I have found most of the courses pretty enjoyable, and the most recent section on computers is very well set out and a pleasure to do.

.

A decent road trip can easily bag four or five.

During my college days studying for my diploma I had many such tests, not all of the papers were purely mathematical, and speed of legible handwriting was very important.

Now that I am doing a degree by correspondence course all the course work can be typed, but there is still a set end of course written exam in each subject so good handwriting ability is a real asset if a high mark is required.

I have studied here in the UK, so my question is this: don't they have written tests in the USA, since it appears from many posters here that hand writing skills are not considered to be required there?

Cursive deserves to die -- it often results in illegible scrawl.

True about the often results in a scrawl part. But this is down to the choice of the writer, and how important the legibility is to him.

In my job I have to complete a daily handwritten log. Because my actions impact on safety this log has to be handwritten and legible so that if something goes wrong there is a document to refer to which cannot easily be tampered with.

Of the three log fillers one of us is only semi-legible, that person writes in block capitals. After some time concentrating hard on the log book I can decipher the writing, but it is an effort.

The other log writer also uses block capitals, which are large and clear, although rather shouty looking.

I myself was taught, or rather forced to learn, italic script by an old monk in my younger years (it's a long story), so I fill out my part of the log in Italic script. This form of cursive writing is very legible, but also pleasant to read. People hunting through the log for details of an incident breath a sigh of relief when they come to those sections.

So while I sympathise with the person finding cursive writing can be a scrawl, I would add that it can also be the best form of writing to read.

This post is surely the best kind of post ... purely anecdotal.

Good story number one Government not doing enough to protect our children

Good story number two Overbearing government puts red tape obstacle in path of those working with children

I feel that society is now becoming paranoid about risks to children, but it is not the government that causes this, in fact I believe that it is a result of the magnification effect of salacious reporting in the media.