By Miriam Erasmus 
How often do we need to say “Thank You”, but hesitate to do so, or just simply forget.
We used to learn basic levels of MANNERS at a very young age.
Ps and Qs were the very fabric of our daily life.
“The magic word” if you wanted something.
On receiving something – “Thank you.”
About a couple of decades ago, I noticed the decline creeping in when John and I were touring the schools. Teachers were lamenting the lack of manners – both in pupils and parents !!
Because of this, John and I put together a Puppet Show called “Good Manners” which was based on a two woman play by Gillian Botha called “Miss Bumble.”
In 2010, I sent out an information e mail to 200 schools, and got 2 replies – that was a red flag to start with !!
Nevertheless we were able to perform it many times and make a difference to those children who saw it.
Suzy goes to visit her Granny, but has forgotten her Manners, so the storyline is that all her friends, and the children watching, remind her. As the show goes along, a balloon is marked with each life skill, and I wrote songs to match.
In the end, she remembers and all is well. The School was given the balloons. We went back to one particular school and they had made a permanent collage of these “Manners” balloons out of coloured paper !!
Then, to my absolute horror, I was informed that talking about Good Manners was a violation of the children’s Human Rights = to behave however they wanted without censure.
What absolute rubbish !
I am getting rather sick of those who refuse to accept that as humans we may have Rights, but also to balance that we must have Responsibilities to behave decently towards each other and the world around us.
I am reminded of Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby in the Water Babies by Charles Kingsley.
Anyway, I digress.
The point is that I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Lyn and Maria and all the contributors to Unknown Kent and Sussex because this is such a valuable platform for folks like me.
A huge THANK YOU also if you are reading this – sharing thoughts and ideas is invaluable.
PLEASE, let’s continue to live, create and have fun.
