To believe “wind the bobbin up” is inappropriate and to ask my child’s Nursery not to sing it.

[coconuttella]

Wind the bobbin up originated in the cotton mill towns of the north of England in Victorian times. As anyone who knows a bit about a bit history can tell you, the cotton mills were horrendous places which horrifically exploited women and children, forcing them to do dangerous work in appalling conditions for little pay.

How can it be right to trivialise these horrors by getting children to sing a light-hearted ditty about it... It’s offensive to the memory of all those who suffered these horrendous conditions and experienced serious injury or even death as a result of hideously exploitative working practices.

And still people can't be bothered to read the thread 😒

I'm so getting one of those badges made up PizzaPower! 😂

😂 This must be a joke.

I heard of a nursery that sings baaah, baaah BROWN sheep. Still hoping it’s an UL.

IT IS A JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!

RTFT!!!!!!!!!!

This thread is such a brilliant (and sad) example of how ‘fake news’ spreads

It wouldn’t even matter if the news outlets issued a retraction at this point. In years to come people will just remember that time they read about ‘nurseries banning that nursery rhyme’ and that will be it.

frieda you make a reasonable point, but from my POV I just joined in the chat, cos it's MN and a bit of light relief. I'd like to think if I was a journalist or a politician then I would check my sources.

I do RTFT when the issue involves relationships, or emotions etc, but stuff like this.....nah.....it's just chat on the internet isn't it.

But you don't even need to RTFT. Just the last page is enough sometimes!

Was just about to come that Ring O' ring a roses is about the Black Death, but a PP beat me two it. You are being ridiculous. It's part of our heritage.

And again RTFT no you are being Ridiculous Toddler if you bothered to read the first three page you would realise it isn't serious 21 pages now and still the pompous arrogant comments😣

Most nursery rhymes have a dark origin. If anything, keeping them alive gives people a chance to remember how they came about and not to make the same mistakes of the past.

Re: pop goes the weasel

Who is the monkey?

Why is he on the table?

My boys used to relish the 'take a stick and knock him off'

I do hope this does not presage violence!!!

I'd like to think if I was a journalist or a politician then I would check my sources.

But that is my point! There are ‘journalists’ out there reporting this as a serious thread

The monkey is cash on the pub table that's gonna be spent on booze. The Eagle is a london pub that's still trading.

I used to work near there and had meetings regularly with an agency actually on the city road. I used the hum that a lot.

Ring a Ring a Roses isn't about the BLACK DEATH. (That just begs for all caps!). Was de-bunked on QI. You don't get ring rash marks or sneezing with the BLACK DEATH. People did used to carry round flowers to keep disease at bay though.

Maybe it’s about hay fever!

You’ve made the pages of Private Eye OP (page 7 of issue 1463). PE having a go at the Sun and Mirror for failing to RTFT ...

Ah, love the Eye!

Mind you, I haven’t RTFT either so someone’s probably already mentioned Private Eye

Haha, nice one!

Haha! Amazing how many don’t RTFT!

Ah this really has been a classic 😂 Once again (unbelievably) to all those at the back, the OP was joking 😱

In all seriousness though, AIBU to ask dc's nursery to pull the song from their syllabus because it's bloody irritating and has no narrative structure? I'm happy with the first bit about bobbins and some nice accompanying hand-eye coordinating movements but, out of nowhere, we're savagely ripped from all sewing related imagery and forced to start pointing at random things in the room! What's that all about? And, god forbid, what will the children do if they're singing it outside and such architecture is not readily available?!

(Again, for those at the back, this is another piece of lighthearted entertainment, which god knows you could do with. I do see how 'in all seriousness' could be misconstrued though. Rest assured, DC's nursery will not be receiving death threats until my demands have been met)

This one was a joke, but I confess to having been genuinely shocked by the lyrics to Clementine. I always thought it had a pretty tune, knew just the chorus and looked up a cartoon version recently to play for DS. I've since discovered there's a few modern versions of the lyrics; she still drowns in all of them but in one she drowns because she's too fat and in another her daddy forgets about her when he has another daughter.

I think nursery aged children are unlikely to make the association with Victorian cotton mills. I also don’t think it’s necessary to tell them about cotton mills when they sing the song. They can learn about its historical context when they are older.

haha.

Thanks. I've spent the last few days marking essays and this has cheered me up no end.