So Rod Liddle, a leading regular feature
writer at the Times, got caned frequently at school and his
mother kept a selection of canes at home which were used to maintain
discipline in the Liddle family. The canes (his mother's not the school's) were
taken from the garden so presumably she had plenty to choose from and
replacements available if ever one broke, which, in my own experience, can
happen with garden canes. All this is revealed in his
column (you wont be able to read article as you have to subscribe to it), the main focus of which is actually the banning of smacking
children in Scotland.
It's a funny thought that while the spanking
of children, which has been an accepted right of parents, schools and authority
figures over centuries, is diminishing and on the verge of
extinction whereas the spanking of adults is at an all time high and
growing. I don't like state intervention dictating what we can and can't do but
overall I'm in favour in the case of kids. Needless to say I wouldn't like to
see it extended to adults:)
As for Rod Liddle, a writer who sometimes
writes observant and funny things but not always, I would imagine he might
well still have a little soft spot for those caning days. Perhaps he still
gets it, they do say that many an adult participant can trace back the
origins of their little peccadillo to youthful experiences. Not from his
mother of course but perhaps his wife keeps him in check; if so I have
a little bit of advice, don't use up garden canes, keep them
in the soil, invest in some nice kooboos, they're much more
flexible.
Have a good week.
Ronnie
xx
