elaine mckeith

@peterstopcrime Years ago as a junior nurse a young male patient thought it would be fun to put his hand up my skirt. My reaction was to slap him hard across the face. I don’t regret it , it was absolutely the right thing to do.

Anonymous: Anonymous: This week, I was at a water park with my family when a teenager untied the top of my bikini from behind, as a "prank." I turned around and slapped him hard. I'm 32 years old. I was in the shallow pool with my daughter, trying to teach her how to swim, when I suddenly felt someone yank sharply on the strings of my swimsuit. Before I could even understand what was happening, the fabric came loose. I turned around and saw this boy, about 16 or 17 years old, standing there. He had a disgusting smirk on his face, holding the strings of my bikini in his hand, and laughing with his buddies like he'd just pulled off the prank of the year. I didn't even think. My hand hit his cheek before my brain could catch up. It was a really hard slap. His smirk vanished instantly. He stumbled back, both hands on his face, while his friends went dead silent. And then the yelling started. His parents appeared out of nowhere. His mother started screaming that I'd "assaulted a child." His father threatened to call the police. He called me a "hysterical woman" and said I had no right to hit a minor. The security guards and lifeguards rushed over. The boy's parents demanded I be arrested for assault and battery. They said they were going to press charges and called me a "violent woman" who had "no right" to touch their son. I told them to check the surveillance cameras. The angle that shows how he grabbed the top of my swimsuit. They should go question the witnesses: my husband, Julien, saw it; another mother saw it too. I told the parents clearly: if they wanted to press charges against me for the slap, I'd press charges against their son for sexual harassment. For stripping me in front of my daughter and complete strangers, and for touching me without my consent. We were all asked to leave the pool. I was sitting in the car, shaking and humiliated, clutching my top tightly closed against me, while my husband drove home in silence. Then he finally said: "Did you really have to hit him that hard? He's just a kid. You probably could've just yelled. Now we might end up with charges against us." Just a kid. A kid who thought it was funny to half-strip a woman in public. A kid whose parents have clearly taught him that a woman's body is a playground for "stupid jokes." Am I wrong for reacting with my hands instead of words when a stranger yanked on my clothes to expose me? And for refusing to apologize for defending my dignity in front of my daughter?

@ronrule In the 1950s very few people could afford to buy a house. My parents bought a small house in 1958. They were the first in both families to be able to buy their own home. My mother, a qualified midwife worked nights at our local hospital to be able to pay the mortgage.

“The average family in the 1950’s could afford a house on a single income!” 🙄 Sure. That’s because the average house in the 1950’s looked like this. The average family can still afford this house on a single income.

@EmilySm43 Victoria Wood.

Who’s the comedian?

@LotsOfTreesHere Some of mine is now 6ft tall.

@northgjrl At least it's bonnier than ground elder!

While undertaking the annual eviction of my neighbour's fucking ground elder, I have come upon an Interesting Plant. Any ideas what it is?

@maximus06306658 @linmeitalks My nephew joined the army. Certainly not my sisters choice.

@northgjrl @linmeitalks Women are fantastic, and I love them. I'm married and have children, but I must say: the ultimate sacrifice any human can make is their life. It is easy to send someone to war when one will not be in it themselves. Weak,lazy men too. I'd not let them vote.

Would agree but not realistic. Met loads of families who have never worked - three generations deep, mostly white “working class” English.

@kelly_ques What, are you sure? I’m devastated.

How old were you when you found out Santa wasn’t real?

@Avabelly__ Your Internet bill is enormous. We pay less that £30 per month.

@steadyon76 @TraceyLee_07 Poor you.

@TraceyLee_07 I haven’t had a roast since Christmas. It’s probably the only time I have one

Nothing says Sunday like cooking a traditional roast for lunch or dinner. What is your favourite cut of meat for your Sunday roast?

@TraceyLee_07 Currently the leg of lamb is in the oven alongside the roast potatoes and cauliflower cheese. I’ve used left over mozzarella for the sauce so here’s hoping.

@archer_rs We took our children swimming every Sunday afternoon for years. We’d use different pools depending on what they provided. One was slides, another fountains and another wave machines. I hated the freezing cold changing rooms but needs must.

Some of the comments here! "It's expensive" "No swimming pools in my town" "Schools don't teach swimming anymore" THEY ARE YOUR CHILDREN. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO TEACH THEM. STOP MAKING EXCUSES !

@JackxJewell Surely homosexuality is so mainstream these days there’s no need for a march. Should I plan a march for 73 year old straight white women?

🏳️‍🌈 Warwickshire Pride has banned Lloyds bank from their Pride March this year due to them following the new EHRC guidance on single sex spaces. Pride, as predicted, is eating itself.

@greg_ashman These jobs need a level of skill. School leavers are unlikely to have the skills required. We need more training positions but who’s going to provide them when it now costs £40k to employ someone.

How can the UK simultaneously have a crisis of young people not in education or work *and* a shortage of staff in the health, care, construction and IT sectors?

@SandyofSuffolk I can’t even pay my m and s bill in store.

Do you remember when you could phone a company and an actual person would pick the phone up after 3 rings and deal with your query? Do you remember when you could pay your energy bills in the local gas or electric board shop? Do you remember when you could write a cheque and post it to pay a bill? Now you need a user name, password, memorable information and after all that, they text you a code too. Then your bank sends you another bloody code. Then the internet drops off. Sometimes I just think, take me back. Please.

@maximus06306658 @linmeitalks Women fulfill other important roles in times of war. We are all best at doing the roles most suiable for us.

@linmeitalks right. What's your point? They still shouldn't. Shouldn't be allowed to vote either. Neither should women. Women can vote to send men to war but won't fight in it themselves.

@linmeitalks We had a lot of company towns in the north east. They provided work, housing, education, health care and shopping., much like the welfare state today. Those are the areas today where there is high unemployment. Perhaps they attracted workers that wanted to be looked after.

@linmeitalks I worked briefly in north Durham. Once the coal mines closed there was little work for men especially if they wouldn’t travel. Jobs in food prep factories were poorly paid and seen as womens work. There was an element of victim status that has passed through the generations.

@ughfinewhatever We had my husbands 14 year grandaughter staying with us. She was a complete nightmare and still is. She told so many lies about me. Her attitude was such that she was never in employment for more than a couple of weeks. She must be 30 now and we never see her thank goodness.

when I moved out of my father’s house his wife emailed me specifically to say she went through all my stuff on the family computer because she knew I hated her and she wanted to prove it which even at 15 I thought was an incredibly odd thing to do

@EmmaSzewczak Woukd she like to come to Northumberland. I coukd do with a mother like that.

Things my mother-in-law has done apropos of nothing since arriving at our house two days ago: washed the floors, washed the curtains, stripped the beds to iron the sheets, repotted all of our plants, cleaned the oven, cleaned the wheelie bins, organised the tupperware, descaled the kettle, complained repeatedly about being tired.

@BilalAcar01 I seem to remember Teddy boys in the 50s, mods and rockers in the 60s, skinheads in the 70s. Carnage on the beach in the summer was normal.

Police have cleared the square around Bournemouth Pier and established a security cordon. Officers are currently on scene. #Bournemouth #Breaking 🚨#police