Paying for our education.

I'm a big believer in state education. I don't agree with free schools or religious schools (but they're both whole other stories) and I would never dream of sending my child to a private school. But I was thinking today about education and I realised that to get somewhere, you really do need money.

The amount of money my parents have spent on books is ridiculous - necessary but ridiculous. Schools trips cost money. Re-marking exam papers costs money. Re-sitting exams costs money. And going to university without your parents' support (in terms of money)?... It doesn't happen for most.

I don't really know what the solution is. We have to pay for supplies... and can't expect the government to fund every individual's education. But it is a great injustice that those born into less afluent families suffer.

The incredible opening lines to an incredicle film.

"Have you ever confused a dream with life? Or stolen something when you have the cash? Have you ever been blue? Or thought your train moving while sitting still? Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the 60's. Or maybe I was just a girl... interrupted."

Radio stations reading out texts from drivers

I was just listening to Reggie Yates on Radio 1 (because my sister insisted on putting it on...) and he was reading out texts from listeners. One of them read 'Partying while I'm driving!'

I just thought about the fact that drivers text into radio stations while they are driving and how unsafe this is. I've heard so many texts like this read out on Radio 1. It occurred to that by reading out texts from people who were driving, the stations are arguably justifying using mobiles while driving. I think it would better to just ignore those texts and read ones out from those actually texting legally...

This may have been the most boring, old-Conservative-loser type blog post EVER but this just occurred to me!

Prince Harry and his Crown Jewels...

This week everyone (or those interested) has been discussing the pictures of Prince Harry naked in Las Vegas. I don't really have much of an opinion on it... I don't think it's a massive deal in comparison with other news (SYRIA FOR EXAMPLE?) but at the same time it doesn't seem very prince-like behaviour.

Some people have been saying 'it doesn't matter... why does anybody care?... he's a normal bloke and every bloke has done things like that... etc.' I find this view ridiculous because Prince Harry is not a normal bloke. He's a Prince. And he has responsibilities to act in a certain way. It's not exactly the sort of the thing you would expect from a representative of the country.

However other people have been saying 'it's just disgusting behaviour... he should be ashamed' or whatever. I don't agree with this either. He is just a young man who made a bad decision that night and whose minders weren't quite doing their job well enough... Everyone makes mistakes.

But then I also disagree with the view that says 'he's a very hard working man... he has a difficult life and was just letting off steam'. Yes he may work hard, I am sure he does. But everyone works hard. Not everyone has millions and a free ride in the way that Harry does. I don't feel sorry for him and I think that he should apologise for what has happened. 

So that's my view of the Harry situation. I don't really have a fixed position. I disagree with both sides of the debate about the appropriateness of his behaviour. One thing I do have a strong view on, is the Palace's decision to threaten papers who publish the pictures with legal action. I think this is ridiculous. They can't dictate what papers can and cannot do. As a public figure, Prince Harry is news. And that includes the pictures. There should be no exception just because he's royalty. The pictures can be easily found on the internet anyway so I don't know what difference the Palace think it's going to make. The Sun decided to print the pictures. This is obviously for money and publicity rather than anything else, but who cares? If they want to print them, let them print them. The Palace shouldn't be able to stop the paper.

Security at the Olympics

Everyone's talking about the Olympics - even while my family and I were on holiday everyone was asking why we weren't back in London to see it. So I thought I'd write an Olympic-themed post. Yesterday we went to watch the athletics because my dad managed to get tickets. It was a really fun day but actually what stood out for me was the way the security was managed. I was expecting an over-the-top, police everywhere with intemidating stares, approach. But I was actually really surprised at how calm and unobtrusive it all was. You weren't made to feel like a criminal when going through security or to feel uncomfortable when walking next to Police Officers/Soldiers. Everyone was very friendly and smiley. It doesn't sound very important, but it really does make a difference. I definitely feel that the way security was organised was just right. 

Nonsense from Wimbledon commentary

I've been watching the Wimbledon Men's Final and I'm finding the commentary more entertaining than the tennis. Some of the comments so far have actually been hilarious. Here are a few of my favourites...

1. 'What an enthralling opening.' How dignified. None of that 'exciting' rubbish. At Wimbledon, we speak sophisticatedly. 

2. 'He will need to regroup. And he will, because he is strong.' This sounds slightly... well... something from Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech.

3. 'Wild. Really wild.' Getting a tad too excited are we?

4.. 'It reminds me of a football match now.' In what way exactly? The terrible chants from the crowds? The beer everywhere? The fact that every player has had an affair with every other player's wife?

4. 'The roof will be closed. How is this going to change things?' My Lord! The roof is being closed?! Why are the army not here yet?

5. 'The brave souls waiting on the hill.' Just a bunch of random people actually.

6. 'The lights on the scoreboard are so vivid now.' This is not Keats. 

And my personal favourite...

7. 'A nice light blue tie.' One commentator referring to what another commentator was wearing. The least tennis-related comment ever said by a tennis commentator. 

What's in a name?

For a while I've been choosing names for my future children. This will not be for a long time yet... but it's good to be prepared! Here is a list of my chosen names to date and why I love them.

Boys:

1. Irwin. It's the middle name of the Beat poet Allen Ginsberg (who I love) and you don't come across many Irwins these days...

2. Winston. Well, this is the middle name of John Lennon (who I also love) and I did think it was unusual until Billie Piper named her son Winston. Additionally, whenever I tell people I like the name they say 'as in Churchill?' and I would never want people to think I named my child after him... so this one might come off the list.

3.Woody. It's the name of one of my favourite film directors, Woody Allen. I think it's a really lovely, interesting name, but I have a feeling my child would hate me if I named him this - everyone would say 'like in Toy Story'!

4. Edward (but called Teddy). I think this is a nice, classic, timeless name. But I would never accept anyone calling him 'Ed'... that would be horrific. 

5. Darwin. For the obvious reason that Charles Darwin is amazing. I would like to name my child after someone who made such a significant contribution to our understanding of how we are here today.

Girls:

1. Lara. I adored the video game character Lara Croft when I was younger. She is just so cool. And how great would it be to say that you are named after a video game?... maybe not. But it's still a lovely name.

2. Olive. Although most Olive's these days are like 90 years old, I love this name. It has a vintage-y feel to it... if a name can be vintage? I think it's interesting and different!

3. Sylvia. I love the poet Sylvia Plath - she's brilliant. I wouldn't want my children to have names that are in fashion for a while and then seem silly. I think this is a perfect example of a beautiful, timeless name.