[Closed] 10% could not identify a sheep

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[i]53% of adults said there was nothing to see or do in Britain’s countryside[/i]

You don't miss what you don't know.

what a bunch of thick ****s we share this country with!

- 22% could not identify a hare. One in 10 adults thought it was a deer

eh?!!

It is indeed a worrying reflection of modern Britain.

Keep them in their ignorance I say so they don't spoil the green spaciousness....

I'm with Mudshark on this!

I agree, leaves more countryside for people who do like it.

[i]10% thought it was safe to eat all berries and fungus they found growing in the countryside.[/i]

So we should be able to get rid of 10% of idiots quite easily 😉

[i]10% could not identify a sheep[/i]

To be fair. I couldn't identify one with 100% certainity the morning after.

to add to this i know a guy, from putney, had never had contact with animals - i remember him thinking that a horse was a dangerous animal, "one kick your dead" not so much that that's not true but how likely is a horse to kick you? - he viewed them like i view bears (probably as dangerous?)
i also rember him shouting one day on a train "look, look sheep" i didn't get it; he'd never seen them before. he is an intelligent chap tho - i suppose if he was from the same background but thick....

[i] - 22% could not identify a hare. One in 10 adults thought it was a deer

eh?!! [/i]

No Dougal, [i]these[/i] are small. [i]Those[/i] are far away.

Yes, what Mudshark said. The more ignorant people that come to the countryside the more untidy they seem to make it - litter, noise and generally ignorant attitudes.

A work collegue once seriously asked me what the purpose of an acorn was. (brought up in a city). Disbelief when I said it would turn into a tree if planted. I just dont know what schools teach, I really dont.

A swan can break a man's arm you know.

I'm not sure what annoys me more - the fact that so many people haven't learnt this sort of thing, or the fact that the "system" does not give them the chance to learn it

We had a Y2 school residential a couple of weeks ago - staying just outside Castleton, about 12 miles from the school. Most of the parents turned out on the Sunday to prepare for the week (making beds, getting food in etc - its a low budget week...)

This is a 'middle class', good performing school in the middle of Sheffield.

You would not believe how many parents were stood outside having a discussion along the lines of:
"what are they going to do here for a week? there is nothing to do - look its just fields"
"we have never been here before"
"I wonder if there is a road up that mountain - looks like there is"
"why are we sending the kids here?"
"I hope there's no mud - she hates mud"
"There's no TV!"
.
I then have a chat with local mum (we live 'wrong' side of Sheffied, S2) - about the week in Castleton. She had no idea where Castleton, Hope, Hathersage etc were and "Oh, I don't go that far away" and "But its only fields and stuff".
🙄

This is all good news - imagine if these stupid people were let loose in the countryside - havoc.

Leave the ignorant blissfully unaware of what they are missing. All the more for us.

Extreme TK Maxxing is the only recreation some people have.

or the fact that the "system" does not give them the chance to learn it

It's nothing to do with "the system", it's the parents. I never learned these things at school, I was taken there by parents who appreciated it. If that isnt passed on to the next generation in this manner, no-one will give a damn and we have to "teach it" in school, to the loss of important educational things like maths and science.

but if people don't understand or care about "the countryside" then they will continue to not care about losing it which affects us all.

10% thought it was safe to eat all berries and fungus they found growing in the countryside.

they probably also think it's safe to smoke, drink alcohol and eat burgers and chips <<<shivver>>>

I vote for a culling of the stupid and obese. Or at least the sterilisation of them.

I vote for a culling of the stupid and obese

I vote for ridicule of eugenicists

what penalty might we apply to the obese but clever who should know better ? I have a particular STWer in mind...

And we wonder why government policy is so skewed

Trimix for PM!

- 22% could not identify a hare. One in 10 adults thought it was a deer

eh?!!

No Dougal, these are small. Those are far away.

That almost resulted in tea being sprayed all over my laptop 😆

10% could not identify a sheep

Unless your from Wales where 100% of the male population knows one by name 😉

Eugenicists got a bad name from the Nazis. They were a bit over the top. But whats wrong with cutting out the bad bits of society - we do that now with fundamental preachers, illegal immagrants, sex offenders. Doctors remove tumors, cancer, provide screening for health / non healthy babies. You can pay for DNA tests on your unborn, you can pay for donated eggs and sperm with a history of breeding. Only a few years ago America stopped sterilising mental health inmates.

Cure the cureable, remove the uncurable. When you cant patch your innertube anymore you bin it. Some even go as far as to go tubeless ! Lets adopt that approach in society.

'kin 'ell Trimix that's a bit ott.

Eugenicists got a bad name from the Nazis. They were a bit over the top. But whats wrong with cutting out the bad bits of society - we do that now with fundamental preachers, illegal immagrants, sex offenders. Doctors remove tumors, cancer, provide screening for health / non healthy babies. You can pay for DNA tests on your unborn, you can pay for donated eggs and sperm with a history of breeding. Only a few years ago America stopped sterilising mental health inmates

Now [i]that[/i] should have a thread of its own...

on the other hand...

I was on my way into London last week when I overhead a couple of blinding lines from some mum from the shires bringin her kids in to the natural history museum.

[looking up at Trellick Tower]
[img] [/img]

"Oh my god, I cant believe people really live in there!"

"Now be really careful in London. It's full of dangerous people. They're from all walks of life"

PSML 🙂

But on the whole, I agree, urban ignorance keeps the numbers down in the countryside 🙂 . It's just a pity they have they have the right to vote on rural only matters (touch-paper lit...)

The rest of the people asked thought the countrside was for fly-tipping

"Eugenicists got a bad name from the Nazis. They were a bit over the top."

I think that wins the modest understatement of the week award 🙂

When you cant patch your innertube anymore you bin it

really? I've never experienced this...

But whats wrong with cutting out the bad bits of society

but everyone has a different idea of who that might be (usually excluding themselves), and the fatties have the advantage that they only have to sit on you to remove you from the competition - which even the dimwitted ones can manage, whereas your eugenic knifework is unlikely to reach vital organs 🙁

The planets too full of people, Im looking for ways to reduce the population.

Im looking for ways to reduce the population.

allegedly "suicide is painless"

I've suggested (in conversation) that every boy should be 'clipped' at birth. Then you have to meet a number of social parameters/criteria (job, education, somewhere to live, etc.) for the sterilisation to be reversed and then to be given the chance to produce offsping. That should remove the wheat.

Not actually my opinion, but just an opinion.

As for culling obese people, my BMI is presently 29.9kg/m2. When I was playing rugby (and considerably leaner than I am now) it was ~33. I'm glad Trimix never came to watch me play. Sniper in the grandstand anyone?

Let's get this into context, before we start calling for death camps and the like...

When planning a holiday, many people would opt for a city break, over a rural one. Because there is actually more to do, that people can relate to. If you've lived all your life in a city, like most people in this country, then apart from a bit of open space, fresh air and quietness, what is the immediate appeal? You're actually more likely to see wildlife in a city, in parks and that. Plenty of foxes, rats, boids, etc.

Understand that this is from a survey carried out by a Hotel chain. So, the control group are probbly mostly bods who use these places to visit other cities. So it's hardly representative of the whole population.

If you are unused to the myriad pleasures and speriences to be found in the Great Outdoors, then you may not be best placed to take advantage of them. For many city-dwellers, their sperience of t'countrysoide is limited to school fieled trips. which tend to be a bit boring, usually. So, they tend not to be too keen to go back.

Another factor is cost. Rural holidays in Britain are a lot more spensive than a couple of weeks in Torremolinos, or a long weekend in Prague, or Amsterdam. Then there's the added cost of equipment for things like canoeing, mtbing, climbing, etc. Granted, just going for a walk needunt cost a fortune, but that seems a bit staid and boring, for many people brought up on the thrills and spills of the big city. Plus you need a certain amount of sperience and skill, to be able to enjoy certain rural pursuits.

And ime, contrary to popular myth, country folk aren't always happy and jolly and welcoming. TBH, a lot of them despise 'Townies', who bring noise, trouble and litter with them. I've experienced some really narrow-minded attitudes from some people, whilst in some rural villages etc. And then there's the snobbery; 'oh you're not from round 'ear, are you? Therefore, you must be weak, feeble and stupid, whilst we are clever and rugged and brave'.

Personally, I feel a large part of the problem stems from the insular, territorial attitudes of far too many people in this country. Many rural folk resent 'others' from enjoying 'their' bit of nature, and are therefore very protective about it. And a lot of Townies will simply not feel that the countryside belongs to them, so won't feel any particular sense of empathy or understanding of the rural way of life.

I mean, those very attitudes are often borne out on this forum; plenty of people resent city ATGNI types, and have a superior attitude over 'weekend warriors'.

Maybe we should all start seeing the country side as 'ours', collectively; something for us all to share and enjoy.

What's Mine is mine, what's Ours is Nobodies...

country folk aren't always happy and jolly and welcoming

tell us something we [b]don't[/b] know :o)

Keep them in their ignorance I say so they don't spoil the green spaciousness....

The problem with this is that most of these ignorant * seem to end up with a job in the planning department. Then when it comes to the argument "you shouldn't build that there because it is ripping up all that mature woodland/hedges/ponds etc.", their response is so *ing what who's bothered about that **** anyway. Everyone knows we need another massive out of town supermarket/shopping complex/industrial warehouse/4 lane motorway etc.

That is what seems to happen near where I live anyway.

[i]Maybe we should all start seeing the country side as 'ours', collectively; something for us all to share[/i]

I've seen all the filth, rubbish and lack of responsibility of collective ownership in towns and cities. No thanks 🙂

I notice we are not laughing at the generally pretty poor tree identification scores. I can do hares, sheep and otters, but I'm not too hot at trees...

IanMunro; my point was, if people were less selfish, then they would consider the impact of leaving litter, etc, and how it would spoil it for others. Bit like, your toilet in your home; you keep it clean, be cause you want you and yours to have a more pleasant sperience, but how many people are considerate, when using a public bog? I saw a urinal t'other day, full of vomit. FFS. They cooduv used a bog, and flushed it.

And it's not always the Townies who **** up the countryside. Plenty of rural folk can be selfish ****s too; pollute streams with all sorts of agricultural chemicals, dump loads of heavy duty crap in secluded areas, rather than paying to have it removed, etc.

We need to foster the attitude of 'if we all make a little bit of effort, then we all get to enjoy it a little bit more'.

if people were less selfish, then they would consider the impact of leaving litter,

I am intensely selfish, but would never consider dropping litter as a matter of personal pride. If I were less uptight I'd probably enjoy chucking stuff away.

I think almost every farm has a revolting junkheap of building litter, rusting machinery and old fertiliser bags 🙁

I think they've got a point - The UK countryside is rubbish.

We went camping for a week in Cornwall last August and it rained. All. Week.

pants

Please note this was a poll carried out in a Travelodge. So hardly representative of the whole population, more likely just travelling salesmen who randomly checked boxes on the form so they could get up to their room for their free half hour of internet porn.

Its not free porn - we tax payers pay for it now 🙂

[img] http://www.ica.org.uk/thumbnail.php?max=408&id=4272 [/img]

[i]Nuts in May[/i] > thread closed.

I read that survey in the paper, but only the other day was talking to a friend about a "Farms For City Children" project that I went on many years ago (primary school, I was about 9-10 so it'll have been late 80's). Now my family always had countryside holidays but some of the kids (and a lot of the parents) had no idea about the animals and how the chicken running round the farmyard related to the chicken in plastic wrapping on a supermarket shelf. Not a clue.

<selfish mode> still, at least it measn fewer people cluttering up the countryside! </selfish mode>

There was a girl I knew at university who had been educated at a fancy private school who didn't know what a cattle grid was. When we showed one to her she couldn't grasp how it would work and really looked quite baffled by the whole idea.

who didn't know what a cattle grid was.

I reckon a canny sheep could roll across...

they do simon.

very odd. especially if they don't quite roll enough.

When I was at secondary school (in London) we went away for a week to an Outward Bound place at Grizedale Forest, my Mum saw me onto the coach, waved goodbye and then heard one of the parents say "Oh they'll be there in an hour or so." My Mum then explained that the Lake District was about 6hrs drive from London, the other parent was astonished to learn that England went on for that long, he had NO idea of anything outside the M25.

🙁

Right, Im off to put large doses of the pill in the local reserviour to stop people breeding. Rich people who use bottled water will be OK. Most rich people are clever and have fancy surnames thereby showing good breeding. Also fat people only drink diet coke, so my cunning plan will no doubt work.

I spent some time with a charity for school leavers in Hammersmith who are helped to become employable. These kids are from the council estate and live in a completely different world to what most of us could imagine; by this I mean that we were taught about how they lived their lives in order to be able to relate to them. Mant things surprised me and the main one is relevant here - they never left their local area. I don't mean London I mean Hammersmith and not much more - never even been to central London! So not only did they have no idea about the countryside but pretty much nothing outside of their daily existance - which was pretty unappealing.

BigDummy - you'll have to come and visit and Ill take you on a Tree Identification walk.

Number 1.
The Larch

The Larch.

I'm sure, as well as the extreme cases of ignorance of rural matters mentioned here, that there are similarly folk in rural areas, who've seldom ventured beyond the next village, who would have bugger-all knowledge of dealing with many aspects of urban life. Many people develop knowledge of things that are important in their every day lives. Being able to identify species of flora and fauna my not be particularly useful, if you live on an inner-city housing estate. Or indeed, in an affluent suburb.

IME, one of the key areas of ignorance I have experienced, in some rural folk, is of the diversity of ethnicity and culture, within our vast and varied society. The language skills of some I've met, have been woeful. People in cities do, on the whole, tend to be a little more world-wise than 'yokels' in Oddmorden or wherever.

IMO, city-dwellers are praps more adaptable to new things. IE, it woon't be long, before the average city-dweller to adapt to rural life, whereas the 'yokel' may struggle somewhat more, with aspects of everyday urban living.

Me, I may not be able to identify particular species of tree, or plant, but I can identify different languages, customs and cultural signifiers. This is far more useful, than plant recognition, in my daily life.

Another issue with holidaying in the country; it's so bloody spensive. A few years ago, two couples I know went on separate holidays, around the same time. One lot went to stay for a week in a little family run hotel in Scotland somewhere; the other couple had 2 weeks in Egypt.

Guess which holiday was cheaper, overall?

Holiday in third world cheaper, shock!

"Holiday in third world cheaper, shock!"

Scotland's not that bad, surely?

LOL!

Why do you all look down on people who don't want to visit the countryside.

TBH going for a walk in some rural locations holds about as much appeal as a week in Toremolenos for me. Only when you add a mountain and a bike am I intrested

Smacks of "Ethical dwarves posturing from the moral high ground" to me

Why do you all look down on people who don't want to visit the countryside

i'm not i'm looking down on those that can't recognise a sheep ffs!!

dont worry boys and girls.
you dont think they bothered to leave the greater london area to do that poll do you?

Yes, but for many people, being able to recognise a sheep is not important. If it's not part of their daily lives, then why do they need to be able to? S'just another animal, to most people.

And we don't really know how this 'survey' was conducted. I'm assuming the people were asked to identify various species from pics. How clear were the pics?

More to the point, how inertested were those involved in the survey in actually making much effort over it?

he had NO idea of anything outside the M25.

Well I am not too pride to admit that I had to check google to know what a oka tree was or a hare.

I would recognise both of them, but I had no idea about what the english word was... Time for some courses me think.

Works both ways, I live down south in a fairly rural part of the country. Apparently the local police had to go around the schools and colleges in one of the local towns and warn them of the dangers of living in a city as none of the children were very street wise and were of to uni in a big city!!

Mind you the drive to my work is nearly half a mile long and is through open fields where cows graze for 70% of the year. It's worrying how many have been knocked over by the parents in the 4x4 (who are mostly farmers wives!!) - It's not like you can't see a big old cow in an open field and with a 5mph speed limit you can't do much damage...you'd be suprised!!

Its not the fact that they cant identify sheep or leave their local area, its the lack of desire to question life or their surroundings and try for a better life. This apathy and lack of drive has serious knockon effects for the rest of society, not just their offspring.

juan - I have the french for a few such things, but am hazy both on oak trees and on hares... 🙂

Honestly, I am unsure about this.

I'm not very convinced that ability to identify a sheep is a basic criterion of social functioning. Ability to recognise an otter is a seriously esoteric piece of knowledge, and as for stoat/weasel differentiation.

🙂

[i] Stoner - Member

BigDummy - you'll have to come and visit and Ill take you on a Tree Identification walk.

Number 1.
The Larch

The Larch. [/i]

[applauds]

[i]Ability to recognise an otter[/i]

[img] [/img]

Once I've had a few Otters, my ability to recognise [i]anything[/i] is seriously diminished.

(Devon/Somerset types will recognise this fine ale)

As distinguishable from a Badger...

[img] ?v=1192385668[/img]

[img] [/img]

[img] ?v=0[/img]

🙂

They only drink large in inner citys.

Rudeboy reread your post and think of a "yokel" as an ethinic minority. It comes across a bit thoughless.

Remember the countryside was we call it is a place of work for a lot of people. A good portion of them are pretty poor with less facilities than most inner cities. Only older people are now trapped in the same village mostly because villages and small towns no longer have the services expected in cities (doctors, shops, school etc). Without a car in these places you are stuffed. The rural poor are one of the biggest ignored minorities in the uk.

Living (& working) on the edge of both worlds I find the rural people are the same as those in the cities. Open minded and interested in others as long as they feel respect in return. Yokel of Odmorden would tie your goolies to a tup and show it ewe half mile away.

Wouldn't happen in NZ
[img] [/img]

think of a "yokel" as an ethinic minority.

No. 'Cultural' minority, maybe. And notice the quotation marks...

A good portion of them are pretty poor with less facilities than most inner cities.

An important point. Which helps to explain some of the narrow-mindedness one might find, in certain rural areas. Some people in rural areas don't mix with others, nearly as much as the average city-dweller. This can lead to a very limited sperience of life outside of their immediate environment, same as the housing-estate dwellers who rarely venture beyond the Tescos down the road.

Is that the Miss New Zealand competition?

No, its miss Wales 🙂

An important point. Which helps to explain some of the narrow-mindedness one might find, in certain rural areas.

superb. sir, you outdo yourself.