Bad, mad, sad old world

Thinking what an absolutely charming piece of footage this would make, she continued filming rather than cutting off at this point.

Big mistake. The mother ripped in to her, big time. “How dare you film my children!” she roared, “I saw you filming them! Leave them alone, how dare you!” The mother then stormed off, leaving my friend very shaken.

She immediately deleted the piece of filming, even though it was never going to get past her family WhatsApp group, rounded her dogs in to the car and drove home, in tears.

Oh, how I felt for her although I could see where the mother was coming from. Although my friend’s intentions were totally innocent and she would never have harmed a hair of any child’s head, there are terrible things that happen to children, such as abuse, abduction, divorce, custody or access cases that turn nasty, even violence and murder.

You can see why parents are terrified. This mother would probably walk on hot coals to protect her kids, and went in to tigress mode.

However, no parent should automatically assume that every stranger or onlooker is out to harm her brood.

A quiet word along the lines of, “you may not mean any harm, but would you mind not filming my children as I feel uncomfortable about it” would be a far better approach than taking it for granted that the filmer is a criminal and laying in to them.

How times have changed. When I was a kid, we had a cine camera and projector and there are reems of films of my siblings and I playing, where there are other unknown kids playing in the background.

These included a haycart full of the children of travellers when we were in Ireland, who were smiling, laughing, having fun, enjoying the moment like kids do. Who wouldn’t have wanted to capture these moments?

Nowadays, all innocence and a sense of wonder have been eradicated. Strangers are considered as guilty until proven innocent.

School nativity plays are no longer allowed to be filmed, not even by parents. Kids can’t sit on Santa’s knee any more.

Remember the wonderful film Goodnight, Mr Tom, starring John Thaw, about a wartime friendship between an elderly man and a small boy? Any such friendship would be perceived as highly dubious now.

My male relatives and friends would never dare to speak to a child they don’t know and would, rightly, never ever film one.

Even a female friend called for a shop assistant to come to the aid of a lost and distressed child she found in a shopping centre, because she was so afraid of being seen as an abductor if she did so herself.

What a bad, mad and sad world we now live in. We are all paying the price for the sins of a minority of evil and wicked people.

However, as with other aspects of life, we have to move with the times, however we may feel about it.

My friend only films her dogs playing in her back garden now, and as for my own part, as a keen photographer, I focus on animals, trees and flowers when in a park or public place.

Far safer that way, no one gets hurt and no one gets misconstrued.

Cathy Langan

Sheffield, S8