This is what it feels like playing Russian Roulette – but with someone else holding the gun. There has been a confirmed case of Ebola in the UK, brought back by a nurse from Sierra Leone.
There is now a mad panic trying to trace all the people who travelled with the woman – who returned to Glasgow via Casablanca and London, and who is now back in London for treatment.
What is laughable are the comments by Paul Cosford of Public Health England:
…the case did not “put anyone in the public domain at any significant risk”.
Actually, everyone in the UK is now at pretty much as at risk as the nurse, who was “protected” by the same systems and technology that are now protecting us from her, and which failed. We’re also subject to the same failings in screening that could allow any additional cases to spread the illness before they are identified.
Cosford also seems to forget that scientists have been predicting that Ebola would reach Britain since at least October. And they were right.
WARNING: This image shows the depths some people will sink to and is not intended to endorse Nazism in any form. I absolutely and uttterly condemn the pathetic minds that decided to create this scene.
Regular readers will know that I periodically cover topics that are associated with the dumbing down the education system in this country, and the annual hullabaloo come exam results time which seeks to pretend everything is really OK. So this latest story fits in rather well.
It seems that a teacher, David West, from Rossett School in Harrogate – came up with the “brilliant” idea of using Lego figurines to cover the history of Hitler in the 2nd World War. And this was to A-level students – not kiddies. West published the “lesson” on his blog – the viewing of which I ought to point out is by invitation only, so it’s more of a private notice board – as an example of what others should do. This led to a storm (on closed student and teacher forums).
Just as a reminder, Hitler and his regime was directly responsible for the deaths of around 6,000,000 Jews and around 5,000,000 non-Jews. When you factor in the manner in which many of these deaths occurred, the entire story is off the scale. And certainly well beyond Legoland.
The exercise involved pupils being asked questions such as ‘why is Hitler wearing a witch’s hat?’, which prompted the response ‘to show the spell that Hitler put on Germany’.
The man is obviously a genius, and his claims to be “world renowned on Twitter” and “a sensation on YouTube” (according to his page on Edmodo) must be well founded. West insisted:
…[the lesson] was ‘creative’ and ‘memorable’ while not compromising on ‘depth and detail’.
Yes. I’m sure that it WAS memorable. But perhaps West needs some re-training so that he can learn to distinguish between “memorable” and “useful”. Oh. And “embarrassing”. Because I remember that when I was at school, extrovert or childish activities like this would have been hugely embarrassing to me and many others. Sometimes – and for a great many people – the best way of learning is to be provided with the facts and then to talk about them sensibly. Not to end up in some sort of pantomime dreamed up by someone who considers himself to be a “world renowned sensation” in spite of providing no back up evidence for the claim.
If you’re still not convinced, here are some of other questions posed:
Why is Hitler waving to a cat? He is giving up his personal happiness to devote himself to the nation.
Why is the spider laid like that? He is giving the Nazis salute showing how devoted all his people were.
Is this really for real? It’s like a Santa Claus myth you’d teach to pre-schoolers, not A-level students who are almost classed as adults. And to make matters even worse, Rossett School is apparently rated “outstanding” by Ofsted, so is it any wonder we have the annual festival of trying to pretend that the 100% crop of A* grades actually means something?
West is talking up the “support” he has received from inside the school, arguing that simply because students have said that they got a lot out of the lesson then he must have done a good job. Of course, he fails to see that it is a case of the tail wagging the dog – because how the hell can a student tell you if they have learnt anything? It is down to exams to do that. Oh, wait. Guaranteed A*s… a sad downward spiral. However, West dismisses the near-universal negative comments outside of his little enclave.
Face facts, Mr West. It IS dumbing down. It IS childish and inappropriate for A-level students. It IS shallow. And let’s not even get started on how it trivialises the issues of Hitler, Nazism, and anti-Semitism among young minds which may not yet have grappled with the topics.
It’s started! We’ve had snow, and people are already looking on the internet to see if their test is going ahead or not! This happens every year, though I suppose it’s understandable because it’s a new crop of young people who are involved each time.
It’s very simple:
if there is snow or ice on the roads your test could easily be cancelled
it is common for morning tests to be cancelled, but later ones to go ahead after the weather improves
it can work the other way round if the weather deteriorates after a bright start
the test centre’s decision is made as late as possible to avoid unnecessary cancellations
if weather is very bad then longer term decisions can be made by the test centre
you WILL NOT find out if your test is cancelled on the internet
you WILL find out if you phone the test centre and ask
I said the test centre, not DVSA head office – it could be -20°C where you are, and +15°C at head office
the test centre phone number is usually on the email you received when you booked your test
if you don’t have the test centre number, your instructor should have it
you MUST turn up unless you have spoken with the test centre on the phone and they’ve told you your test is off
you DO NOT have to pay for another test if DVSA calls it off
you WILL have to pay if you just don’t turn up
Remember that just because you’ve been waiting for months for your test does not mean you will be given any special priority. Snow and ice is extremely dangerous and most learners have never driven in it. For that reason tests are routinely cancelled if roads are bad. Examiners are not going to take risks – and nor should anyone expect them to.
In Nottingham, the phone number for Beeston test centre is 0115 922 9458. The phone number for Colwick MPTC is 0115 961 1593. The phone number for Clifton test centre is the same as for Colwick. I do not know the number for Watnall as I haven’t used it yet.
Just for information, I wrote the above on Saturday – the day after it snowed. At Colwick, all tests were cancelled yesterday (Monday). So far, all the morning ones today (Tuesday) are cancelled. Mine was one of them. If anything, it was colder Tuesday than Monday (still -2°C at 10.00am),
The Colwick test centre car park is covered in snow and ice, and bay lines are not clearly visible. The driveway, which is on a slope, is also icy. The roads on the Colwick industrial estate are compacted sheet ice in the shadows where the sun doesn’t get on them. Almost all side roads on the surrounding residential areas are in a similar condition. There are random patches of ice at junctions where dolts who have not cleared snow off their cars have dropped it when they’ve braked hard. Even if any of this melts by late afternoon, it freezes up again overnight and takes until midday to start melting again.
Anyone who blames the DVSA for playing safe and cancelling tests in these conditions is an arsehole.
Well, that’s a first! I was watching TV through my Sky box when all of a sudden it said no signal was being received. I rebooted, and still the same. Then it occurred to me… SNOW!
I’ve had Sky since the old analogue days and never in all that time (it must be more than 20 years) has the signal been lost due to snow on the dish. Well, on the LNB, actually. You might lose it for a while if there is a heavy thunderstorm – and once, a pigeon tried sitting on it and that definitely took out the signal – but never snow.
We’ve had a couple of inches here, and it’s still coming down now. The problem is that it’s the wet sort, and that’s where the problem lies. It sticks to the dish and LNB instead of blowing off. In fact the wind is making it worse because it seems to be blowing snow on instead of off.
A quick and very light brush with a long-handled squeegee through the window fixed it.
I originally wrote about this back in 2011 as a result of people asking which lane they should choose at traffic lights and how they should merge back in later on. But there is a lot more to the topic than just traffic lights – it applies to junctions, roundabouts, and normal driving.
Not choosing the correct lane and not staying in lane is one of the most common causes of driving test failure. It is marked on the DL25 Driving Test Report under section 23, Positioning, and the ticks can go in either the normal driving or lane discipline boxes depending on what has happened. Furthermore, not staying in lane can lead to faults for observation and mirror checks. You just have to face the fact that poor lane discipline – whether through bad decisions or simply not realising you’re doing it – means that you’re unlikely to be checking what’s happening behind you. This is especially true at roundabouts and complex junctions with multiple lanes, where you will be concentrating on what’s in front.
The reasons why people abuse lanes are many and varied, and run all the way from deliberate arrogance through to blind panic as a result of not knowing the correct procedure to start with, There’s not much anyone can do to help you sort out your driving behaviour if you’re an evil little chav (or an Audi or taxi driver) who simply has to get in front of as many people as possible before cutting into a small space just before your turn. But if it is just a result of not understanding then there is a lot you can do to fix things.
Satellite Images – You can zoom into any roundabout or junction using Google Maps or Google Earth in the comfort of your own home. If you know what you are looking for (and at – many people are as bad at interpreting aerial maps as they are at choosing lanes), and can translate this into the ground level view, you can work out how lanes work at junctions and roundabouts. With Google Earth, roundabouts in many big cities can be “driven through” at ground level using your mouse scroll wheel.
Detailed Diagrams – Driving instructors often have access to roundabout diagrams, and these can be useful for explaining the basics. However, most diagrams are generic and don’t accurately represent actual layouts of many real world roundabouts. If you search hard enough, you might come across detailed blueprints taken from council highways department archives, and these can help if you are able to strip away the complexity.
Arrow Diagrams – Driving instructors ought to know how all the local roundabouts work in fine detail. One way they can help you understand the flow is by converting the aerial view into an arrow diagram. Take this example of a roundabout system close to the Colwick Test Centre in Nottingham. This is the satellite view taken from Google Earth.
You can pick out the lane markings quite easily when you zoom in, but because of the overall scale you can’t get a single-page printout which shows all the detail.
Here’s the same roundabout system showing the route from Lady Bay Bridge at the lower left of the aerial image, along Meadow Lane, and either turning left towards the city centre or right towards Colwick (and the Test Centre).
It’s not intended to be to scale. It is only intended to show lane layouts.
Lane Discipline
Using this diagram, if your intended route from Lady Bay Bridge was towards the city centre, your lane choice (i.e. “discipline”) should ideally be as shown by the green dots below. If you automatically followed the route shown by yellow dots without thinking then you would be exhibiting poor lane discipline.
There are several reasons why you might correctly choose the yellow route (e.g. heavy traffic in the left lane, or planning to turn right further on), but it is not the default choice.
Lane Discipline at Traffic Lights
At traffic lights you often find that the road splits into two lanes, then merges back into one just after. This happens where there is a junction, and it’s purpose is to prevent people being held up by those who are turning. It is effectively an overtaking lane meant to keep traffic flowing.
Under normal circumstances you should stay in the left hand lane. If you know what you are doing you can overtake in the right hand lane, but you must be able to confidently handle the merge back on the other side. For a learner on their driving test, that could be either a huge bag of brownie points if they get it right, or a serious fault (and fail) if they don’t.
Remember that at a crossroads, as well as people turning left there may be others turning right, so if you move into the right hand lane you could get stuck behind those waiting for a gap in the traffic. Annoyingly, many people wait right until they have stopped in the middle of the junction before signalling, so you have got to be careful. Never assume that the right hand lane is the “fast” lane. It usually isn’t – something the Audi drivers and boy racers never seem to learn, and if you have remained in the left hand lane be ready for these trying to cut back in again.
What is meant by “lane discipline”?
It means choosing the correct lane at the appropriate time and – to a certain extent – staying in that lane.
If road markings or road signs indicate which lanes to use to head off in certain directions and you wait until the last moment to change, then you are guilty of poor lane discipline. If you straddle lanes or wander out of your own lane then you are also guilty. You could also be marked for poor planning, normal driving position, observation/safety (if you don’t realise you’re doing it), response to traffic signs/markings, and so on.
Another update to an older post, which has seen an increased number of hits recently.
A while ago, I suddenly started getting hits from someone (the same person) searching using “will you fail if you use clutch brake”. I’m not quite sure what they were asking, so here’s a summary of how to control the car (assuming you know the basics, of course).
Imagine you’re approaching a t-junction to turn right. Imagine it is a slight downward slope. So, on your approach you will look at what is going on around you, assess it, decide what you’re going to do once to arrive, then do it. Basically, this will either be “go” or “don’t go”. I am guessing that the question people keep asking is based on the “don’t go” option, and they want to know how they should handle it.
So, you’ve arrived at the junction and had to stop. You’ve put the car into 1st gear, you’ve got the clutch down, and the footbrake on. The options you have are:
if you can see it is going to be clear to go after a couple of cars have passed, you don’t need to use the handbrake
if you’re going to wait for any significant length of time (e.g. if you can’t tell when it is going to be clear), use the handbrake and release the footbrake
when you see a gap coming, get ready
once it is clear, drive away normally
Now imagine the exact same situation, except that you are going up a slight incline. You get to the give way lines at the junction. Your options are now:
if you can see it will be clear to go after a few cars, you could use the upward gradient along with a little gas/bite to slow the car to a crawl, and time your arrival to meet the gap (you could do this in 2nd gear, though 1st gear is most likely the best option)
you could use the gradient to stop, and hold the car still using gas/bite, then just drive away from this position when the gap appears
you could stop, apply the handbrake, then find the gas/bite and take the handbrake off again to meet the gap when it comes
if you have to wait for any significant length of time, use the handbrake anyway
I think this is what the question is about: is it OK to hold the car on gas/bite (i.e. to “ride the clutch”). The answer is yes – as long as it isn’t to excess and you’re in control . The driving examiner will look at how you use the clutch in these situations.
When you are out on the road, look at how many cars rock back and forth at traffic lights (so not good at holding it on the bite). Look at how many people sit with the brake lights on (so probably not using the handbrake at all). Look how many people roll back when they move off (so not good at finding the bite).
Riding the clutch properly takes practice if you want to avoid it going wrong, and not many people are as good as they think they are at controlling the car this way, which is why you see these things when you are out there. The drivers involved are often just lazy, and if you do it like that on your test then you are asking for trouble. Be careful, and don’t be afraid of the handbrake (although try to avoid using it for every little pause).
It’s worth pointing out that holding the car at the bite point too much wears down the clutch plates. A new clutch plate should last for 60-100,000 miles or more. If you ride it a lot – and badly – it can fail in less than 20,000 miles. And since they cost several hundred pounds to replace (my old Citroen Xantia cost me £395 + VAT when I had it done about 12 years ago, and one of my ex-pupils recently told me he’d been quoted not much less than £1,000 for his Mondeo), it isn’t something you want to be having replaced regularly.
It isn’t written anywhere that you must be able to ride the clutch like an expert. The examiner doesn’t automatically expect you to drive like one, although if you do then he cannot fail to be impressed – which might work in your favour if you make a small mistake somewhere else. However, if you come to a set of lights (or a crossing) which have just changed to red and you make no attempt to use the handbrake, and you do it regularly or get into a mess because of it, you’re chasing down a fault.
One last thing: personally, I don’t like my pupils finding the bite when they have the footbrake on, so I don’t teach them to do it and I stop them doing it if they develop the habit while they’re with me (it can develop by itself when a pupil isn’t sure how to coordinate their feet). The reason is that without gas the risk of stalling – which is already quite high in a learner – is that much greater. But if I get someone who can already drive, I don’t try to stop them finding the bite with the footbrake on unless it causes them to stall, causes delays in moving away, or results in jerky control (which is very often does). The examiners will view it that way, too, and you won’t fail for it unless it leads to other problems.
Do you use the clutch to brake?
NO! You use the brake to brake – the clue is in the name. You only put the clutch down if:
you’re changing gear
you’re stopping
you’re going slowly and you are deliberately coasting to control the car
If you immediately put the clutch down when you want to slow down from normal speeds, the car will not decelerate at all except due to gravity. If you’re going down a hill or around a corner gravity or centrifugal force will actually make it speed up. It’s called “coasting”, and the lack of engine braking is one big reason why you shouldn’t coast around most corners or for extended distances.
If you want to slow down, the first thing you should do is take your foot off the gas. The engine will slow down, and if the clutch is up it will cause the wheels (and therefore the car) to slow down. This is what is known as “engine braking”. You lose all that if you put the clutch down and break the connection between the engine and wheels.
But should you never coast?
As I said above, you can coast at low speeds if you need to control the car (e.g. in slow-moving traffic) – after all, it would be stupid if you were travelling at 5mph (the slowest many cars will go with no gas and the clutch up) when everyone around you was travelling at 2mph. You coast a little every time you change gear or come to a halt. And some corners – very sharp ones, for example – lend themselves to coasting (partially, at least) because you have to go very slowly. Just make sure you regain full control by finding the bite as soon as it is safe to do so.
If you’ve had someone teach you to change down through the gears (“sequential changing”) instead of just slowing down and going into the one you need, you should not put the clutch down and keep it down while you change through all the gears. The whole point of sequential changing is that you bring the clutch up after each gear change to utilise engine braking.
So are you saying it’s OK to coast?
People have a major hang-up over the issue of coasting, and even most instructors (and driving books) just think of it as riding along at speed in neutral, or free-wheeling around corners with the clutch down. Both of those things are bad, and they’re what gives coasting a deserved bad name.
However, coasting is a description of something, not a chronic illness. As soon as you pull over and stop the car, you have to coast a little. When you change gear, you coast a little. When you stop at traffic lights, you coast a little. And when you are moving very slowly, there comes a point where you have to coast, otherwise you could end up driving into the back of someone or something.
So, when you do a turn in the road, if you don’t coast at least a little, you’re likely to end up on the pavement or ramming hard into the kerb. At very low speeds in heavy traffic, coasting – in the sense of describing the control technique used – is a useful and essential tool. But this does not mean you should fling the car around corners on two wheels with the clutch down or listen to your taxi driver when he tells you coasting down hills in neutral saves on fuel. Coasting like that is dangerous.
I’m sure it’s just my imagination, but every year it seems that around Christmas time people start dying in greater numbers than at any other time during the year. I’m not making light of it in any way. But it’s something I’ve struggled with since I was a kid.
I mentioned a few days ago that Virna Lisi had died (which is slightly depressing, as she is connected with my youth). Then this week or so we have had the deaths of Jeremy Lloyd (who wrote some TV shows which are also associated with my younger days), Billie Whitelaw (the maid in the original Omen film, but famous for many other roles), Joe Cocker (who did With a Little Help From My Friends at Woodstock), and Ian McLagan (of The Faces and Small faces), Bobby Keys (Rolling Stones sax player).
Outside showbiz, there has been the terrible incident up in Glasgow where six people died after a bin lorry drove into them. No deaths, but injuries in a similar incident in Nantes, France. Then several shootings in America, plus the murder of an off-duty policeman in Liverpool. Another shooting death, this time in Sheffield. And there are several others – some involving children.
Christmas can be a depressing time – I wonder if that has anything to do with it? A kind of self-fuelling cycle?
A reader sent me this link a while back, and I forgot to mention it. It’s a little bit of satire which – like most satire – has more than a grain of truth attached to it.
The best thing is for you to read it for yourselves. But in a nutshell, the point it is making can be summed up as follows.
John Man is a young violinist who has been struggling for years to overcome his limitations as a musician…
“I tried just playing the way I want over and over and over again, hoping that it would get better,” he said. “It never did! It was like, the more I played it the same way the more it would sound the same. What could I do?”
Finally, out of sheer desperation, Man started doing what his teacher had been telling him to do in every lesson for the past five years. “The results have been incredible!” said Man. “It’s as if following the advice of an older, more experienced musician allows me to somehow cultivate effective working habits better than my own.”
It illustrates clearly the confusion over what “coaching” actually means among many driving instructors. Many would argue that Man’s original approach – to do it his way, and to ignore the advice of those who know better – was how coaching should be (this is how many of those who post on forums see it). In fact, his teacher was the coach, and when he started doing what he was told he managed to start improving beyond what he’d been taught. That’s real coaching.
At the Beeston test centre today, all the examiners came out wearing identical reindeer sweaters. I thought that was a really nice touch. They’re all really nice people up there, and a real credit to the DVSA.
Unfortunately, my pupil failed, bringing my recent run of six passes on the trot to an end. Just one more test to go before Christmas.
