They are stark raving bonkers

Nehad Sharaf - Alya Society

Sometimes I think Governments have meetings and top of their agenda is ‘what can we give Mr Grumpy to write about? Well how about this one? A new UK Highway Code rule could see drivers fined £1,000 if they open their car door with the wrong hand. The ‘Dutch reach’ dictates that drivers use the hand furthest from the door to open it, with the general belief being that it ensures cyclists are not injured. Therefore, those sitting behind the wheel are required to use their left hand and passengers their right.
Are they stark raving bonkers? I appreciate that you must be careful opening your car door but a fine of £1,000? Meanwhile I can’t find any rules stating that cyclists must also obey the Highway Code like stopping at traffic lights, not going the wrong way down one-way streets, stopping at pedestrian crossings or winding in and out of slow moving traffic.
How about getting them to pay some road tax, having an ID number visible on their bike for when they break the law and being insured? And they are being told to ride two abreast and in the middle of the road. Well good luck with that everyone.
Here’s another little snippet I picked up this week. Post-Brexit, Spain is one of several EU countries that do not recognise the UK vehicle disability Blue Badge. Since September 2021 the Gov.UK website has declared that UK disability parking badges are not recognised or valid anywhere in Spain. Brexit really is the gift that keeps on giving. Everyone still happy they voted to leave? Still haven’t seen anything on the upside and don’t give me the ‘well we aren’t being ruled by a load of unaudited foreigners’ – it’s a total disaster.
Emojis are the new way of life in today’s tech-driven world, but sometimes they spark more than just the right emotions intended. This holds true as a ‘pregnant man’ and ‘pregnant person’ emoji are set to make a dramatic appearance on Apple iPhones. Please, please stop it. You can’t have a pregnant man, end of. I don’t give a monkey’s what the PC brigade say. Turn it in, it’s becoming ludicrous. Who is actually OKing this crap? Someone has to stop this nonsense. The ‘pregnant man’ emoji looks like a regular bloke with a beer belly to me and that’s what I’m going to send to my fat mates. Can I say fat?
Email: mikesenker@gmail.com
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Mike Senker

Grumpy Old Man Mike Senker provokes laughter and some groans with his spot on observations of life in the modern age.

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