The Brat Whisperer

There's a fascinating interview in the Telegraph with Monty Roberts, who is the original "horse whisperer" on whom the movie of a few years ago was based. It seems that Roberts has turned his attention from horses to those other wild animals, children, and now his horse whispering techniques are being used in "inner city" schools to calm dissaffected youth.

When An Spailpín thinks of feral youth the animal he thinks of to soften their coughs is the cat of nine tails sooner than a horsie, but I do see how violence can breed violence. More power to Mr Roberts if he can make it work - as long as someone is trying to put some bit of smacht on the little monsters.