rant alert

sometimes britain scares me a little. All this in the last two weeks:

Here is the story of the mother who was not allowed to buy a bottle of wine in a supermarket (yes, that would be MORRISONS) because her 17-year-old daughter was shopping with her.

Here is the story of the man who was sentenced to 18 months in jail because he is an idiot (he gave his 3-year-old niece a cigarette and filmed it while all her cousins watched and laughed). While I appreciate that it is BAD to give a three-year-old a cigarette, there is something about this sentence that doesn't rest easily with me. (Did you know that the term "passive smoking" was coined in Nazi Germany?--I am not a smoker, but I am agog. Suddenly all the references to the "anti-smoking Gestapo" make a lot more sense. Hitler's anti-tobacco campaign was years ahead of its time.)

But what I *really* want to rant about is the fact that at our local big homewares outlet (yes, that would be DUNELM MILL) you are not allowed to buy KNITTING NEEDLES if you are under 25. Let's think about this. You could, for example, have been flying an F16 for 5 years in Iraq, but you are not allowed to KNIT in Perth. You could be a brain surgeon, but you are not allowed to knit in Perth. You could be John Keats and live your WHOLE LIFE without being allowed to knit in Perth.

I think I'll stop there.

Sara was the one who wanted the knitting needles, incidentally. After the Morrisons-mother-daughter-wine incident, she was very, very worried that we would be stopped at the checkout in Dunelm Mill and not allowed to buy our 8 mm knitting needles (the very fat ones that would be about as dangerous as a STICK off a bush in the garden, which we could have for free instead of £ 2.85). But I, cravenly, did not inform the cash register assistant that I was buying them for my 12-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER. TO KNIT WITH.

and the cash register assistant did not ask me for ID.

Challenge 25

To further enlighten my previous post, rather than have this get lost in the comments, I can tell you here that this is a policy launched by UK RETAILERS (not a government scheme, so not something that can be deemed legal or illegal, I don't think). It is called Challenge 25 and was launched chiefly to combat underage alcohol sales. However, it is up to the retailers to decide (I think) what they'll put their red-and-black stickers on, and one of the ways they decide is by referring to lists drawn up by the local council authority. I think. [Red-and-]black-listed merchandise is also flashed up on the register at check-out with a huge red block that covers a third of the screen (I know this 'cause I saw it).

here is one of the lists of suspect goods from Kent

here is one from Angus

And there's a nice bright image of the classic "Challenge 25" iconography here. Alas, I can't find a picture of the cute little red-and-black stickers they've pasted on all the packets of knitting needles.

Needless to say, if you do a bit of googling and lurking on this subject, you quickly discover that I am not the only one ranting about it.