a free man in boston

He does Color Therapy. He thinks he's in Hootie and the Blowfish. It's all true!

Seriously though; anyone who's not taken time out to read Tim's travelogue is missing a trick. There's 'gay shorts', 'kissing waitresses, 'killer whales' and Twin Peaks style live entertainment. Get over there.

Moving swiftly on, there's been a lot on the news today about people being ripped off by scurrilous junk mailers telling them they've won big on draws they've never entered. One bloke interviewed on Five Live had handed over £31,000, which was supposed to be the tax on his 'never to be seen' winnings, upfront. Another woman had lost up to £300,000 over two years to different scammers. Excuse me but... fuckwits! Is it just me but I find it all very funny. If there are any under-cover Trading Standards officers or veg-packers in the house they might care to comment on my tasteless lack of concern.

Speaking of tasteless, it seems they're getting rid of GCSEs and A levels and letting kids choose vocational subjects at an early age. I think this is good. Citizens of other countries that have introduced this approach have reaped the rewards. Just think of Australia which introduced the vocation of bar-tending and who's sons and daughters have penetrated the pint-pulling industry across the globe. Half of Provincetown studied hairdressing, and much of Asia introduced the subject of minicab driving years ago with largely the same effect.

Bartending, hairdressing and minicab-driving. All good, solid reliable occupations. People will always need a beer, always need a haircut and always need somewhere to leave their kebab.

Mind you, I always think that hair-dressing, at least the basics anyway, could be gotten across to the nation's youth over a couple of double-periods, or even a rainy playtime. OK, I don't mean the fancy stuff like they do on The Salon. More the stuff that your local barber does. Mrs Backroads taught herself to cut my hair. That being said, I do have a 'number one' all over. Still barberism begins at home.

As for the initials we'll be losing, GSCEs, A levels, etc well... you just have to look at some of our oldest and most established professions who have thrived on resisting change. Prostitution for example.

Even today, twenty years since they introduced GCSEs you still see ads saying things like:

Busty blonde. Good O and A levels.

Never do you see

Raunchy redhead. Good GCSE and A levels.

(Although I suppose General Cock Sucking Expertise might be appropriate. Note to self: Send letter into Bloggers Wives suggestion box.)