Tim Worstall

Julie Bindell: Confused

Not a shock, of course:

Why should those of us who are child-free by choice be penalised for
six weeks in the summer, and a total of 13 weeks throughout the year?
We have to put up with undisciplined, spoilt children – and heavy
financial penalties. The cost of holidays quadruples, Chelsea tractors
congest the roads all day, and parks become playgrounds. Why can’t
adults who want a bit of peace have "quiet areas" in public places –
including parks and restaurants – so we do not have to put up with
hysterical children getting up our noses when trying to relax?

Recently
I was shocked to see that some trains have designated "family friendly"
carriages. Can anyone explain why, when most train carriages seem to be
occupied by noisy children and their parents throughout the holidays,
they need special carriages?

Errr, adults should have places free from children. Fair enough. So someone setting up a system which encourages families with children to go elsewhere and leave the adults alone is, err, unfair or something?

In

13 responses

  1. james higham Avatar
    james higham

    There was a piece without header and author I saw and I’ll run again it soon, called the Wrong Kind of Snow. It referred to child free carriages; ‘Madam, kindly extinguish that child’ and so on.
    What gets me is the look in the eyes of the parents of the unrestrained infant who invite you to share their pride in their petulant progeny.

    Reply
  2. JuliaM Avatar
    JuliaM

    Perhaps she might like to try a Warners child-free holiday, or would she also find that shocking..?

    Reply
  3. Tim Almond Avatar
    Tim Almond

    “parks become playgrounds”.
    How horrible for her to have to share the park with kids having fun playing ball, or running about.
    I’m glad she’s not breeding. There’s quite enough sad and bitter people in this world without adding a few more.

    Reply
  4. Steve G Avatar
    Steve G

    My mother-in-law once arrived for a holiday with us by train in an even fouler mood than usual; ‘I deliberately chose a carriaged that was clearly marked “Quiet Zone”,’ she explained, “and bloody Virgin let people bring their children in there’.

    Reply
  5. andrew duffin Avatar
    andrew duffin

    Miserable old bat.
    Who does she think is going to pay her pension when she’s old and lonely?
    Hopefully nobody will.
    Feh.

    Reply
  6. Steve G Avatar
    Steve G

    While I realise that mobile phones are necessary for folks who trade the shares that pay people’s pensions, surely you don’t think she’s being unreasonable in not wanting to be disturbed by them in a carriage that’s clearly designated as a ‘Quite Zone’? Are small children, in your experience, any less noisy than people with mobile phones, or their cries less annoying that most (not, I admit, all) ringtones?

    Reply
  7. Emily Avatar
    Emily

    And who is going to give her meals on wheels when she is desperate for “one of those noisy annoying children” to turn up at 5pm and stick her cod and parsley sauce in the microwave?

    Reply
  8. PoliticalHackUK Avatar
    PoliticalHackUK

    She’s also factually wrong – the traffic is a damn sight easier without the school-run traffic on the roads.

    Reply
  9. towcestarian Avatar
    towcestarian

    Before the mini-towcestarians came along I used to hate pushchairs in supermarkets. Once I acquired sprogs and perambulation devices, supermarkets became much more fun, clipping the ankles of obviously distressed singlies and blocking aisles with other like mined parents. Now they are older, driving the 4×4 slowly around in front of Porches and ZX3s is even more fun.

    Reply
  10. billa Avatar
    billa

    Now that we have lost sight of our heritage, we are concerned more about the present than the future. Check catholicfundamentalism.com for a slightly longer view, one that makes children a vital part of our present.

    Reply
  11. Carlotta Avatar
    Carlotta

    Deeply confused, I agree. By way of another example, why is she complaining about costs of holidays rising when she could seemingly go away some other time in the year? Duh. She should be grateful that she can use the economics of the sitaution to her advantage!

    Reply
  12. JuliaM Avatar
    JuliaM

    “She should be grateful that she can use the economics of the sitaution to her advantage!”
    should be grateful is probably an emotion that doesn’t happen often to Guardian journalists. Though if I were one, I’d be only too happy to get paid their salary for the hogwash & bullshit they produce….
    Tim adds: In the piece she says she’s a freelancer. Probably about 500 quid for that.

    Reply
  13. Emily Avatar
    Emily

    Guardian pays the worst of them all. Around £200-£300 for a 1000 words for a basic freelancer and maybe £100 more if a regular. SHITE money. Except if you a spouting off views with little research to back it up then it is nice money. Any news story that could require two hours of chasing to get quotes, an hour of research and an hour to write and proof, then probably 10 days trying to see if it is going in or not and then chasing to get paid…well it’s not an easy living to make.

    Reply

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