A Sad World.

Today I have realised something that I should have acknowledged a long time ago. Maybe I chose to ignore it, perhaps I have been naive?

We live in a sad, sad world.

Tonight I took my 5 month old to his first ever swimming lesson. A momentous occasion in his life, a milestone, a celebration. 

These milestones call for photographs. A snap to encapsulate every second of his growing. A way to freeze time and look back to reminisce. 

As this was F's first ever swimming lesson, I wanted to take a photograph. I understand this is not allowed; there was signs plastered on the walls everywhere saying 'no mobile phones.'

Normally I would abide by these warnings but there was only F and another child in the giant pool and F and Mr C were right in front of where I was sat. I siezed the opportunity, sneakily located my phone and planned on taking a snap of my baby enjoying his swimming lesson. I didn't want to put this photo on a social networking site for thousands to see, I wanted to print it off and stick it into his memory book to commemorate the day.

As I clicked the button to capture, the realisation that I hadn't turned the flash off hit me like a tonne of bricks! The burst of light reflected off the metal bars and with the speed of lightening, the rather podgy and sour faces instructor came charging over with the grace and elegance of a bull in a china shop.

"You need a CRB check to do that?"

"Excuse me?"

"To take a picture of a child in the pool. Are you unable to read the signs?"

Said child was my child and if I was to be incredibly fecesious, as a primary school teacher, I do have CRB clearance which I would be happy to show her and quite possibly rub it in her face. 

I understand these rules are here for protection. Child safety. Health and safety. Child protection etc. Whatever you want to call it, it's stupid. Complete and utter codswallopp.

Because of the minority of wierdos in this world, we are being punished. What a sad world we live in where we aren't able to take a photograph of our own child. I tweeted my dismay earlier and one lady replied that her children's centre had recently implemented a policy where mum's and dad's were not allowed to get their mobile phones out whilst inside the centre.

Madness.

I understand that said woman was doing her job. (I am slightly angered at her for the previous event at the beginning of the lesson she told Mr C off for putting his feet in the pool before the lesson begun and spoke to him like he was 7 years old.) I understand she was protecting F and the other child. 

What saddens me is why she has to. What ever had this world come to? Do we really live in such a sad society?

What also angered me is that a women sat a few feet away from me for the whole duration of the lesson using her mobile phone. She wasn't even watching her own child swim. She was waiting for her child to start the lesson after F's.

She wasn't told. Stupid me who can't turn off the flash was. That woman may have been videoing the whole pool so evidently, if the world is that unsafe, they aren't implementing the policies to save us particularly well.

I'm not knocking the system. If we need protecting then so be it. It just deeply saddens, annoys and infuriates me that this is what the world has come to.

And if you're wondering, I did get a photograph. It happened to be of my feet whilst I recoiled in shock of my stupid pigging flash. Sod's bleeding law.