Author: Richard

What is it about cars that brings out the worst in people. 20mph speed limits are defaced in Wales, ULZ cameras destroyed in London. Do these people get angry about other injustices like energy bills, or rudeness? I suspect not! The car is an extension of their wrped ego, a counter to their hapless lives – presumably they do not have mortgages or decent jobs to put at risk? Do they care about the welfare of others – not a jot – they are the epitome of the “Mememememe” culture. Spain introduced a 30kph (19mph) limit on singla carriageway urban roads and has experiences a 13% fall in pedestrian deaths. I just wish drivers would not drive through my village at 50mph+ when there is a 30MPH speed limit. Estimates of the cost of slower travel seem ridiculous – travel in cities is usually below 20mph during the day anyhow – and putting the footdown on a suburban street to make up time is just plain stupid! Surely 20mph is enough on any street with houses and street lights? People and children live in those houses. Why should 100% of the population be dominated by a few mad petrolheads with character problems.

I would go further and introduce speed bumps where necessary, and chicanes too. Emergency services should be no more impeded than they are at present by illegal parking and thoughtless drivers.

I am not blameless – it can be difficult to get used to 20mph. And motorway driving is so boring, I have driven from Plymouth to Banwell in 90 minutes! The petrol gauge was visibly moving down! But here – why are trains so expensive – fares rising by 9% this year I believe? Cheaper to fly from Bristol to Türkiye to London than getting a train? And they are spending £106bn on HS2. Tube trains in London run every couple of minutes – can we not have a similar system across the UK? Doing away with ticket offices may be efficient but doing away with all staff on a station in an urban area, with no guard or ticket collectors on board the said train surely leads to a dystopian scenario – large machines (trains ) potentially populated by “banned car drivers – banned for vandalising speed limit signs and ULEZ cameras!).

The demise of the High Street is a British thing (not Brexit though!). The pursuit of cheap food, the rise of Ultra Processed Food and the urban sprawl of rabbit hutch housing has led us away from community based shops. Business rates are too high and the artisan bakers and butchers, et.c have disappeared. Now we are seeing the big chains also disappearing with Wilco following Debnams and Arcadia, M&S and John Lewis have also closed some of their ‘flagship stores’. Replacements are charity stores, vaping shops, tattoo parlours anf betting shops. Thus there is little incentive for the bespoke craft shop or cafe. Parking costs rise as councils desperately try to balance the books. Town centres where attempts to make pedestrian throughfares are now wind swept alien areas populated by groups of youths (which can be intimidating when they are the majority!) and beggars with cannabis and vape smoke wafting through the dystopian landscape.

Dame Sharon White, boss of John Lewis, has called for a Royal Commission to investigate the problem but is it too late? Probably 50 or 60 years too late! The pursuit of money and its partner bargains, has seen the homogenisation of high streets (or had until the familiar names disappeared). Chain stores ruled the roost – they could afford the refit for their anodyne stores and afford the rents as they pay their staff up to store manager level very low wages. How many towns in England could name more than an isolated example of a locally owned shop or cafe? And where they exist they are often in hidden back roads away from the town centre. I am not well travelled but from my limited experience Totnes, Devon; Wells, Somerset; come to mind. Does the Lewes,East Sussex of my 20’s still have a greengrocers, a shop called “Full of beans” and other independant traders.

Some will wonder why I have not commented on the Moroccan Earthquake, Libyan floods and other tragic climate related events. Well they happen! The earthquake in Morocco was not particularly predictable – the African/European plate boundary is not very active! There was a tsunami that hit Lisbon in 14?? . The Libyan event is probably related to climate change in the Mediterranean region – it is between 2 continents and therefore could be seen to have an inter-zonal climate which is more susceptible to the changes wrought by our mighty petro=chemical corporations withnthe support of RW governments.

Earthquakes happen most often in the northern hemisphere in winter so perhaps North America should watch out this winter? Global warming will affect average temperatures, the amout of snow/ice, Arctic and Antarctic ice sheet will change. The ice on Antarctica and Greenland will affect sea level. Many societies in Asia and S.America rely on glaciers for water supply. Climate change will impact on millions more people. In the UK we have a brilliant geographical position being at the meeting of Atlantic/Continental, North/South to give us an equable climate. This may change over the next few years (not decades or centuries which I was brought up to believe).