet all consumer products seem to have "helplines" or "information lines". Helplines? What exactly can the Crest toothpaste line help me with? Do you think they give general advice, or does it have to be toothpaste related? I think this would make a brilliant university union society, where the members get together over a pint every week and ring the Maryland Cookies Customer Line. I wonder if anyone else has thought of that?