Silly-season hype hits new peak
The nanny state has won if the Daily Mail's reporting of a couple's winter walk is anything to go by, says Dougal Paver.
Take a minute to read this link and then ask yourselves how on earth the Russians cope. Or the Swedes, Norwegians and Canadians, for that matter.
The point is, they do. Easily.
So the question is a simple one - and one that's standard fare on all media studies degrees: "do the media set the agenda or follow it?"
Well, on the basis that the nanny state is this government's invention I think we can safely conclude that the Daily Mail has followed it in this instance. Thing is, if their readers' responses to the story are a guide then the public seem divided on the risks involved.
My view, as a seasoned mountain yomper? The risk lay in slipping and the father's weight falling on the child. If they were on the Miners' Track, as the story suggests, then for the large part this is a relatively flat walk until you hit the end of Llyn Lydaw when you begin a steady ascent.
It would take you an hour to get to the end of the Llyn so, if we take the Daily Mail's assertions as correct, then what the couple did was go for a walk along a flat-ish path for an hour in three inches of snow, then turned back.
They are kitted our appropriately for the task and the baby is clearly wrapped up well. The hood on the baby harness retains heat exceptionally well, creating a mini-climate inside. I know: I use one with my daughter all the time and, if anything, it can get a little over-heated in there, whatever the weather.
So, the story wins my prize for the best piece of silly-season hyperbole of the year. Any and all nominations from readers gladly accepted. Bottle of bubbles for the best contribution.
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