Latest news with #primaryschool
Times
14 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- Times
Why does summer bring out all the smug couples?
I love everything about summer, even the school run. Getting my daughter dressed and out of the house feels easier in the sunshine, and the walk past the duck pond to her primary school is positively bucolic. However, this summer — the first since the break-up of my marriage — the school run comes with a cost. I'm spotting smug couples everywhere. Morning sunshine seems to be a magnet for WFH couples to walk to school en famille then do something smug-coupley before starting their working day. The other morning I noticed one couple holding hands like maniacs as they dropped their child at the gates. Another couple breezed off for a walk around the woods, chatting away, while a few minutes later, I spotted yet another couple grabbing a morning latte at the local posh café-hotel. 'Go away,' I thought to myself, like the summer Grinch, as I marched home on my own. • Read more expert advice on sex, relationships, dating and love My grudge isn't just confined to the school run. Suddenly smug marrieds are everywhere. It hits me without warning when a friend complains about her husband's 'irks': 'Oh he's in Waitrose again, he's cooking a roast for dinner. I keep telling him it's not roast weather now, but he insists.' Or when another friend drops into conversation that it's been their wedding anniversary. 'Super low-key, we didn't want to make a big fuss for 16 years, so we just went out for steak and chips.' Coupley things that have never irked me before now feel like someone is prodding me with a needle when I least expect it. I feel pangs of uncontrollable envy, and annoyance at my situation. Here I am, aged 47, living solo without my kids for half the week. The things that my friends consider normal, and I once did too, now seem far away and fantastical. I'd love someone else in my house to be doing the shopping, especially fronting a trip to the supermarket (I can no longer afford Waitrose). I'd love to be going out for a 'low-key' meal for two to celebrate my anniversary (steak and chips is my favourite). This week was my 20th wedding anniversary. In another lifetime we would have thrown a big party or have organised a holiday around it, but in reality, I've barely mentioned it. Twenty years! It's a biggie for sure and since we're not yet divorced, I feel it still counts. I also felt it was important to celebrate: it's a wonderful achievement to have three children and to have come this far. Mostly the marriage was happy, it's just the last — ooh — five years that have been a little rocky. Now we're living apart and emotions are still raw, however, it's been a tricky subject to navigate with myself let alone with my ex. But we did do something on the day. In the end, he made me lunch (burgers) at his new home and we rewatched the video from our Ibiza wedding from June 23, 2005, which I had finally had digitised from the DVDs. It had dated! It was beautiful! It brought on some tears, at how young and happy — and yes, smug — we once were too. • No, we single women are not desperate for a partner My ex and I got together when I was 23, so I've existed my entire adult life as a couple, doing all the things that couples in love do. We've held hands like maniacs, grabbed morning coffee together, gone off on walks and weekends away, hosted dinner parties that showcase all the things that I now regard as 'smug' when other couples get up to them. The things that irk me now are the things I used to do quite naturally. I used to be the woman joking about my husband's niche trips to the supermarket or nonchalantly talking about my anniversary plans. I wonder how many people I accidentally annoyed by my smug coupledom in the process …@mollyjanegunn
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Backstabbing, bitching and bribery. This is the shocking story of how I was set upon by the PTA power mums... and the cake sale that proved to be my downfall: SUSANNAH JOWITT
My children had only been at their primary school for a week when I was set upon by the dreaded Parent Teacher Association (PTA). There was enough of the eager-to-please about me to attract the attention of the all-powerful leaders. Then they discovered I was a journalist, which meant I probably had a few connections and, more importantly, worked from home (code for 'free to do their bidding').
CNA
2 days ago
- CNA
Vehicle hits pedestrians near primary school in Beijing
MIYUN, China: A vehicle crashed into pedestrians in what police described as an "accident" near a primary school in Beijing on Thursday (Jun 26), with footage shared online showing young people lying seriously injured in the street. Videos geolocated by AFP to an intersection in Miyun district in the northeast of the capital showed a grey SUV wedged against a tree as several motionless people were seen on the road. In one clip, a bloodied young person was being given first aid by someone in white overalls, while in others, items of clothing were scattered around. Chinese authorities said the casualties were taken to hospital, but did not give details on the number or condition of the injured. "On Jun 26, 2025, at around 1pm, a traffic accident occurred near the intersection of Yucai Road and Dongmen Street in Miyun district," police said in a statement. No. 1 Primary School Miyun Beijing, where children aged six to 12 attend classes, is located at the traffic junction. A 35-year-old man surnamed Han "collided" with people "due to an improper operation", the statement said, adding that those injured were taken to hospital. "The accident is under further investigation," the statement added, without giving the number of injured. An AFP team on Thursday evening saw about 30 onlookers standing behind yellow and black concrete police barriers. A pickup truck appeared to be used to remove the remnants of the tree into which the vehicle had crashed. Shortly after arriving, AFP journalists were told by police to leave the scene. A 19-year-old resident who gave his name as Cheng said he went to the intersection after hearing about the crash from his parents. "When I went down, the victims had already been taken away and the car was gone," he said, adding he saw many people and emergency vehicles in the area at about 4pm. STRING OF PUBLIC VIOLENCE INCIDENTS China has seen a string of mass casualty incidents — from stabbings to vehicle attacks — challenging its reputation for strong public security. Last year, a man who drove his car into a crowd of mostly school children in central China was handed a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve. In November 2024, an attacker named as Huang Wen repeatedly rammed his car into a crowd outside a primary school in Hunan province. When the vehicle malfunctioned and stopped, Huang got out and attacked bystanders with a weapon before being apprehended. Thirty people, including 18 pupils, sustained minor injuries. Some analysts have linked such incidents to growing anger and desperation amid China's slowing economy and a sense of increasing societal stratification. In the same month, a man killed 35 people and wounded more than 40 when he rammed his car into a crowd in the southern city of Zhuhai — the country's deadliest attack in a decade.
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Children seen injured on road after car collision in Beijing
Children seen injured on road after car collision in Beijing NewsFeed Videos appeared to show multiple young children lying injured on a road near a primary school in Beijing. A car is believed to have collided with them before crashing into a fence. Video Duration 03 minutes 05 seconds 03:05 Video Duration 00 minutes 36 seconds 00:36 Video Duration 00 minutes 50 seconds 00:50 Video Duration 02 minutes 40 seconds 02:40 Video Duration 02 minutes 23 seconds 02:23 Video Duration 02 minutes 56 seconds 02:56 Video Duration 02 minutes 22 seconds 02:22
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
The Panel with Deborah Hart and Richard Pamatatau Part 2
Tonight on The Panel, Wallace Chapman is joined by panellists Deborah Hart and Richard Pamatatau. This half hour the panel hears about GPs and nurse practitioners have been given the green light to diagnose and treat ADHD. They also talk to a Clyde primary school teacher has gone viral on social media asking for strangers from around the world to send postcards to her class as a part of their inquiry learning. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
