“One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing.” – Socrates.

Being the parent of a teenager certainly keeps you 'real'. There was a time in my 20s and 30s when I thought  that I was reasonably intelligent with a fairly wide general knowledge. There was a time when my children were little that they looked up to me and trusted me to answer all their questions, but now they treat me as if I know nothing. My son is always keen to share his 'vast knowledge of life' accumulated over 17 years! To be fair he does have a wide general knowledge, but like most young people he only sees things in black and white, he will need to notch up a few more years before he starts to see shades of grey and then he will gradually realise how much he doesn't know. Until then he is content to tease me abort my astounding ignorance. I am not very good at sitting still and I have never been terribly interested in films and television and with one or two notable exceptions I have no interest whatsoever in sport so it is hardly surprising that I do not know the names of actors or sports personalities. Not so long ago my son decided to test me to find out exactly how challenged I am when it comes to knowing who does what. The whole family roared with laughter when I though that George Clooney could be a golfer, apparently he is an actor. I don't mind the teasing, after all if we did a similar test on history, poetry, literature or various other things I am fairly sure that I would know more than them!

Recently I encountered a woman who told me that she intended to return the game that she had bought for £32.99 the previous day because it was not fit for purpose. I asked what was wrong with it and she said that the questions were much to hard (the game was age 12 to adult). I must have looked a bit sceptical because she told me what some of the questions were.

- Who was Nebuchadnezzar

- What is an archipelago

- Who was Samuel Pepys

I was able to answer all the questions so she posed a few more which I also answered correctly. It was probably just luck that she chose questions that I was able to answer, but I was deeply offended when she told me that I only knew the answers because I am old! I thought (but didn't say) that old or not, I would not wish to publicise my ignorance by returning a game because it was too difficult! Maybe I am old, but I like to think that I could answer the questions because I have a wide general knowledge and I had a good education.

These little episodes along with the start of an annual recruitment phase at the company I work for has led me to realise that it takes all sorts to make a world - and it takes all sorts to make a good workforce. A group of people with different and complementary skills (and personalities) will make a stronger and more competent workforce. Only a fool appoints in his/her own image.

All Dressed Up 07.11.07

Sam came home from school feeling deeply aggrieved. Apparently the much detested cross country running has been 'repackaged' and is now timetabled as 'run for fun'. Fun implies a degree of choice and enjoyment but 'run' most certainly does not! Sam confirmed that the new lesson was indistinguishable from cross country, in fact it was so bad that he almost collapsed. Some things never change! My school successfully inoculated me against sport, athletics, swimming, music and latin and now in these allegedly enlightened times Sam's school is doing exactly the same thing to him. Exercise is important, but you can't bully people to exercise, the only way is to encourage them and make it genuinely enjoyable

My schooldays began in the 1960's when times were changing fast - but my school clung to outdated rules and traditions. Our uniform was rigidly enforced, panama hat, blazer, white gloves and gingham dress in summer and Harris tweed coat, winter hat, navy gloves, blouse, tie, skirt and cardigan in winter. We had indoor shoes and outdoor shoes as well as plimsolls and dancing shoes, so much of our day was taken up with changing our shoes. Our regulation hanging purses provided ample opportunity to strangle ourselves, but if we survived until break time they often came undone as we ran around playground causing grazed knees. After break the classroom always smelled of TCP!

Rules were strongly enforced, hat, gloves and outdoor shoes were obligatory when outside, even on a hot summer day. At the end of the school day we had to be checked by a teacher before leaving to ensure that we had our hats and gloves on. We were not allowed to eat in the street under any circumstances, that was an unforgivable sin. We had to participate in a number of ceremonies and rituals each year, church service on Ascension Day, Speech Day, Harvest Festival, Sports Day and the Carol Service. That all sounds very innocent until you consider that we spent days learning how to walk and how to shake hands so that we would be able to accept a winners ribbon on sports day. Harvest Festival and Ascension Day required days of practice and the carol service required us to learn to sing in Latin! I detested all the fuss and those early school memories have inoculated me against all forms of pomp and circumstance. I like things plain, simple and unpretentious.

With that in mind I was very interested to read Jan's blog today. She wrote a fascinating entry about the state opening of parliament and all the ritual and custom involved. Jan quite rightly pointed out how special our traditions are. I found it quite thought provoking as I had never really considered it before, I would be sad to see our traditions lost, but on the other hand it seems a bit ridiculous. It all seems a bit 'Emperor's New Clothes' a lot of pomp and very little substance. I found myself feeling sorry for the Queen, I'm sure she would rather be at home with her feet up watching Judge Judy instead of meeting a load of weird old men wearing tights and fancy dress. She has to sit there and read a speech written by someone else about all the 'good' intentions of her government. This year it wasn't even news, the prime minister announced it all last month. The Queen must have seen so many failed ideas repackaged and dressed up to seem more acceptable to the public. On that subject I wonder why the European Constitution springs so readily to mind! In the end cross country running cannot be made more palatable just by giving it a new name, and schoolboys know when they are being conned - I suspect the British public know when they are being conned too!