A bit of a rant

I know I'm British but even I get a bit tired of talking about the weather all the time - but what else is there to discuss at the moment. Having got back to the UK I was inundated with warnings and forecasts and news reports of stormy weather and torrential rain and more snow and flooding, of another storm warning in France, this time in the North, and the horrendous firestorms in Australia.

Being without a television in France it got me wondering as to whether the weather was indeed much more extreme than it ever was or whether it is the multitude of TV and radio channels and news outlets and the dramatic nature of their reporting in this day and age that makes it appear as though it is more extreme than ever as they all try to outdo each other with the impact of their coverage.

In truth, the only story really worth all the dramatic coverage was the terrible loss of life in the state of Victoria in Australia, especially as it appears that some of the fires had been started deliberately - that was both tragic and disgusting in equal measure. If the culprits can be, without doubt, positively identified then maybe a good old fashioned burning at the stake is what they deserve so that they will understand what they did to so many innocent people - but it isn't the solution as we all know, because someone would have to set fire to them and they would have to live with that for the rest of their life and the pain would just continue. It was tragic, nonetheless.

Whereas in Britain - it's winter, where it rains and it snows and it's cold - please stop making out that it's something out of the ordinary and just get on with it.

I had a busy couple of days in the UK - the usual mixture of helping Debrah out with some stuff and doing a few things for myself.

I got the car serviced and sorted out the MOT and managed to knock a couple of hundred quid off the insurance renewal, just by getting other quotes and phoning up the insurance company and asking them what they were going to do about it.

"They are all bastards", said Debrah - I quite agree, but you have to deal with the bastards because it's illegal to drive around without insurance. It's clear they were over-charging us and hoping we would just renew without thinking because .. well, because we couldn't be bothered to ask probably. But I did ask, and without argument they reduced the quote by a third - it's outrageous that they should even deign to ask for the original quote which is why the insurers should be lined up next to the bankers, just behind the arsonists, in line for the stake.

Apart from the problem of the ongoing guilt, my ultimate solution would also see the destruction of all the remaining trees and therefore the environment - so obviously I haven't thought that through very well. It's tricky this whole politics thing isn't it. I don't envy Mr Obama his new position at all but then we've got a one-eyed Scottish idiot in the UK and a hyperactive Hungarian dwarf in France so nothing to shout about over here in Europe either.

On a positive note I did manage to get a very acceptable haircut for the grand sum of £12 which I consider to be very reasonable compared to the cost of the congestion charge in London - the haircut will last me two months and for the same money I could have driven into the centre of London for precisely one and half days. (I know they are two totally uncomparable things but the point is one is much better value than the other - right!)

I also went for an eye test and found to my surprise that I have the eyes of a forty year old. It's a surprise because I will reach my half century later this year, so either someone gave me some new eyes when I was ten years old or my own ones have lasted exceptionally well. It's also a surprise because I have been finding it increasingly difficult to read stuff recently and especially in poor light or that really tiny print that my wife always insists upon using when she designs anything.

So, apparently my eyes are pretty good for an old buffer like me and they still function in unison which means I can get away with over the counter glasses - and my optician told me all this with a smile on his face, without trying to sell me anything and just asked me come back for another test in 18 months or so.

Insurers and bankers could learn a thing or two about that sort of approach - but don't get me started on that again.