Teenage Angst

[PNGMK]

And look how well you have turned out in spite of it all.

But wouldn't she (Lynx) be even better if she had done everything her mother wanted? That's the debate here I think.... (not saying Lynx isn't a fine young woman).

I don't think so. Children are their own people. You can guide, encourage and coerce, but I think there's a thin line between ... ... benefiting and potentially damaging the child.

I've said it before, as a youth my best friend was brought up in a 'hideously Catholic' sanctimonious, self-bloody-righteous, 'We're morally and socially superior pillars of society (We're Catholics don't you know; kneel peasant, and kiss my ring!!) family'. They packed him off to perhaps the top sniffiest Catholic school in the country, run by monks. Where old monks, with dirty habits, were apparently in charge and wont and free to try and indulge with their teenage charges.

It really broke him. I remember (for example) him recounting the hell of having all his 12 year old housemates shod in god-less $-worshipping Gucci loafers, whilst 'brother Albert' was vying with 'brother Ezekial' to get into the child-pupils' pants.

- And he went completely off the rails. I know he became a heroine addict. Last time I heard his name, he was living in a squat in Shoreditch (an East End London dive, back then), but had joined a band that had a flash-of-light success (one could argue that band was musically significant, influential well beyond their chart success http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63lcnoj-e2I . That's him doing that nice interlude piece on lead guitar... and that little scrap, is all I have left of him.

No idea where he is now, or even whether he is still alive, I can find no trace. But the way he was brought up really directly led to him finally 'permanently exiting the whole f***ing programme'.

Is he the "speed dealer, a complete nutter" referenced in this article?

http://www.jango.com/music/The+House+of ... ll_bio?l=0

I know how you feel though - as mentioned before I grew up in a very temporary place and what friends I have are scattered to the four winds.

[earthfriendly]

What is it?

It is a way to re-connect with ourselves, nature and the universe. They are grounded in Buddhist teachings. But they have given it a name in the West, "mindfulness" to make it non-sectarian. It is a philsophy about being mindful about one's actions, thoughts, words and feelings. A search on Amazon yield many books on the subject.

[JR8]

Is he the "speed dealer, a complete nutter" referenced in this article? http://www.jango.com/music/The+House+of ... ll_bio?l=0

I know how you feel though - as mentioned before I grew up in a very temporary place and what friends I have are scattered to the four winds.

Thanks for that. Yes, in some ways the likes of Facebook make it easier to keep in touch wherever you might be these days. But there are plenty of my of friends that are not 'with it' enough to wish to use Facebook, either that or highly time-poor and aren't interested.

Well, in the years I knew him he was a deep, thoughtful, and musically gifted chap. But many heroine addicts also take speed ('uppers' and 'downers'), so he could have turned rather 'schizophrenic'. There were so many line-up changes in that band it's hard to keep track of who is who. The 'speed dealer' could have also been Terry Bickers, but as I recall all of them were on one or more Class #A things or another.

p.s. He was recruited into the HoL from the cult/eccentric Canadian band 'The Dave Howard Singers' ... I simply mention it in case that happens to rind a bell with anyone
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dave_Howard_Singers

[PrimroseHill]

Kids are their own people, their own persons. We are there to advise and guide.
There are things that maybe we are at fault, we try and discuss issues with her that she is a tad young to understand, like IHT etc. I am certainly at fault because the 3 of us are pretty close. We take the piss out of each other, we enjoy each other's company, we do quite a bit together, not just meals but we used to go to football games, gyms. We love reading and travelling. And as a small family, we tend to discuss and talk about anything and everything, so much so, sometimes I forget, I forget that she is still young despite it all.

Am I out of touch? Yes, no denying that. She went to a concert, Bring Me Horizon, with her friends. That weekend I learnt was is a wall of death and a circle of death