After the Politicians have said their Piece

           It has all been a bit depressing. The Riots have happened, and the politicians have had their say. Isn't extraordinary how almost all their ruminations have been have been at the abstract societal level? There is something wrong with our education! There is something wrong with society! There is something wrong with our sense of morality. After huffing and puffing bland generalities they have all gone back on holiday.  Then it will be the Party Conference season, and then they will go back to their Punch and Judy politics.
           The kids will still be there, though. The problems will still be there,
           To get a handle on what went on you need to look at the kids who took part in the riots. First of all it was the HOLIDAYS. Kids get BORED during the holidays. It doesn't get dark until really late. I can remember getting bored witless during the holidays. I used to hang around with my pals at the local shops. We all ached for a bit of excitement. Sometimes we would cycle a mile or two to our local beach in Goring, and lark about there. Of course the grown-ups moaned about us then too. All I can say is that I was lucky to live near the seaside.
            Where can teenagers go off, away from grown ups, and let off steam? In my childhood we had plenty of places . I am sure the kids in Tottenham, Clapham and Croydon don't have anything like the space we had.
             We need to look at these practical things about everyday metropolitan life before dancing around the abstactions so beloved of the dinner tables of Westminster, Hampstead and their second homes in Hertfordshire.