Shaken by recklessness but I don’t regret action
CORPORAL punishment is a thing of the past. We may think of birching, or of a thrashing at school, or even a spot of parental persuasion. But is it entirely finished? Evidently not in Scotland where their provincial authority urges the public who witness a parental beating to report it to the police. The ruling comes into force in November. And then you dial 999.
When I read this my mind went back some 50 years to a summer’s day in one of Grimsby’s quiet and most respectable streets, a day when for the last time I lost control. East Saint Mary’s Gate was and remains a narrow street linking Victoria and Bethlehem Streets.
In 1970 at the end of the long high wall of the Savoy Cinema was Bryant’s Men’s Outfitters shop. Opposite was a sweet shop run by Mrs Morley and her friend Mrs Warren. Mrs Morley’s husband was the Mayor’s Sergeant Albert Morley. There was both a ladies’ hairdressers and a barber’s shop, a classic 1970s dress shop, and finally the quaintly named Ideal Home Depot whose proprietor was a lovely lady known to many.
In the middle of this row of shops – all of which were owned by two middle-aged Hull ladies – was the SSAFA shop run by Miss Muriel Dennis MBE who had been Dr Hugh Stanton’s secretary for many years. In the window framework, and lowly placed, was a slot for a penny which children could insert and watch as it rolled down into the SSAFA charity box.
I hope I have painted a peaceful and wholesome scene, a quiet road and calm.
On Miss Dennis’s retirement, I took her premises taking a break from journalism having just, with
Colin Carr, seen This England magazine launched, and opened an antiques shop. It too was a pleasant addition to the short road.
So it was then on a quiet day I stood proprietorially on the threshold. Then it happened.
A burly man, a six-footer, came round the corner.
He had a small girl in tow. She was howling.
He raised his arm and hit her head hard with the back of his hand. She cried the more and, as he drew level with me, he raised his hand to hit her again.
I stepped forward, grabbed his arm and told him not to hit her and he, shaking his arm free, told me he’d do as he wanted. The situation was dicey and after he’d exhausted his repertoire of swearwords, he went on his way. I sat down quite shaken at my own recklessness. Whether or not we should hit children is, says the Scottish Government, not debatable and is now reportable. On that occasion I had no doubt.
The majority of Scots don’t want any such law imposed on them. And I dare say they are not alone. Speak to people today here in
England and they’ll tell you that a clip round the ear never did anyone any harm, and a good thrashing would be just the job for our politically correct, wet society when punishment is anything but condine. No policeman would ever recommend taking the law into your own hands. But whether they’d be happy with a further burden involving smacking is unlikely – even in Scotland.