Bac-on Track ...

Yes, yes, yes ... I know. I've written about daft stories before and this one is no different from the rest.

Honley Junior School in West Yorkshire was getting ready to perform a version of Little Red Riding Hood And The Three Little Pigs but was told to substitute the piggies for puppies by some meddling do-gooder.

The fears being that the pigs might upset the Muslim children in the chorus so the order went out to ban the piggie lyrics from the performance.

Little Red Riding Hood And The ... Puppies? What the heck is going on? Were the school teachers asking the little Muslims to eat pig meat? No, just to sing about them in the Kirklees Primary Music Festival. Council education spokesman Jim Dodds said that "something barmy is going on here and it has happened on my watch. I can tell you now that the three little pigs will be back into the school musical festival." He added that "the decision to ban the pigs was made by well-meaning people - it was the wrong decision, so let's stick with tradition"

Well said Jim.

Surely, with non-Christian kids living in a Christian-based country, now is the ideal time to learn about other cultures. It proves that integration and inter-culture tolerance starts at nursery school ...

Tell me, 2007 is the Chinese year of the Pig. In China, 2.4% of the populous is Muslim. Are they offended?

Err, nope ...

Stuart