CLIVE SMITH: It's time to get our priorities right and put our country first

It’s true, the police are right up against it at the moment what with the recent terror attacks and the scruffy anarchists’ and such-like’s daily demonstrations in London against another so-called injustice. I’m certain some of them don’t know what they are protesting about and they’re just beating their boredom until their giro arrives.

It’s no good saying foreign aid is given to these countries so it will benefit us in the long run and that it’s a strategic investment in our future. What about our country now?

What benefit are we going to get from giving North Korea millions of pounds?

These aid payments are just a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries, to rich people in poor countries.

Aid should be given where there has been a disaster or where it is really needed. Not throwing millions at some country and discovering that all of a sudden they’ve built a few submarines armed to the teeth with missiles pointing our way and their crackpot leader is cruising the main square in a gold-plated Bentley while the majority of the population is bin-dipping for leftover cheeseburgers.

Pakistan has received hundreds of millions despite having its own space and nuclear programme. India too.

So, colonial Britain pilfered some of their natural resources and the odd diamond here and there. That was years ago. There’s no need to feel so guilty about that now. Plus,we gave them cricket – a multi-billion pound industry in those countries.

Should we really be bailing out countries who can’t look after their own people? Maybe they should get their priorities right rather than us having to shoulder some of the burden? There are people and services in our country that could do with seeing extra money.

But I suppose it’s deemed racist and xenophobic to want something better here at the expense of a corrupt dictator in some far-flung hellhole in Africa?

HOW NOW BROWN COW? A PINT OF YOUR CHOCOLATE MILK PLEASE

I always get the impression that citizens across the pond in America aren’t the brightest bunch. A recent survey by The Innovation Center for America has just confirmed this.

It found seven per cent of Americans thought chocolate milk came from brown-coloured cows. Wow! Imagine being that dumb and trying to get by in life.

These people probably own weapons, vote and have children. Terrifying.

For the future of America you’d like to hope that the people answering the questions were really trolling.

I’m pleased no one asked them where eggs come from as there would have been all sorts of confusion. Supermarkets selling them down the diary aisle can only mean they are hatched by cows, right?

WHY DON’T WE ALLOW MEN TO WEAR SKIRTS INSTEAD OF SHORTS?

The hot weather got a bunch of boys from a school in Exeter turning up for lessons wearing skirts.

They did this because there is a ban on shorts.

For the life of me I don’t understand the reason why boys aren’t allowed to wear shorts to school.

I can’t see any health and safety reasons for it.

Essentially they pose the same risks as skirts.

I imagine when I was at school we must have had the occasional heatwave or odd day when wearing trousers wasn’t ideal, but we just got on with it.

During last week’s mega temperatures I did tell my boss I was going to be having my own protest and would be coming into work in a skirt.

She said that was fine...

Suddenly it didn’t seem quite so appealing.