I recently received the following very pleasing e-mail:

Hi Alan, my name is Haydn Carter and I am from New Zealand. At my school
we are starting a compost heap and I was just wondering if you could
give me a few pointers on how to start one and what to use. I am 9 years
old and my mate Sam is helping me as well he to is 9.*** ***
*
I replied giving what information I could. It is always good to be able
to help and encourage youngsters into gardening.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

On Thu, 26 May 2005 12:11:06 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from Alan Gould contains these words:


I recently received the following very pleasing e-mail:

Hi Alan, my name is Haydn Carter and I am from New Zealand. At my school
we are starting a compost heap and I was just wondering if you could
give me a few pointers on how to start one and what to use. I am 9 years
old and my mate Sam is helping me as well he to is 9.*** ***
*
I replied giving what information I could. It is always good to be able
to help and encourage youngsters into gardening.

It's lovely, but a bit worrying these days to think of a nine year
old striking up email contacts with complete strangers found on the
internet.

I get similar emails all the time, from minors asking for information
about taking up an instrument.
I tend to assume that the 'research' is done by a parent or guardian -
an assumption often confirmed by a subsequent email from said parents
or guardians thanking me for my time.

Better to live in hope than fear, and I'd certainly be more than happy
for my children to ask questions of someone like Alan.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

On 26/5/05 12:11, in article , "Janet
Baraclough" wrote:

The message
from Alan Gould contains these words:


I recently received the following very pleasing e-mail:

Hi Alan, my name is Haydn Carter and I am from New Zealand. At my school
we are starting a compost heap and I was just wondering if you could
give me a few pointers on how to start one and what to use. I am 9 years
old and my mate Sam is helping me as well he to is 9.*** ***
*
I replied giving what information I could. It is always good to be able
to help and encourage youngsters into gardening.

It's lovely, but a bit worrying these days to think of a nine year
old striking up email contacts with complete strangers found on the
internet.

Janet

Especially an adult masquerading as a nine year old which was tried on with
us. Check the headers.......
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds for email)

In article , Stephen Howard
writes

Better to live in hope than fear, and I'd certainly be more than happy
for my children to ask questions of someone like Alan.

Thank you Stephen, Haydn mentioned in his message that the composting
was part of a school project, and he sent it from a parent's or a
relative's computer. He would undoubtedly have had help and guidance
with sending the e-mail.

I receive many private mails from people who find discussion groups like
urg too robust for them to participate in, but wish to ask guidance
about some gardening matter or other. I answer them all with great
pleasure but this one about composting from two nine year old New
Zealand lads was particularly pleasing. I hope they will be in touch
again some time.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

On Thu, 26 May 2005 22:12:39 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

I recently received the following very pleasing e-mail:

Hi Alan, my name is Haydn Carter and I am from New Zealand. At my school
we are starting a compost heap and I was just wondering if you could
give me a few pointers on how to start one and what to use. I am 9 years
old and my mate Sam is helping me as well he to is 9.***

Alan, do you know how Haydn got your name?

Pam in Bristol

Sacha wrote:
On 26/5/05 12:11, in article ,
"Janet Baraclough" wrote:

The message
from Alan Gould contains these words:


I recently received the following very pleasing e-mail:

Hi Alan, my name is Haydn Carter and I am from New Zealand. At my
school we are starting a compost heap and I was just wondering if
you could give me a few pointers on how to start one and what to
use. I am 9 years old and my mate Sam is helping me as well he to
is 9.

I replied giving what information I could. It is always good to be
able to help and encourage youngsters into gardening.

It's lovely, but a bit worrying these days to think of a nine year
old striking up email contacts with complete strangers found on the
internet.

Janet

Especially an adult masquerading as a nine year old which was tried
on with us. Check the headers.......

There was something in the Telegraph not so very long ago (some time last
year). An 8-year-old girl had been approached through a MSN chatroom, I
believe, to do with the computer game /Babyz/ (game for kids where they can
create, er, virtual kids...). This girl had set up, without parental
intervention (they interviewed the parents), her own website offering some
of her Babyz for adoption. She was approached by another girl (claiming to
be 9) wanting to help her create graphics for her site.

The girl's parents didn't notice anything was wrong, until her (I believe
her name was Jessica) schoolwork started to suffer. She then started
receiving emails from this other girl (who called herself Debbie) which
became more and more explicit (if you catch my drift). "She" started asking
Jessica to send her photos (which she did) and then, after a couple of
months, asked if they could meet. Fortunately, Jessica's parents checked the
computer after they were called in to see her class teacher. It transpired
that "Debbie" was a known paedophile - British by birth, but living in
Amsterdam.

On a slightly different tack (but still about parents not knowing what their
kids are up to) I was recently defrauded by a 16-year-old on eBay. This
little bugger was selling the latest version of Photoshop for £150. He said
he'd received it as a birthday present (complete crap as I later
discovered - he lived with his parents, grandmother and six siblings on a
council estate in Kettering - nobody could afford to give him £500 worth of
software) and didn't want it.

Fortunately, in order to register, you are compelled to give an address and
phone number - this toerag had used his parents' landline (without their
permission - they're ex-directory). So I called, spoke to his mother (and
his grandmother!) who was totally shocked (the computer is his own and is in
his bedroom, they don't know the half of what he does on it) and promised to
read him the riot act when he got back from his Saturday job. She called me
back and told me he had refunded me £200 - the £150 he stole and £50 as
compensation for defrauding me.

Had I not had his number, I would have handed it straight to the police -
and he'd probably be wearing an orange boiler suit by now!


--
In memory of MS MVP Alex Nichol: http://www.dts-l.org/

In article , Pam Moore
writes
*

Alan, do you know how Haydn got your name?

He had seen my urg FAQ on composting at:
http://www.nugget.demon.co.uk/MetaFAQ/organic.html
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

"Miss Perspicacia Tick" wrote in message
...


Fortunately, in order to register, you are compelled to give an address
and phone number - this toerag had used his parents' landline (without
their permission - they're ex-directory). So I called, spoke to his mother
(and his grandmother!) who was totally shocked (the computer is his own
and is in his bedroom, they don't know the half of what he does on it) and
promised to read him the riot act when he got back from his Saturday job.
She called me back and told me he had refunded me £200 - the £150 he stole
and £50 as compensation for defrauding me.

Had I not had his number, I would have handed it straight to the police -
and he'd probably be wearing an orange boiler suit by now!


if only that was the case..first of all the police almost certainly wouldnt
investigate, and at most he'd probably get a conditional discharge and
possibly not even any attempt for recompense.

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

On Thu, 26 May 2005 22:12:39 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from Stephen Howard contains these words:

On Thu, 26 May 2005 12:11:06 +0100, Janet Baraclough
wrote:

The message
from Alan Gould contains these words:


I recently received the following very pleasing e-mail:

Hi Alan, my name is Haydn Carter and I am from New Zealand. At my school
we are starting a compost heap and I was just wondering if you could
give me a few pointers on how to start one and what to use. I am 9 years
old and my mate Sam is helping me as well he to is 9.*** ***
*
I replied giving what information I could. It is always good to be able
to help and encourage youngsters into gardening.

It's lovely, but a bit worrying these days to think of a nine year
old striking up email contacts with complete strangers found on the
internet.

I get similar emails all the time, from minors asking for information
about taking up an instrument.
I tend to assume that the 'research' is done by a parent or guardian -
an assumption often confirmed by a subsequent email from said parents
or guardians thanking me for my time.

Better to live in hope than fear, and I'd certainly be more than happy
for my children to ask questions of someone like Alan.

Parents have no idea what kind of someone a complete stranger from
the internet is in real life. Even "familiar" newsgroup, messageboard
or chatroom appearances can mask a considerably different reality as
many have found.

Are you suggesting that Alan is, by day, mild-mannered Urgler - and by
night the mad axe-weilding maniac of ( insert name of town here )?

Real life is no different. How many people did Shipman kill?
How many people trusted Thomas Hamilton?
How many times have you heard it said "Well, I never would have
thought he was the type"?

Living involves risk, and we either teach our children ( and ourselves
) the skills to minimize that risk in order to live a full and
sociable life - or we resign ourselves to distrust and paranoia, and
become victims of our own accord...and all we really learn is how to
hide and lead theoretical lives.

Regards,




--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

In message , Stephen Howard
writes
Are you suggesting that Alan is, by day, mild-mannered Urgler - and by
night the mad axe-weilding maniac of ( insert name of town here )?

Real life is no different. How many people did Shipman kill? How many
people trusted Thomas Hamilton? How many times have you heard it said
"Well, I never would have thought he was the type"?

Living involves risk, and we either teach our children ( and ourselves
) the skills to minimize that risk in order to live a full and sociable
life - or we resign ourselves to distrust and paranoia, and become
victims of our own accord...and all we really learn is how to hide and
lead theoretical lives.

Along these same lines, did anyone see yesterday's headline:

"A&E doctors are calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives to
reduce deaths from stabbing.
A team from West Middlesex University Hospital said violent crime is on
the increase - and kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all
stabbings.
They argued many assaults are committed impulsively, prompted by alcohol
and drugs, and a kitchen knife often makes an all too available weapon.
The research is published in the British Medical Journal."


--
Klara, Gatwick basin

Tumbleweed wrote:
"Miss Perspicacia Tick" wrote in message
...


Fortunately, in order to register, you are compelled to give an
address and phone number - this toerag had used his parents'
landline (without their permission - they're ex-directory). So I
called, spoke to his mother (and his grandmother!) who was totally
shocked (the computer is his own and is in his bedroom, they don't
know the half of what he does on it) and promised to read him the
riot act when he got back from his Saturday job. She called me back
and told me he had refunded me £200 - the £150 he stole and £50 as
compensation for defrauding me. Had I not had his number, I would have
handed it straight to the
police - and he'd probably be wearing an orange boiler suit by now!


if only that was the case..first of all the police almost certainly
wouldnt investigate, and at most he'd probably get a conditional
discharge and possibly not even any attempt for recompense.

My boyfriend was more optimistic (but maybe they're a cut above on
Merseyside...)

--
In memory of MS MVP Alex Nichol: http://www.dts-l.org/

In article , Stephen Howard
writes

Are you suggesting that Alan is, by day, mild-mannered Urgler - and by
night the mad axe-weilding maniac of ( insert name of town here )?
Grimsby - his name was Ian Huntley [of Soham]. ;-(

--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

Klara wrote:

In message , Stephen Howard
writes
Are you suggesting that Alan is, by day, mild-mannered Urgler - and by
night the mad axe-weilding maniac of ( insert name of town here )?

Real life is no different. How many people did Shipman kill? How many
people trusted Thomas Hamilton? How many times have you heard it said
"Well, I never would have thought he was the type"?

Living involves risk, and we either teach our children ( and ourselves
) the skills to minimize that risk in order to live a full and sociable
life - or we resign ourselves to distrust and paranoia, and become
victims of our own accord...and all we really learn is how to hide and
lead theoretical lives.

Along these same lines, did anyone see yesterday's headline:

"A&E doctors are calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives to
reduce deaths from stabbing.
A team from West Middlesex University Hospital said violent crime is on
the increase - and kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all
stabbings.
They argued many assaults are committed impulsively, prompted by alcohol
and drugs, and a kitchen knife often makes an all too available weapon.
The research is published in the British Medical Journal."

Oh dear. My primary means of escape from IT (apart from my delightful almost
2 year old DD) is cooking. I'm not too bad at it. Some of my prize
possesions in the kitchen are a couple of very thick based pans and three
Sabatier knives that are always razor sharp. While I admit that they'd be
deadly if used as a weapon, the cheap and mostly blunt 'sharp' knives that
I come across when cooking at the homes of friends are downright dangerous
to use as knives. How am I supposed to bone a joint without a long pointed
knife?

/rant

Warwick

In article , Warwick
writes
Oh dear. My primary means of escape from IT (apart from my delightful almost
2 year old DD) is cooking. I'm not too bad at it. Some of my prize
possesions in the kitchen are a couple of very thick based pans and three
Sabatier knives that are always razor sharp. While I admit that they'd be
deadly if used as a weapon, the cheap and mostly blunt 'sharp' knives that
I come across when cooking at the homes of friends are downright dangerous
to use as knives. How am I supposed to bone a joint without a long pointed
knife?


Of course, if pointed kitchen knives are banned, the headlines in a few
years time will read '50% of all stabbings caused by barbecue forks ...'

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Klara" wrote in message
...

Along these same lines, did anyone see yesterday's headline:

"A&E doctors are calling for a ban on long pointed kitchen knives to
reduce deaths from stabbing.
A team from West Middlesex University Hospital said violent crime is on
the increase - and kitchen knives are used in as many as half of all
stabbings.
They argued many assaults are committed impulsively, prompted by alcohol
and drugs, and a kitchen knife often makes an all too available weapon.
The research is published in the British Medical Journal."

How very odd that they did not call for the banning of drugs and
alcohol.Especially since both are one of the main causes of violent crime in
this country.