Reports of Kate Moss’ rather jolly social life (Google the details yourselves) have been delighting the great British public for the past few days but now appear to have got the poor girl in trouble with some of her employers (Hennes & Mauritz has cancelled her contract, for example) and, possibly, the police. As is normal on these occasions, there have been the usual tedious comments about ‘role models’, a poor example for ‘the children’ and blah and blah and blah.

The same thing happened after the English cricket team celebrated their recent victory over the Australians in some considerable style. That produced this comment from Sinclair McKay over at the First Post…

“When commentators and politicians give us that familiar bleat about sportsmen being great role models for children, you know that a) this is pious blackmailing pressure of the worst kind. And b) it is laughably unrealistic from the point of view of both athlete and young fans. Flintoff is there to demonstrate a more wholesome truth: you train and work hard, you throw yourself entirely into the contest, you win and then you get to drink and smoke until you’re so full of alcohol and fumes you can barely remember your own name. That’s the sort of inspiration that would have worked for me.”

Indeed.