Just how stupid can people be!

Not as safe as we thought?

Over the weekend on the way back from a very pleasant weekend camping in Derbyshire I stopped off at Sainsbury’s petrol station at the Meteor Centre in Derby. This is not normally an event that would be of note, but on this occasion I saw something that can only be described as mindless idiocy!

We all know that petrol is rather dangerous – it has a propensity to explode rather easily (it wouldn’t be very good at its job if it didn’t). Because of this petrol forecourts tend to be fairly well-managed locations to prevent the possibility of sparks and explosions. We are all used to the idea that we shouldn’t use mobile phones or smoke while filling up……

However, the scenario that had developed in Derby was remarkable;

A large 4×4 pickup (it looked like a US import) had been refueled by its owner – sadly it was a diesel and he had filled it up at the petrol pump. This is not easily done, but it happens. Normally this then requires the vehicle to be taken to a garage for the tank to be drained and the system re-primed with diesel – unless of course you are a moron.

Apparently our ‘brave’ driver decided that he would syphon out his tank into 5 gallon plastic bottles himself – and on the forecourt! This on the hottest day of the year, surrounded by cars filling up with fuel. I mentioned to the ladies in the kiosk that I thought this was perhaps ‘not such a good idea’ and they told me they had expressed the same sentiments to the driver and asked him to stop. He had told them ‘where to get off’ and just carried on.

I have a couple of thoughts here;

Obviously the driver was a mindless moron (that goes without saying), and should have been arrested, but why didn’t the manager of the forecourt either phone the police or close the forecourt? It appears that Sainsbury’s management of their petrol stations is sadly lacking. Why have they no guidance in place for their staff in this type of scenario – or is it so important to make money that the public safety comes second?

Not sure the licensing authorities would see it that way?

 

What’s the problem with moving Blue Peter?

Sometimes I do wonder if people have just too much time on their hands – the recent furore over the move of the children’s programme Blue Peter from BBC1 to CBBC (the kids BBC channel) does seem to be a bit of a storm in a tea-cup!

Now I did grow up with Blue Peter – Peter Pervis, John Noakes and Val Singleton could do no wrong in my eyes (and no, I didn’t have a Blue Peter badge). I loved the twice weekly programme, but that was at a time when as kids we only had three channels (BBC1, BBC2 and ITV) and the kids ‘section’ was only a few hours a day, so we were grateful for whatever we got!

But the world has moved on, I am not sure that Blue Peter still has as big a following as it did 30 years ago? No doubt they have changed the format to keep pace with modern tastes. But what I am sure about is that in a world where even on Freeview you can get almost 100 channels (it could be more) there is no reason to leave any kids TV on BBC1! So why is everyone so excited?

Are we all harking back to a more pleasant and simpler time?

 

The real cost of listing property

This week has seen the listing of two garage forecourt canopy’s, not a huge news story in itself, lots of property gets listed each year. What is of more interest is the effect this has on the property and more importantly the owner.

Both of the canopies are quite remarkable and date from a period when concrete was ‘a really neat idea’ and architects were doing bigger and wackier things with it. From an architectural and historical point of view I applaud the listings, we are too keen to destroy our recent heritage in the name of development, but protect old buildings with little to offer. Buildings like this are a snap shot of a period of our social history and do need to be remembered, but at what cost and to whom?

 Both sites are roadside by their nature and so very high-profile, consequently they will be well-known to the local area. One of them appears to be in good condition and still trades as a petrol forecourt. But, the other which is in Nottinghamshire is I believe unused and appears to be somewhat dilapidated. I am not aware of the history behind this site, but assume it is not going to be capable of trading as a petrol station or roadside style trade. It is therefore arguably worthless from a commercial viewpoint. However, it is now protected and the owner is required by law to protect it from decay and damage at his own cost.

Is that fair? I accept that saving the buildings for posterity is a good thing, but if they were acquired before the listing was made is it fair to now require the individual to manage and pay for the additional upkeep? I think not – some form of support should be available to at least assist with regard to the costs surely?

There are numerous listed sites in the UK that are falling into disrepair because the owners do not have the financial clout to do the works – and they are not permitted to ‘bodge it’. Surely this is something that either central or local government needs to address before we lose even more classic buildings and structures – despite the best efforts of the listing authorities?

 

One of the bonuses of my job.

One of the things I love about my job is that it allows me to get out and about to meet interesting people (and not stay chained to a desk all week). Once in a while I get a day where I visit a business that makes me realise why I enjoy doing what I do so much! Every so often I get to visit small businesses that punch way above their weight – last week I had such an experience.

I was in Retford in North Notts, not a particularly industrial town, in fact quite a small market town but home it transpires to a business that supplies 90% of the UK market it is in. What do they make? Wire and traditional ropes mainly for the theatre and entertainment market. And it is in this sector that they supply 90% of the UK market they occupy!

I get to meet some amazingly interesting and successful people in my jobs and it is amazing what businesses I discover in Nottinghamshire and the surrounding area that are national or even world leaders in their market place. For example did you know that we have the only UK manufacturer of cotton wool balls in Notts?

Nine times out of ten the people running these businesses are also extremely nice people as well – another good reason for having a job that keeps me out of the office as much as it does! We are often overlooked by London and the South (they don’t get the concept of the Midlands), but we have some great businesses – think Rolls Royce, Boots, Paul Smith just to name a few of the well-known ones!

So the East Midlands has a lot going for it – don’t forget it!

 

So that’s where the Parking Levy money is going!

It takes two to operate apparently!

Nottingham is now subject to the Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) – a misguided way of raising money in the short-term for our City Council – once it has managed to drive business outside the city boundaries I assume they will come up with an equally ‘good’ idea to fill their coffers.

As part of the WPL the City Council obviously need to police it, this is managed by way of a car that drives around the city and its estates taking pictures of all the parking spaces and the cars that are using them This is probably as efficient a way of policing it as can be arrived at in the current world – or it would be if it was done using one member of staff. However, in the same way that Traffic Wardens only appear to hunt in pairs nowadays (for protection?) it also appears that the WPL car requires both a driver and a passenger to make it work!

When I saw the car operating last week it was ‘two up’, surely this is unnecessary – or is it just jobs for the boys? One thing is for sure – it is going to become about as popular as the traffic wardens, so perhaps they are just preparing themselves for the worst?

 

Saving money but wasting food

The supermarkets are always offering us special offers – they might be multi buys or just reduced prices (sadly the multi buy is more common). Saving money in the current economic climate is a good thing, and as long as we don’t buy things just because they are a bargain (which is of course what the supermarkets want) we end up saving money.

My issue however is with the deals that save us money but require the purchase of more items than we really want to achieve the saving. As an example at my local COOP they sell fresh rolls and similar ‘bake up’ products – their crusty rolls and French bread are excellent. But, due to their special deal it actually saves me money to buy 3 rolls rather than the 2 I actually want – so one gets binned!

Is this the act of a socially responsible supermarket? (and they are not alone in this – others are just as bad).

 

Bank Holidays and business

We are just entering the ‘bank holiday zone’ as I like to call it – we go for almost 4 months of the year with none, and then get a massive hit during May /June. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a day off just like the next man, but again this year we have 3 days off in a month. Last year it was the Royal Wedding and this year it is the Queen’s Jubilee, both events that are worth celebrating if you have even the smallest amount of ‘Britishness’ about you. But did we really need an extra day off?

It was very apparent last year that April was a poor month for the economy from a business point of view, May is quite possibly going to go the same way this year – when we are all trying to push business forwards was it really necessary to have two days off in June?

Why don’t we have a bank holiday in the period between the August bank holiday and Christmas – when a day off would be appreciated! Trafalgar Day would be a celebration of something worthwhile from our history -surely a better idea than the current approach? Let’s move one of the May holidays next year!

 

The Weather!

As an Englishman I feel it is my duty to show an interest in the weather, it is after all part of being British to comment upon or generally have a view on our climate isn’t it? So The weather is generally one of the things I check out at night before going to bed and is also one of the first things I check in the morning (after my emails). I have numerous bits of software to use for this purpose and have to admit to a fascination with meteorology!

Currently we are for the first time in ages having proper seasonal weather, it’s April and we are actually getting April showers – the weird thing is that this weather is actually being commented upon by the press as a significant wet patch! I accept that the press will pick on anything to sell papers, but does this point to something more significant? Has our weather changed so much over the past few years that we don’t now recognise when it is ‘normal’?

If this is the case (and I believe it to be so) is it not the best evidence yet for the ‘nay sayers’ who claim nothing strange is happening to our climate? The press are loving the fact that they can call the current rainfall the ‘wrong type of rain’ which won’t go any way to solving the drought issues, but it can’t hide the fact that we have had a particularly dry couple of winters.

Part of the reason for the British love of talking about the weather is due to its change ability, but also the fact that it, is so predictable as far as the seasons go – or always has been up until recently.

So to all you climate change sceptics out there, how about it? Are you willing to finally accept that things are changing or are you all still sticking your heads into the sand?

 

Learning from the way kids play?

This photograph set me thinking – it shows some Royal Marines planning an invasion as part of a large ‘war game’ exercise in Scotland. The press have found it vaguely amusing that the boats etc are made of cardboard and bits of paper. But I think it perhaps shows that we can learn from our kids when it comes to ‘play’.

We are told that warfare is very high tech these days, it has made the whole warfare thing rather remote – we almost expect no casualties – which is not a good state of mind to be in! So to see a very low tech approach to discussing a landing is I think quite refreshing. It also shows that there are cheaper options – not everything is done in a high tech James Bond style as we are led to believe by Hollywood (or the MOD).

Watching kids play can teach us a lot about not going to war as well – ever noticed how colour, creed and sex has no effect upon which kids play together until they reach a certain age? Children have a much more ‘black and white’ approach to life – particularly with regards to right and wrong – grey is not a common area with kids! Perhaps the world should be run by the kids, it might get rid of the party political posturing and allow something positive to be done about the worlds problems rather than arguing and achieving nothing?

We often say that politicians behave like kids – perhaps this is not actually true, what we are really saying is that we feel we have to make allowances for their behaviour – like we would for children – in reality we are embarrassed by them and wish they would stop arguing and sort out the worlds problems?

 

60,000 visitors – thanks!

It has been a few months since my last ‘milestone’ but I have now reached 60,000 hits on this blog. All I can say is thank you, I intend to try and rejuvenate the blog and get some more interesting subject matter on it over the summer – watch this space!