Comedian Phil Evans is from Ammanford. He is known as the man who puts the ‘cwtsh’ into comedy. Website – www.philevans.co.uk
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In the mood for a story?
Then I’ll begin . . .
One day, Mister Silly read a silly newspaper article that was much sillier than the silliest thing he’d ever done.
It was a study by the University Of Lincoln into the Mister Men and Little Miss books, created by Roger Hargreaves 47 years ago and which have sold more than 120 million copies.
Bizarrely, the study branded the books ‘sexist’ because the female characters are less powerful than the males – no doubt Mister Strong came in for particular criticism – and the Little Misses are saved by the Mister Men in more than half of their stories, while the Mister Men are only saved in one third of them.
Furthermore, the female characters were given an average of 53.5 wordsin their stories while the male characters had 61.5.
Remember, your taxes helped pay for this national scandal to be uncovered!
Reality check!
Hundreds of children’s stories feature a ‘damsel in distress’ rescued by the proverbial ‘knight in shining armour’.
Adult female fiction often replaces ‘knights’ with ‘handsome young doctors’ and no-one complains.
Except perhaps ugly young doctors.
This forensically-detailed research was done by academics with degrees that entitle them to engage in highly specialised work . . . like analysing every word in books written for very small children.
The University’s website states that it is engaged in ‘world-leading research projects’ and in the latest national research assessments it received a £2 million additionalincrease.
If that’s only a ‘top-up’, what’s their total income and why is it being used to denigrate much-loved children’s characters who’ll be treasured long after these findings have been filed away and forgotten?
In the wake of this ludicrously pointless study, I’ve got an idea for two new books in the series . . .
“Little Miss I Really Should Get A Proper Job”
&
“Mister Some Academics Have Far Too Much Time On Their Hands”.
THE END
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Do you have an opinion? Does it matter?
The world is constantly changing and so are opinions, which we often find challenging due to the fact that we also have our own opinions.
We are fortunate to be living in a country that, in the main, grants us freedom of speech and more and more people are now stepping up to the plate and confidently speaking up, which can so often be a double-edged sword.
We have discovered that social media is great for putting your opinion across, but it also gives idiots a voice, too . . . far too often without any repercussions.
This, in itself, is a modern day curse and I have personally witnessed the downside to such shenanigans.
Friendly debate will soon be a thing of the past, if our politicians, world and industry leaders don’t control their emotions and show evidence of professional respect, while setting an example for generations to come.
Education is key for a balanced debate and there IS always two sides to an argument (did you see what I did there?).
As a comedian I’m often asked, “What happens to jokes that aren’t funny? Well, they become politicians!”
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You can follow Phil Evans on Twitter @philevanswales and www.philevans.co.uk
Please again include www.philevans.co.uk
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