Between Halloween and Christmas, urging the deputy principal to be more bossy became a regular pastime. It was an inclination borne from a belief that in a very successful school, those appointed to leadership positions should lead and that staff should act according to the direction of those deemed competent by the Board and should not be subject to the tyranny of staff room moaners, whose penchant for criticism of what has been suggested is never matched by a capacity to offer constructive suggestions.

In days among the ranks of the clergy, there was a frustration in attending synods where people whose parishes were on a downward trajectory, where the accounts showed persistent arrears and where the numbers in the congregation were a fraction of the past, would stand at the rostrum making pronouncements on how others should conduct the business of the parishes.

Perhaps it is the Christmas season that brings out the worst in those of a prescriptive disposition, the scope for telling people what to do is greatly expanded.  Every aspect of Christmas seems an opportunity for oneupmanship, for unfavourable comparisons, for adverse commentary on the conduct of others. Christmas in England can seem worse than the plots of television soaps.

Sitting on the Fishguard ferry at the weekend, the closure of the port of Holyhead meant the lounges were crowded. Nearby there was a voluble discussion about what route people should follow on their way to their destination.  Why? Why in the times of Google maps and live traffic information does anyone feel a need to argue for following the A-whatever than the M-whatever? And why should they wish that others would follow their advice?

When not telling each other the direction to travel, the conversations seemed to centre upon how they were going to pass Christmas and what experiences would be filling their festivities.

The public address system call to return to the car did not come a moment too soon. It was at least half an hour before disembarkation became possible, but sitting in the silence of the car was greatly preferable.

The predilection to tell each others how they should act seems to be increasing.  Perhaps it is a function of a society in which people feel they have a diminishing level of control of their fate. Perhaps the staffroom loudness, recital of road numbers and similar conduct are displacement activities, people displace their frustration at a lack of freedom by seeking to circumscribe that of others.