Conkers

As every newspaper has reported, a Carlisle primary school has bought six pairs of industrial safety goggles so that its pupils can go on playing conkers.

The saddest thing about the BBC's report is the approving quotes from two of the children:

"It doesn't stop you from having fun because you still play the game. It's
just protecting your eyes at the same time."

and

"I think it's a very sensible idea and it doesn't change the experience. It
doesn't hurt to be safe."

Clearly, they have learned that expressing such trite sentiments is the way to win adult approval. You don't have to read the Daily Mail to worry what this means for the future.

For a convincing explanation of our current obsession with safety, see Frank Furedi's book Culture of Fear: Risk Taking and the Morality of Low Expectation.