Comments on: Take the Yellow School bus? http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/ Incisive and topical campaigns and commentary on today's issues and tomorrow's problems Wed, 23 May 2012 13:35:04 +0000 hourly 1 By: Bazman http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/#comment-5992 Bazman Sat, 13 Sep 2008 18:03:11 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=1518#comment-5992 Difficult to get a taxi in the morning in my town as the kids go to school in them! Difficult to get a taxi in the morning in my town as the kids go to school in them!

]]> By: Patrick http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/#comment-5991 Patrick Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:27:22 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=1518#comment-5991 Forget buses..... Most kids live in easy cycling distance of their school. Dont you think? Dedicated and safe cycle lanes should also be built every where. The bright green sort they have in london which are seperate from both the road and path. Narrowing the same roads make cars drive more slowly. The roads out-side central london are so cycle un-friendly, even I think twice before saddling up. Forget buses….. Most kids live in easy cycling distance of their school. Dont you think?

Dedicated and safe cycle lanes should also be built every where. The bright green sort they have in london which are seperate from both the road and path. Narrowing the same roads make cars drive more slowly.

The roads out-side central london are so cycle un-friendly, even I think twice before saddling up.

]]> By: mikestallard http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/#comment-5990 mikestallard Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:53:50 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=1518#comment-5990 ERRATUM: for "and more" read "any more". ERRATUM: for "and more" read "any more".

]]> By: mikestallard http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/#comment-5989 mikestallard Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:51:42 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=1518#comment-5989 Here in the Fens, we collected all the secondary School pupils into one huge Comprehensive which, as I have remarked on lots of previous occasions, contained 1,500 pupils. It is currently in FreshStart. The other half of the deal was that the children would be bussed to school. And they are, effectively, in suitably ancient buses which (there being no conductor) they cannot destroy and more. They also attend the local swimming baths by bus. And that, too works, and seems to bring huge pleasure. Oh - and, by the way, one of the triumphs of New Labour is the excellent idea of the free bus pass to us OAPs. It really works - buses fill up with grey and bald heads to the exclusion of all other passengers. They pay nothing and, in order to avoid bankruptcy, the companies have to withdraw unpopular services! I went to York the other day, while on holiday, and also visited the National Railway Museum free as well. Excellent! Thank you everyone for paying for my day out! Much appreciated! Here in the Fens, we collected all the secondary School pupils into one huge Comprehensive which, as I have remarked on lots of previous occasions, contained 1,500 pupils.
It is currently in FreshStart.
The other half of the deal was that the children would be bussed to school. And they are, effectively, in suitably ancient buses which (there being no conductor) they cannot destroy and more.
They also attend the local swimming baths by bus. And that, too works, and seems to bring huge pleasure.

Oh – and, by the way, one of the triumphs of New Labour is the excellent idea of the free bus pass to us OAPs. It really works – buses fill up with grey and bald heads to the exclusion of all other passengers. They pay nothing and, in order to avoid bankruptcy, the companies have to withdraw unpopular services!
I went to York the other day, while on holiday, and also visited the National Railway Museum free as well.
Excellent! Thank you everyone for paying for my day out! Much appreciated!

]]> By: mikestallard http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/#comment-5988 mikestallard Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:45:25 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=1518#comment-5988 In Peterboruugh, when I was growing up in the 50s we had two paedophiles on constant patrol in the town park. F the W....... was the person who conducted the "Medical Inspection" for the West Town Boys' Club. C the P... was the other who, I recollect, wore a flat hat and lurked round the bandstand. We also had the Ranger who wore a red arm band. We treated each in very much the same way as any other adult at the time - we avoided them! In Peterboruugh, when I was growing up in the 50s we had two paedophiles on constant patrol in the town park.
F the W……. was the person who conducted the "Medical Inspection" for the West Town Boys' Club. C the P… was the other who, I recollect, wore a flat hat and lurked round the bandstand.
We also had the Ranger who wore a red arm band.
We treated each in very much the same way as any other adult at the time – we avoided them!

]]> By: Blognor Regis http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/#comment-5987 Blognor Regis Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:01:39 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=1518#comment-5987 A friend of mine's neighbour bundles her brood into her 4x4 to drive them 5000yds down the road. Ridiculous. A friend of mine's neighbour bundles her brood into her 4×4 to drive them 5000yds down the road. Ridiculous.

]]> By: Angelin http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/#comment-5986 Angelin Fri, 12 Sep 2008 15:42:27 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=1518#comment-5986 Those days when we walked to school are far behind, John. We had a three tier system and all three schools surrounded a public park. So the farthest I walked was a mile each way mostly through parkland in the safety of many park wardens. Today, many of our village schools are a distant memory and now a choice/preferrence exists where to send our offspring to school.Some travel far as their closest school may be oversubscribed. Having now moved, my daughter has a 3 mile journey to her nearest school, most of which is on narrow roads with no pavements. At first having been refused a bus pass(on the grounds that if she walked across country through old mine workings on unkept footpaths it worked out less than 3 miles) I appealed on safety grounds and won. Unfortunately for the Council they had not only my daughter to transport to and from school, but also 97 other children from the village who previously made their way by other means, mainly their parents cars. So the school gates are less congested along with the roads, less pollution and petrol, better for the enviroment. Bring on the Yellow Buses I say, but probably not under Labour Those days when we walked to school are far behind, John.
We had a three tier system and all three schools surrounded a public park. So the farthest I walked was a mile each way mostly through parkland in the safety of many park wardens.
Today, many of our village schools are a distant memory and now a choice/preferrence exists where to send our offspring to school.Some travel far as their closest school may be oversubscribed. Having now moved, my daughter has a 3 mile journey to her nearest school, most of which is on narrow roads with no pavements. At first having been refused a bus pass(on the grounds that if she walked across country through old mine workings on unkept footpaths it worked out less than 3 miles) I appealed on safety grounds and won. Unfortunately for the Council they had not only my daughter to transport to and from school, but also 97 other children from the village who previously made their way by other means, mainly their parents cars. So the school gates are less congested along with the roads, less pollution and petrol, better for the enviroment.
Bring on the Yellow Buses I say, but probably not under Labour

]]> By: paul coombes http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/#comment-5985 paul coombes Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:18:05 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=1518#comment-5985 Both of my children were walked to school every day when they were at primary school. The day they started at secondary school they went on their own. Which is by way of an answer to your question of "Surely they have mastered the highway code and the need for care when crossing streets by the time they are 11?" I certainly think so. For both of them the journey consists of catching the train (the train is quicker and cheaper than the bus) from just outside Reading and then walking from Reading station across town to their respective schools. There are a large number of children that do exactly the same so not all parents have succumbed to peadophile paranoia. Both of my children were walked to school every day when they were at primary school. The day they started at secondary school they went on their own. Which is by way of an answer to your question of "Surely they have mastered the highway code and the need for care when crossing streets by the time they are 11?" I certainly think so. For both of them the journey consists of catching the train (the train is quicker and cheaper than the bus) from just outside Reading and then walking from Reading station across town to their respective schools. There are a large number of children that do exactly the same so not all parents have succumbed to peadophile paranoia.

]]> By: NigelC http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/#comment-5984 NigelC Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:37:21 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=1518#comment-5984 The reason mums and dads take their children to school is because free transport to school was abolished where I live. It is cheaper to car share with parents taking it in turns to get the kids to school. Madness. Free transport was introduced for all pensioners. If we want our children to get into the habit of using public transport I would suggest the policy priority is the wrong way round. The reason mums and dads take their children to school is because free transport to school was abolished where I live.
It is cheaper to car share with parents taking it in turns to get the kids to school. Madness.

Free transport was introduced for all pensioners.

If we want our children to get into the habit of using public transport I would suggest the policy priority is the wrong way round.

]]> By: Tony Makara http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2008/09/12/take-the-yellow-school-bus/#comment-5983 Tony Makara Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:44:12 +0000 http://www.johnredwoodsdiary.com/?p=1518#comment-5983 I think we have to be careful that we don't fall into the peadophile paranoia generated by the yellow press. Children have to be allowed to live their lives and learn about life, that means having the freedom to walk to school once they reach a certain age. Those of us who grew up in the sixties and earlier will remember how huge groups of children played openly in the street, often until late under street lights, this was because there was little to do at home. Now children are trapped in their bedrooms and use their pc to socialize, this however is far more dangerous than playing out in the street. Thinking back to my own childhood a remember a neighbour called Jim who would buy sweets on his way home from work and, as an act of kindness, would hand them out to kids that he passed on his way home. Can you imagine the stir and suspicion if such an act of affection occured today. In later years I got to know Jim quite well as he was one of the coaches at our local boxing club and one day I asked him how he got into the habit of buying sweets and handing them out, Jim just replied by saying "I just thought it would be a nice thing to do", which I think shows that we have to trust adults just as much as we trust our children to be sensible when they are out playing or walking to school. The print media have whipped up a hysteria that has created a climate of fear for our children and made them afraid to trust adults. I think we have to be careful that we don't fall into the peadophile paranoia generated by the yellow press. Children have to be allowed to live their lives and learn about life, that means having the freedom to walk to school once they reach a certain age. Those of us who grew up in the sixties and earlier will remember how huge groups of children played openly in the street, often until late under street lights, this was because there was little to do at home. Now children are trapped in their bedrooms and use their pc to socialize, this however is far more dangerous than playing out in the street.

Thinking back to my own childhood a remember a neighbour called Jim who would buy sweets on his way home from work and, as an act of kindness, would hand them out to kids that he passed on his way home. Can you imagine the stir and suspicion if such an act of affection occured today. In later years I got to know Jim quite well as he was one of the coaches at our local boxing club and one day I asked him how he got into the habit of buying sweets and handing them out, Jim just replied by saying "I just thought it would be a nice thing to do", which I think shows that we have to trust adults just as much as we trust our children to be sensible when they are out playing or walking to school. The print media have whipped up a hysteria that has created a climate of fear for our children and made them afraid to trust adults.

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