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Vicar’s wife wins lads’ mags battle
Wednesday 11th February 2009, 11:30AM GMT.
It was one small step for woman, one giant leap for womankind.
Mother-of-three Amanda Robbie was celebrating today after successfully getting lads’ mags moved to the top shelf of Asda and away from the eyes of children.
The 41-year-old’s husband is curate at St Luke’s Church in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton, and she keeps people up-to-date with life in an inner city parish on her internet blog The Vicar’s Wife.
Mrs Robbie blogged about her Asda success and is now urging other people to make a stand for what they believe in.
Amanda and husband Neil will be moving to Holy Trinity Church in West Bromwich next week and visited Asda in Great Bridge, Tipton, on New Year’s Eve.
“We were hurtling around the shop to find a few sandwiches for lunch after a morning of trying to sort out things in the new vicarage,” she said. “We took a short cut down the magazine aisle and I was horrified to see the display of lads’ mags.
“The store had a full shelving stack of FHM, Nuts and the like, with their glossy covers of buxom naked women. Because they had so many of these mags, they had them handily displayed right at the height where my kids could get a full eyeful. I was outraged.
“I would really prefer it if these magazines were not produced, sold or desired by their readers. However, given that this is the case, I feel strongly that they should displayed out of the eyesight of under-18s. Hence my complaint to the manager of Asda.”
The Vicar’s Wife focuses on “the inner city, family, faith and food” and Mrs Robbie, of Waterside Close, Blakenhall, said she started blogging after encouragement from her mother.
“I complained in writing about the lads’ mags and got a letter back saying they had moved them. It’s quite encouraging really, it proves it’s worth taking action sometimes. I would encourage every mother to do the same.”
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Enough said ,a vicars wife!! This country is still so prudish and i still wonder why we have so many teenage pregnancies with people like this. They arn’t even porn mags. They are just a little raunchy,infact kids can see a lot worse in the Sun newspapers these days. I’d suggest you get a life and concentrate your religous efforts in other ways that might help save the world from terrorism,war in afganistan which is killing our soldiers and even gang warfare and drug abuse!!!!!
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Does she not have anything better to do? How about doing a proper job and then you might live in the real world. I might start a petition for vicars to have to pay council tax like the rest of us and not get the tax breaks that they get. See how they like living like the rest of us. Religious hypocrites
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I am a Christain and these mags don’t offend or attract my attention when shopping. This is a little prudish, there are more important things to be concerned with.
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“Junk in, junk out”, as the old saying goes.
If we create a culture where sex is cheapened whilst infantile ‘laddish’ behaviour is exalted, don’t be surprised if we rear a male population that regards women as playthings to be shagged and dumped, and where the noblest activity that any guy can aspire to is to get blind drunk on a Saturday night. And, Brian, it has been precisely the encouraging of such an attitude of total personal irresponsibility amongst both young men and young women – as perhaps exemplified by the ‘lads’ magazines – that is the real reason why teenage pregnancies are soaring through the roof.
Well done, Amanda. Keep up the good work.
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Well done to Mrs Robbie. It needs someone to protect our children from these things. Yes, they may be okay for some but they shouldn’t be intruding into childhood. It’s NOT prudish – she sounds like a decent human being trying to give her children (and others) a childhood.
Keep on Mrs Robbie, keep on!
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I think the above is typical of this country. Correctness gone made. Gone of the days where you had freedom of speech, and Do Good’ers have to medal because they put there beliefs in front of others. If you dont like the magazines dont go down that isle. Whilst your busy messing with things like this I would like you to ban sanitary towels being advertised on television because it offends me, and I dont need them so why should I see the adverts? Just get real. You live in the 21st century. A kept lady who probably has never done a hard days graft in all of her life. Drugs, Murders, and your worried about a bit of titilation!!!!
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I assume Woody, Joe and Brian are neither mothers nor mature adults with small children. It’s easy to snigger “prude” at someone who is trying to let children be children. Kids should not have to live their lives dominated by the desperate needs of saddos who need soft (perhaps not-so-soft) porn to entertain their isolated and unhappy selves.
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Good grief, if she’s moving to West Bromwich she’ll soon have plenty of REAL issues to deal with
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John i am a father of 2 and feel their are more pressing matters to protect my kids from in this world. They don’t tend to look at the top shelf magazines, infact they are more interested in watching the news which is for real. they see our soldiers being blown up and killed in afganistan-the real world John and far more worrying than a few top shelf magazines. My main concern is to discourage my young son from joining the armed forces and becoming one of those casualty statistics. So John Get a life with the rset of gods crusaders and take a look at the real world around you you might wake up one day!!!!!
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John, how dare you assume I am not mature, and have you ever known a mother called Brian or Joe? I try to be forgiving but I’m afraid it’s people like you who make unfounded comments that really try my patience. Get a grip and get a life you sad little man, as said before there are more important things to worry about.
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WELL DONE YOU, ARE MOST OF THE ABOVE 100% HAPPY WITH TODAY’S WAY OF LIFE. IT SHOULD BE ENOUGH THAT SHE CARES, BUT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE HAPPY FOR YOUR KIDS TO SEE THIS CRAP SAY’S FAR MORE ABOUT YOU THAN IT COULD EVER SAY ABOUT HER.
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Brian, Joe and Woody i agree with you all, people like Mrs Robbie needs to start looking at the real world rather than just moaning about the first slight inperfection that she can see.
Besides, if they didn’t notice, the kids don’t even need to look at these “Lads’ Mags” anymore. There is something that they use, probably everyday, in thier own home. It’s called the INTERNET. It’s not like the kids need the lads’ mags when they have got the internet. It’s about time people grew up about this matter of Lads’ Mags and stores not putting them on the top shelf.
Nuff said.
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Why do I think Woody is not mature? Because he cannot realise that pushing soft porn under the noses of small children is a serious issue. He’s right there are others too – but why is he wasting his time being critical of others who try to make things a little better for our children? Is that “mature”?
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John-Open the magazine when you get the chance and you might be suprised to find out, theres more soft porn on easteners and coronation street than in those magazines!!!! You want to make things better for our children? Get rid of annoying preachers who are not even on the right track to saving our youth!!!!
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I’m sorry John, I thought I lived in a democracy where one is allowed “freedom of expression” without being pre-judged.
Also where in this shop do they “push” these magazines under the nose of children? I think not!
It is you who needs to take a long hard look at your soft argument. Today’s society is all about choice. One has a choice where to shop and what to peruse when shopping in that establishment, no-one is forced or pushed into looking at items that may offend them. Hence, this lady’s offence is a personal issue, she cannot enforce her views upon the general public. Hence, why certain persons believe her to be a little prudish and naive. She cannot go to every store in her area and demand they remove these “lad mags” to the top shelf. It is not a judicial law.
Yet again, you cast dispertions about someone you don’t know, how “mature” is that?
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i am not a church goer but mine and Amanda’s children are the same age and she is trying to protect her children while they are so young, it’s her job and is what all fathers are supposed to want us to do aren’t you??? being a vicar’s wife has little to do with it! Well done Amanda!
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What is the purpose of all this abuse of a perfectly reasonable request? Good well-run newsagents keep “adult” material on the top shelf – Asda didn’t. What is wrong with asking them to follow best practice?
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Well done Amanda! I have had similar discussions with our local newsagent who keep their lad’s mags right by the till at the height of my 6 and 8yr old’s eyeline.
Certain things are not allowed to be screened before 9pm to protect children so I would not expect them to be exposed to this sort of magazine when I go into a shop. I choose not to allow my children to watch and read material that I regard as unsuitable for them and object strongly when it is placed in such a position that exposure to it is unavoidable.
Placing such magazines at that particular height removes choice – in fact I suspect that sales are higher when the magazines are lower down the shelving unit as more people see them and therefore buy them.
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It’s interesting that all the hostile comments above have come from men – presumably keen readers of lads’ mags who don’t want the bother of finding them on the top shelf. Surely there are some women Express and Star readers out there who shop in supermarkets and like me agree with Amanda that it’s inappropriate for young children to be confronted with them at eye level? If so, do join in the debate. And what have Asda themselves got to say on the subject?
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well done amanda. i totally agree.If you let one little thing slip it eventually turns into a whole load of stuff slipping. you can only change the world by doing one thing at a time. And why has this got anything to do with religion, if you were any decent person you’d understand and agree, teen pregnancies, rapes, kids prone and the like are increasing because of the total openess of sex on tv, mags, school, bill boards,etc and the ‘it’s ok’ ‘feel good’, passive attitude of todays society, were people are out to please themselves and enjoy they’re life without a thought or concern of how it effects others around them, a selfish society gone mad. If you want to go out and protest about the war, polotics, etc go ahead it’s your choice and your argument and you’ll find many people out there to suport you, so why stop and personally slag off someone else who has a passion to protect our kids of today in the hope of giving them a better tomorrow.
keep it up amanda, i value my kids lifes and childhood, as any protctive human mother does and i’d protest if it affects my kids in anyway. keep it up girl.
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I wonder if she’s the only one who noticed these mags on the shelf? She’s certainly the only one whos got an article in the express and star printed about it, and i wonder why? Is it because she’s a vicars wife i wonder? No one else seems to have a story about this kind of thing published. On-ward christian soldiers!!!!!
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Lads mags SHOULD be placed on the top shelf away from the eyes of our young children.End of story.And anyone who thinks this is unreasonable should take a second look at your interview and actually read it instead of making insulting comments.I wonder if their opinion would be the same if it hadn’t mentioned that you are a vicar’s wife.This is nothing to do with religion and I find it personally insulting (as a married mother myself) for her to called a “kept lady”.I choose to stay at home and look after my children while my husband goes to work.No wonder society is in such a state.Well done Amanda!
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Stokesy, it did not take me long to find out that actually Amanda usedto be a mechanical engineer: that’s something that involves work, isn’t it? And as you’re clearly not avere to speculation, I’ll speulate that you’ve never looked after children, and don’t have any idea how much work that is. As for the good old days that you seem to miss, these magazines are recent additions to the world, and would not have been placed at a child’s eye level in the forties or fifties, back before “correctness” started coming in in the sixties.
Anyone saying “get a proper job”: I’ve always wondered what people who say this acually do for a living, and what their idea of a “proper job” is. Would any of you care to enlighten me?
I don’t watch the soaps, but I’ve seen far more raunchiness on the front cover of “Lad’s Mags” than on the handful of Eastenders or Coronation Street episodes I’ve seen.
Blob, this isn’t just “moaning”: it’s actually doing something. Yes, there are worse things on the internet, but do Mrs Robbie’s children have unsupervised access to the internet? Is it on the sites they are likely to visit? I suspect not.
Woody: about choice. Mrs Robbie chooses to complain, and Asda chooses, so as not to loose her custom, to place the magazines in a place where adults can still choose to buy them, but they are less obvious to small children. No-one is forcing anything here.
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