I think everyone knows this deep down, even the religious types.
I expect when Jeebus gave his sermon on the mount most people thought, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth? Yeah right beardy"

"Look, we either listen to him or we have to go back to work..."
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 9:44, 2 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

Blessed are the cheesemakers?

( Agnostic Antichrist Baltimora, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 9:48, Reply)

Found this spoon sir.

( Peej, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:08, Reply)

i thought he said blessed are the greek...

( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 9:49, Reply)

"...for theirs are far superior beards to mine own"

(LongJohnBaldry, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 9:49, Reply)

I wanted to avoid a "Life of Brian" quote-fest
but if you insist..."What have the Greek ever done for us?...OH THE MEEK, aw isn't that nice, they've had a hell of a time"
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 9:55, Reply)

i have to admit i do love that film
the bit where the centurions are correcting his latin grammar... it is so exactly how my latin a-level was. "so you must use the... LOCATIVE, LOCATIVE, argh don't put me in detention again, ffs"

*shudder*
( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:01, Reply)

Latin A-level?
I think we went to very different schools
( Colonel Dracula Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:04, Reply)

i wanted to do english, history, classics
an easy 3 A's.

my parents/school wanted english, french, latin. 1 easy A, 2 years of hard work. no thanks.

we compromised on english, history, latin - 2 easy A's and a fucking nightmare for 2 years to scrape a B because it was so bloody boring. i hate that B. it ruins my cv! it means i end up having to put down an A in general studies as well, which looks impressive until interviewers ask me what the subjects were...
( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:10, Reply)

English, C15th-16th History and Classical Civilisation
were the very 'A' Levels I chose!
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:13, Reply)

bugger
and i bet if your parents/deputy head (who clearly had a vested interest as she taught latin and they only had 1 pupil do it for a-level the year before) had tried to tell you what to study, you'd have told them to sod off as well!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:21, Reply)

My parents were of the 'study what you are interested in' school of thought.
I am now a financial train-wreck in a job I hate.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:23, Reply)

mine were a nightmare about exams and homework
but to be fair they raised a headmaster, a lawyer and an accountant, horrendously middle-class. i never even saw the law thing coming, one minute i was in the car with my dad and he was saying "don't you fancy this law conversion that evie is doing" and i was thinking about the guy i was shagging at the time, and the next thing i knew, i was back in london at the college of law.

you could change your job?
( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:29, Reply)

Not easily I couldn't, sadly.
If I wasn't tied to London by my daughter and didn't mind relocating to somewhere where I know no-one (this would also have to be somewhere where being a non-driver wouldn't be an issue), then it might be a little easier, but only an idiot would run my kind of business out of London when warehousing and staff are so much cheaper everywhere else.

/dull, sorry
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:40, Reply)

i suppose on paper training as something else sounds easy
in practice, it's just not going to happen for most people, and quite understandably.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:49, Reply)

Detention at 'A' Level? Really?
I don't think my 6th form college had such things.
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:06, Reply)

christ i was forever in detention
mostly for wearing makeup and skiving latin lessons.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:10, Reply)

My 6th form never had a detention system either - let alone issue with students wearing makeup
And there's at least 110 years or so between Monty and I doing our respective 'A' levels - was yours just an odd blip on the map, or were other people's colleges as draconian as yours?
(LongJohnBaldry, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:17, Reply)

mine was a private school
you got expelled if you were caught off the premises during school hours, we had a full on uniform, etc.

i was lucky, i absolutely loved school, as i had lots of friends, and we enjoyed breaking the rules. but some people really really hated it.
( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:23, Reply)

breaking the rules masturbating with bread
(Bazongaloid, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:26, Reply)

Ah, so it was a French school as well?

(LongJohnBaldry, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:28, Reply)

Ah, I see.
And I can imagine why a lot of people would have hated it. I was overjoyed to be shot of uniform-wearing by the time I was 15 (which seems to have lasted to this day as I also take real umbrage with being stuffed into a suit...)
(LongJohnBaldry, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:26, Reply)

the explanation at our school
was that lots of the kids came from very rich backgrounds and there would have been a real disparity in some people wearing designer gear.

we didn't really mind - if you roll your skirt up/wear your gym skirt, you get a LOT of attention in school uniform. and as 17 year old little tartlets, we bloody loved that!
( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:31, Reply)

At least you've put all that behind you eh?

(Zoz prayed for twink on, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:35, Reply)

sometimes in front of me, to be fair

( rachelswipe with a fork, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:47, Reply)

People called Romanes, they go, the house?

( Peej, Fri 19 Nov 2010, 10:08, Reply)