[find me an appropriate word beginning with "A" I'll use it]
I've been thinking over the past few days about something that happened in Winchester Cathedral last month. Dan and I were wondering round (him climbing on everything he could) and got talking to one of the tour guides - this seems to happen a lot when you have a small child! As we were chatting an elderly American tourist came up with a camcorder and Dan started smiling and waving. We exchanged a few pleasantries and the tourist decided to take a picture of Dan. Dan stood to attention and smiled.
And then the tour guide stopped this and said that photographing and videoing children wasn't allowed. At the time I said nothing; feeling slightly nonplussed by this woman's comment and wondering if this was some kind of policy the Cathedral had. But the more I think about the more I think what right had she to decide that for me? Okay the guy didn't exactly ask if it was okay to take Dan's picture but it was all perfectly innocent and fairly obvious that I was relaxed about the whole thing. It's not illegal to take pictures of children - though I know in this paranoid, nanny world we live in it's getting banned more and more often. But that's not the point.
I got the impression that the tour guide was saying it was illegal rather than it was against Cathedral policy: which it just isn't and surely it's up to me whether I allow people to photograph my son??? Should I have said something? Rik said he would have (unfortunately he was in another part of the building at the time) and the more I think about it the more I think how ridiculous she sounded!
ah well, thank god for Mica :-) [big girls "we" are beautiful ...... apparently]
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3 comments:
Alex's Afterthought?
Seems ridiculous to me as well. This society is getting more and more controlled and contrived by the minute.
Big Brother - hey - we were told it was just a tv programme right? Hmmm......
It's all part of the nanny state and it may well have legislation attached to it, though not directly prohibited as such ['Taking photos of children in public though, whilst not illegal in itself, could rightly deserve you getting a visit from the police who would want to know exactly why you were taking them' - from Edinburgh Evening News. Hardly an authority but it's the best I could find quickly].
When we do archery events we are not supposed to let anyone photograph children.
This is completely bonkers and we'd rather people just got on and did it but sometimes they ask if it's OK and we have to say "no", but we do point out that we are watching what the kids are up to and can't be expected to keep an eye on what the adults do as well!
I don't know if there are any known incidents of paedophiles going out and taking their own pictures but I'm pretty sure that if they want to, they will! With 10x optical zoom, you don't even need to be close)
As for Alex's..., what about Alex's Abstracts?
I loved the photo of you both standing outside the cathredral. Do you mean I now have to destroy it as dangerous material.....?
The world has really gone quite mad in some things.
Hope all well with you. Thanks so much for coming last weekend - we have some good pics of that as well. See Helen's blog and your Dad's website/ gallery.
I look forward to more 'Abstracts'!
XX Mum
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