Thursday thoughts

There has been much criticism of the new graphics on the BBC TV Weather service. I cannot see much of a change really – there is rainy stuff where they think it is going to rain and sun-shiny things where they expect sun. I take little notice of the forecasts anyway. When I have to go out, it is because the dog wants exercise or something else of importance. I have found that looking up at the sky gives a far better idea of what the weather is. Seems to work quite well. I’m pretty sure that the farmers and fisher folk have a much better system than looking at some flibberty-gibbet girl waffling on. The complaints must really be due to that old British trait – dislike of anything new.

Much heat is being generated at the police driver who apparently chose to test out his unmarked police car at speeds up to 159 mph. He knew that he had the car video camera running. At some stage, he observed a traffic accident and turned the video in to the police investigating that matter. There is no suggestion he was in any way connected with the accident. The fuzz who viewed the TV saw what speeds he had achieved and – as one does – shopped him to the bosses. Initially, he was found guilty of dangerous driving but escaped on appeal. Magistrate – local lawyer sitting alone – accepted defence that as a fast driver he had to keep up his skills somewhere. He also took on board that no police witness said there was dangerous driving in the video. Driver walks away with a smirk around his dodgy moustache.

Once again, police have gone down a path that further widens the gap between them and us. The car testing and skills maintenance could have been done on a race track – his highest speed was on a motorway which hardly tests skills. Police have been criticised for high speed chases where the runner dies because of their inability to cope and crashes. The police have ample means and communications to block escapers without running them into the ground. Back in the days when my lad had a great big Kamikaze motor-bike, I’d have been very annoyed if they tried to outrun him and not used Stingers and suchlike.

I’ve taken notice of Baldermort’s problem with commenting. The setting that required him to join is a default thing I had not noticed. Sorry #1 son. All reset now.

The publicity over the damned Kylie cancer scare is getting on my teats. Good opportunity to bring home need for examination but surely a bit overdone. We are already at a Dead Diana level of self-indulgent sympathy and that is before anyone has released the scale of the problem. It’s not as if we are getting footage of the affected area.