Comment

Driving Age “must increase to 18”

So say some Commons MP’s on the BBC website.

They also suggest changing the test to cover a year’s syllabus – all very sensible. They should possibly not make it a piece of piss, too, and actually include motorway driving as part of the test.

That and parking straight – the number of morons who cant do that in a supermarket car park is just unacceptable. If you don’t have the spatial awareness to park a car at walking pace, then what sort of judgement can you have at 30 or 70 miles per hour?

They should limit the speeds that drivers can reach in the first year after passing their test, too. Say, 55mph tops, until the angst ridden teens have gotten the whole fast and furious mindset out of their systems.

Cumpulsory re-tests for anyone who breaks the highway code in their first two years of driving would be a nice touch, too – the extra cash raked in could help put more police patrols on the roads and bring down the cost of road tax at the same time. (Only for people like myself, who drive fuel efficient, environmentally friendly cars, of course. The speed bump vaulting, gas guzzling SUV crowd can take it where it hurts most – in the wallet. I don’t think upwards of £300 a year for road tax is too much to expect of the Porsche Cayenne drivers out there – after all, they’ve already proved they have more money than sense!)

The whole thing really does need a re-think – the more draconian the penalties, the better.

Continue Reading
Journal

My Birthday Weekend

In the rare occasion that my birthday falls upon a weekend, I do try to make the most of it. This year I really did push the boat out, though – starting with a huge afternoon/night out on Friday, followed by driving to Scotland on Saturday morning to visit my family for the rest of the weekend.

Continue Reading
Journal

The Bad Magician

This morning when I dropped Elisha off at nursery, the assistant told me that they were already around the table for breakfast, so I should take her straight through. I did so, carrying Elisha to the main room and placing her on a small chair at the back of the table, while all the other kids gazed upward at me. It was at this point that I felt something on the back of my head.

I figured I’d maybe bumped into a paper mobile or something, and part of it had stuck in my hair. Kneeling down beside Elisha, I fanned my fingers and used them to trap whatever it was on the back of my head, bringing my hand back into view to see what was there.

“RAH!” I blurted involuntarily upon discovering a wasp, shaking my hand to free it.

This was followed immediately by a shower of cereal and milk, and then by frowned little faces – some of whom looked like they might cry.

To the assembled table of kids I guess it must have looked a lot like I’d pulled the wasp out of thin air and shouted “RAH!” as I set it upon them.

I left looking and feeling a little bit sheepish.

Continue Reading