{"id":8081,"date":"2012-02-08T17:54:22","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T17:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=8081"},"modified":"2023-07-12T23:05:01","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T22:05:01","slug":"despatch-january-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diaryofanadi.co.uk\/?p=8081","title":{"rendered":"Despatch: January 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This is an OLD, OLD article. All external links are dead.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest edition of Despatch is now available \u2013 you can view it as a PDF file here<\/s>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have to work over half way through it this month to find anything of any real interest (unless you\u2019re so out of touch that the first half is news to you).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first article is another repeat of the bloody theory test questions<\/a> story. Yet again, we get to hear about Mike Penning\u2019s idiotic belief that rewording the actual test so it isn\u2019t available verbatim in published form is going to bestow immortality and a cure for scrofula on the human race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second article is about motorbikes, and how the EU is going to limit access to more powerful ones by age and length of holding a licence (why don\u2019t they bloody do the same with cars \u2013 then we really would have a story).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there is some total nonsense about the government cutting red tape<\/a>. Never, in the field of human procrastination, has so much been written about so little. The changes are insignificant, at best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s some useful advice about buying secondhand vehicles, and what to look out for to avoid being scammed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some bureaucracy \u2013 to replace that being lost by cutting red tape, no doubt \u2013 involving an \u201cexpert panel\u201d on \u201cdrug driving\u201d is to be established. Apparently these \u201cexperts\u201d are needed to tell us whether driving under the influence of drugs is dangerous or not. They are also needed to advise on whether certain prescribed medicines or drug combinations are dangerous, particularly when mixed with alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an encore, they are expected to tell us why putting your hand in a running Flymo is dangerous. Of course, Mike Penning is involved \u2013 see if you can see which of these he said, and which one I just made up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Britain has some of the safest roads in the country, but we know how important it is to tackle the menace of drug driving.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Fire is hot, but we know how important it to tackle the menace of arson.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Tricky, eh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And right at the end, two snippets I found quite interesting. Apparently, from February 1st, a new contractor \u2013 TMG CRB \u2013 will be handling criminal record checks. I found this interesting \u2013 and confusing \u2013 because nearly TWO YEARS ago I updated my CRB<\/a> through this same contractor when my badge was up for renewal. I can\u2019t see what\u2019s changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other one is about councils being allowed to charge utilities companies by the day for digging up main roads. This warrants a separate post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n