Portishead royalty hopefuls are a credit to their town

We hear so much bad news about the youth of today - bad behaviour, rudeness and poor attitudes. The younger generation often get a bad press, being blamed for vandalism or just gathering on street corners and being a nuisance. Not all teenagers or young people are like that. Infact it is a very, very small minority rather than the majority that give others a bad name. The annual carnival princess disco held at Portishead Youth Club each year to choose the young girls which will act as the town's royalty for the year proves this without doubt. Each year more than 100 young girls pack into the disco with the hope of being chosen for the honour of being the carnival princess and flower princess. And what fantastic ambassadors of Portishead these young women are. Polite, well spoken, intelligent and respectful. They took their entry into the competition seriously and had obviously thought about their reasons for entering. Each and every one of them had thought about why they wanted to be the princess and how important the carnival was to Portishead. They all planned to be involved for many years to come to help secure the event's future. All spoke of their love for the town they lived in, how important it was to play an active part in the community. These young ladies understood that it was the taking part, not the winning the competition, that was important - even though they were all keen to win the coveted crown for the year. The parents of these young ladies should be immensely proud. They were a credit to their town. Each year it gets tougher to choose a group of winners. Obviously there will be some that leave disappointed - but they all go home with the determination to try again. When the winners were announced there was no jealousy or nastiness, just cheers and claps for the lucky girls who received their crowns and sashes. These young ladies showed a maturity well beyond their years. They are a credit to their parents and the town they live in.