Dear Chief Secretary to the Treasury,
I'm afraid to tell you there's no money left.
Signed, Liam Byrne

(Outgoing Labour Chief Secretary to the Treasury. May 2010)
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Thursday 13 May 2010

Knitting

Harry Hill says that if he was Prime Minister for the day he would
teach knitting in schools
Right, so now you've picked yourself up off the floor and stopped laughing, let's think about it.

What does knitting involve?
  • Using pointy things safely.
  • Sitting still for a very long time - over some days or even weeks.
  • Being able to pick up, and continue, a task where you left off.
  • Following instructions - to the letter.
  • Using and understanding codes.
  • Dexterity.
  • Patience.
  • Determination.
So, maybe Harry Hill isn't as silly as some might think.

Wouldn't it be good if all children learned these skills before they leave school?
....

5 comments:

Trubes said...

Knitting...Now there's an idea!
I am at present, due to 4 slipped discs, semi disabled and stuck in my chair all day.
Fortunately, I have my PC for blogging and Face book stuff to allay the boredom.
However, I am left handed, any tips?

Di.

Trubes said...

P.S. I mean't to say, I do think it would be a good idea for children to learn to knit, particularly learning;
:Dexterity
:Patience
:Deternimation

Di.

John Pickworth said...

Its something I can recommend whole heartedly.

Having spent two years, arms out stretched, as my mother's wool winding assistant; I decided I wanted a go at the business end of knitting. So, aged 10 and three quarters, my mother taught me.

Later I added sewing to my growing repertoire which by then already included cooking too. Quite the domestic.

That's not to say I neglected the typical lads stuff. Far from it, I was a skilled chemist (mainly involved blowing stuff up), an electrician, mechanic, metalworker and wood turner.

The point though, is that all these skills have proven useful throughout my life -- perhaps not the blowing stuff up so much because they don't like you doing that these days -- but the others yes, and yes I could still knit if needed.

If you were to find yourself stranded on a deserted island I'm just the chap you'd want with you.... oh and perhaps Dr Jack Shepperd too.

Finally, in many conversations with friends from Poland, I'm told they are taught this stuff at school. Perhaps that explains the foundations of their 'can do' work ethic? Its a thought.

Mrs Rigby said...

@ Trubes.
#1
One of the Rigbys is left-handed, knits right handed because that's the way they learned.

Google 'left handed knitting' - videos, websites, all sorts of things listed.

#2
Yep. Agree.

Mrs Rigby said...

@ John Pickworth
Yes, Mrs R also had aching arms when she was little.

Some of the most artistic knitters are male.

real, practical 'skills' seem to be sadly lacking from education these days, often due to H/S, and blowing things up in Science labs is strictly forbidden - not even the lids off syrup tins, just in case.

It isn't just in Poland, almost all European countries seem to have fabric shops etc., whilst they're disappearing from Britain.