A South African village is demanding that a bridge be built across a crocodile-infested river to stop children swimming it to get to school. Students as young as seven have been making the crossing for two months since the community's boat was stolen. "There are about 70 households on that side of the river but there are no buses and no-one owns a car," a Kwazulu-Natal local councillor said.
I know what you're thinking, dear reader. For many of us who use public transport to and from work every day, the idea of our lovely, joyful, courteous offspring having to cross a crocodile-infested river to get to school would be something worth selling tickets for. Despite school buses being run in many areas, there remains great hordes of spotty faced youths, carrying what appears to be half of the southside of Edinburgh on their backs, who swarm the capital's public transport system like a plague. Oblivious to other passengers, they take up two seats on the bus, without even considering moving sports bags/satchels/haversacks etc. to let harrassed passengers get a seat. And trying to ask them to move is greeted with a vacant look as, with IPod glued to their ears, they stare open-mouthed at your request for a seat.
Now, as far as I know, there are no crocodiles in the River Esk near where I live. There are plenty of sharks in Dalkeith but that's another story. But kids in this country certainly have it far easier than many of their counterparts in the African continent. Thankfully, the little mites are off on their Easter break at present. But in a few days, they'll be back causing chaos in the mornings.
Perhaps the City of Edinburgh Council could take a lead and utilise the city's Union Canal for ferrying the some of the blighters to school. Anything to free up some of the buses in the morning. But, perhaps the crocodile idea isn't really a good one. Imagine if a polite, well-groomed, courteous youngster who didn't have their ears plugged into Nickelback, Girls Aloud et al, fell into the water.
Then again, not even a crocodile would swallow that...
2 comments:
Throw the blighters to the crocs I say!
I told myself that if I ever say, "these kids today" I would officially be old...BUT these kids today have NO manners what-so-ever. It seems it's the same ALL around the world, we have the same vacant little iPod wearers who take up a whole seat on a bus that is crowded to capacity and don't even think of giving up their seats for pregnant women or the elderly or handicapped. That just makes me so mad - and then I get mad at the parents who never instilled manners in these little monsters...god, don't even get me started.
Post a Comment