The tourist trade is booming. With all this coming and going, you’d expect greater understanding to develop between the nations of the world. Not a bit of it! Superb systems of communication by air, sea and land make it possible for us to visit each other’s countries at a moderate cost. What was once the ‘grand tour’, reserved for only the v

‘Untidy people are not nice to know’
You don’t have to be a genius to spot them. The men of the species are often uncombed; their ties never knotted squarely beneath their collars. The women of the species always manage to smear lipstick on their faces as well as their lips; in one hand they carry handbags which are stuffed full of a

‘Childhood is certainly not the happiest time of your life’
It’s about time somebody exploded that hoary old myth about childhood being the happiest period of your life. Childhood may certainly be fairly happy, but its greatest moments can’t compare with the sheer joy of being an adult. Who ever asked a six-year-old for an opinion? C

‘Compulsory military service should be abolished in all countries’
Believe it or not, the Swiss were once a warlike people. There is still evidence of this. To this day, the guards at the Vatican are Swiss. But the Swiss discovered long ago that constant warfare brought them nothing but suffering and poverty. They adopted a policy of

‘The only thing people are interested in today is earning more money’
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful young woman and  a handsome young man. They were very poor, but as they were deeply in love, they wanted to get married. The young people’s parents shook their heads. ‘You can’t get married yet,’ they said. ‘Wait till y

‘Transistor radios should be prohibited in public places’
We have all heard of the sort of person who drives fifty miles into the country, finds some perfectly delightful beauty sopt beside a quiet lake and then spends the rest of the day cleaning his car. Compared with those terrible friends, the litter-bugs and noise-makers, this i

‘Vicious and dangerous sports should be banned by law’
When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made, it’s amazing how little we have developed in other respects. We may speak contemptuously of the poor old Romans because they relished the orgies of slaughter that went on in their arenas. We may despise them be

‘Pop stars certainly earn their money’
Pop stars today enjoy a style of living which was once the prerogative only of Royalty. Wherever they go, people turn out in their thousands to greet them. The crowds go wild trying to catch a brief glimpse of their smiling, colourfully-dressed idols. The stars are transported in their chauffeur

‘Parents are too permissive with their children nowadays’
Few people would defend the Victorian attitude to children, but if you were a parent in those days, at least you knew where you you stood: children were to be seen and not heard. Freud and company did away with all that and parents have been bewildered ever since. The child’s

‘Only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents’
From the health point of view we are living in a marvelous age. We are immunized from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once fatal illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and surgery. It is almost certain that one day remedies will be found

‘The younger generation knows best’
Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true. It has never been truer than it is today. The young are better educated. They have a lot more money to spend and enjoy more freedom. They grow up more qu

‘We should all grow fat and be happy”
Here’s a familiar version of the boy-meets-girl situation. A young man has at last plucked up courage to invite a dazzling young lady out to dinner. She has accepted his invitation and he is overjoyed. He is determined to take her to the best restaurant in town, even if it means that he will have

‘New fashions in clothing are created solely for the commercial exploitation of women’
Whenever you see an old film, even one made as little as ten years ago, you cannot help being struck by the appearance of the women taking part. Their hair-styles and make-up look dated; their skirts look either too long or too short; their general

‘ Camping is the ideal way of spending a holiday’
There was a time when camping was considered to be a poor way of spending a holiday; OK for boy scouts and hard-up students, but hardly the thing for sophisticated, comfort-loving adults.The adults have at last discovered that the boy scouts have really been on to a good thing all these y

‘Any form of education other than co-education is simply unthinkable’
Imagine being asked to spend twelve or so years of your life in a society which consisted only of members of your own sex. How would you react? Unless there was something definitely wrong with you, you wouldn’t be too happy about it, to say the least. It is all the mor