I am still waiting for that Dallas moment when, like Bobbie Ewing, I wake up and find it has all been a dream. But I think that is a dream too far. How do we find ourselves in a world where Donald Trump is due to meet Theresa May in talks on trade with the US?
And now just when I have accepted Brexit is inevitable and we have to go along with the will of the majority, the Supreme court tells me the Government does not have the authority to trigger article 50. Parliament has trumped the Government – oh dear, I won’t be able to use that card-playing expression anymore.
And to rub salt into the wound, Bake-off is no longer on BBC and Len Goodman has left Strictly.
Wheelchair over pushchair
What a society we have become if we have to ask a Judge to rule as to whether a disabled man in a wheelchair can take priority on a bus over a baby in a buggy. The case was triggered when Mr Paulley, from Wetherby, West Yorkshire, attempted to board a bus operated by FirstGroup which had a sign saying: “Please give up this space if needed for a wheelchair user.”
Mr Paulley was left at the stop because a woman with a sleeping baby in a pushchair refused to move out of the designated area when asked by the bus driver. She said the buggy would not fold.
He had argued FirstGroup’s “requesting, not requiring” policy was discriminatory.
The court said the company should consider further steps to persuade non-wheelchair users to move, without making it a legal duty to move them.
Top ten bad ads
A Moneysupermarket campaign topped the most-complained-about television advert for the second year running. The dancing bodyguard Gary, twerking businessman Dave and dancing builder Colin were all in the top 10, the advertising watchdog said.Three Moneysupermarket price comparison website adverts attracted 2,491 complaints between them.
Some viewers found the bodyguard’s dance moves “distasteful”, and the ads with the businessman and the builder as homophobic.
Also in the top 10 were Smart Energy’s Gaz and Leccy cartoon characters, the Home Office’s Disrespect Nobody domestic violence campaign, Maltesers featuring a woman in a wheelchair and Gourmet Burger Kitchen’s references to giving up vegetarianism.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said none on the list “crossed the line” from bad taste to offence. Personally, I don’t want to watch bad taste: I’m too old for that.
Coffee break
Have you ever tried to buy a cup of coffee lately? My friend and I decided to have a coffee while we waited for a train the other day. Eventually I got to grips with the vast array on offer and persuaded the barista (since when did they acquire that title?) to sell me a white coffee, definitely not flat. I could understand more if they offered you a selection of beans rather than a choice of sickly sweet syrups to ruin the flavour.
Having placed my order, she asked me my name and on replying “is that relevant” she promptly wrote that on the side of a waxed paper beaker. Then charged me an exorbitant price for what was mostly froth under a plastic lid. Give me a break.
Metrological Matters
This wouldn’t be a British newspaper if I didn’t mention the weather now and again. We have had some bad storms and snow, fog and freezing temperatures but have not been as badly affected as some Southern European countries.
Hopefully we can get back to normal soon – whatever normal is.
