Do we care what others think?

Apparently half of schools don’t believe in winning or losing anymore, everyone’s child is a winner, hurrah!

But the survey which really caught my eye this week concerned ironing, or lack of it.

It seems that parents are so much busier than they used to be and don’t have the time to cook a hot meal, bake a cake or pick up an iron.

The poor loves are under such pressure from parenting and holding down a career that many traditional tasks, like ironing have fallen by the wayside.

Instead, people are wandering around Peterborough in crumpled clothes and climbing into beds that resemble an exhibit at Tate Modern.

Did mums and dads have more time in the 60s and 70s, or have today’s generation just become lazy and lost pride in their appearance?

I was never allowed out as a child in shirts or trousers that hadn’t been ironed. My mum even used to iron my socks!

I was taught to take pride in my appearance and that clothes maketh the man, that last bit isn’t always true, I mean Donald Trump dresses well, but it does build confidence when you look smart.

Some folks don’t seem to care what others think anymore, how else do you explain the wanton damage that was yet again caused at Ferry Meadows last week?

Maybe these yob’s parents are too busy juggling work and parental responsibility to know where their kids are, or what they are getting up to.

Or maybe they are just too preoccupied with taking pictures of their tea and posting them on Facebook.

It’s the same when it comes to the state of our streets and the attitude that some people have towards littering; when did it become socially acceptable for some sections of society to treat the streets as their own personal dumping ground and leave it for others to clear up? Do they do it in their own back yard and what do their houses look like?

Quite rightly, councils have started to crack down and nearly 200 people have been fined in the first month of a new clean-up campaign in Fenland. The vast majority of the fines were issued for cigarette littering.

In Peterborough private firm, Kingdom Security, has issued nearly 500 fines since it started operating in the city centre in late June, of which over 300 were for littering. The firm’s officers have also issued fines for unauthorised cycling, spitting and one fine for urination. No, seriously one person thought it was OK to have a tinkle outside the town h-all.

Some do not agree with the fines, others say a private company has no place issuing them and that it is just a money - making exercise – I say roll it out city wide, increase the size of the fines and teach these dirty people a lesson in pride.

If you don’t drop litter you won’t be fined, so what’s your problem, apart from your creased shirt?