Jottings
News from the UK and around the World compiled by Dave Jamieson
. . . the wild, the wacky, the wonderful, the weird and the downright infuriating
The Best of the Worst of
2017
The world of gender correctness spread
like wildfire during 2017. A guidebook
for teachers, parents and pupils sent to
schools around Britain advised against
using language that suggests there are
only two genders and condemned saying
“ladies” and “gents.” Alternative terms
listed to describe gender and sexuality
included “cisgender,” “panromantic,”
“intersex” and “genderqueer.”
Sussex University students’ union asked
its members not to use the pronouns
“he” and “she” to avoid assumptions
being made on how people identify. It
said individuals whose gender identities
are not known should not be described
as “men” or “women,” and inclusive
terms such as “person” should be used
instead.”
Even the British Medical Association
found itself issuing a formal caution to
staff not to use the term “expectant
mothers” because it might offend
transgender people. Instead, the BMA
suggests the term “pregnant people.”
Council advising residents to put their
domestic rubbish in the freezer to stop it
smelling during the ten-day Christmas
break enjoyed by their collection
services.
Council Capers Council wardens in London fined a 65-
year-old woman £80 (€93) for tipping a
cup of unwanted coffee down a drain.
Ealing council insisted that she should
pay up, until newspapers got hold of the
barmy story after which the fine was
suddenly cancelled.
The year saw workmen in Yeovil
installing a lamp-post in the middle of a
lay-by, council workers who were re-
surfacing a road in Manchester going
around a parked car leaving a chunk of
the road unfinished, and Derby County The installation of an automatic speed
sign to deter ‘rat run’ drivers was
delayed because a Leicestershire council
did not have the correct step ladder.
Mark Jackson, clerk to the parish
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