That's Handy

Here's a burnt out mini-bus I passed twice today:

It looks like the owner of the Renault in front of it was lucky not to have their car damaged.

Here's my dashcam footage of earlier in the day, just after the fire:

Couple of things to notice:

1. The drivers of the Aygo and the Audi were the sort of people who just stare ahead pretending that they haven't seen you wanting to pull out into a long stream of traffic being held up by a Fire Engine blocking the road.
2. The entrance opposite the junction that you can see a wheelie bin in...is the fire station.

Oh Jeremy!

You've really gone and done it this time haven't you?

"At night, I'm unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant 'Shame!' and throw lumps of excrement at her."

Not the cleverest of things to say about Meghan Markle.

Apparently it is a Game of Thrones reference.

I've never watched Game of Thrones.

And he made the reference in his column in what Greatest Hits Radio (Liverpool) calls "The paper we don't name"

Although calling it a paper is being generous.

And given that its readers are generally as thick as the proverbial brown stuff, they won't have gotten the reference even if they did watch Game of Thrones.

Anyway, the paper that Greatest Hits Radio (Liverpool) don't name has received over 12000 complaints and counting and he has replaced his online column with a tweet that shows a teensy bit of regret.

Even is own daughter spoke out about the misogyny in the article.

The BBC reporting of this is here.

It's a shame - this is after he'd established himself as a very competent host of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and had received plaudits and new fans for his Amazon series about his farm.  There is a release date scheduled for series 2 of 10th Feb 2023 - less than two months off - is all publicity good publicity?

I'm a big fan of Jeremy's.

99% of the time.

We all know he loves to shock - I think he may have overdone it here though.

And the only person covered in manure will probably be him.  Does he keep cows on his farm?

Crashing Bore

I wouldn't call him a bore - I quite like him.

I also like Paddy McGuinness.

But, as I pointed out when it was first announced in 2018 - they should not be presenting Top Gear!

They've both managed to crash cars on the show since - Freddie in 2019 and Paddy in 2020 but this one appears more injurious.  The BBC story tells us that he was airlited to hospital - not good.  But his injuries are "not life-threatening" - okay.  It also tells us that it was not believed to be a crash at speed - also okay.

So why aren't they saying any more yet?

According to Piers Morgan (Yes I know!) who has been talking to TalkSport,

“I’m told it was a pretty serious crash and that Freddie’s going to be OK, but it might be a little bit more serious than first appreciated. I’m told he’s going to be OK, which is great news, but I’m also told it was a pretty nasty bang and that he’s had surgery and is recovering now and we’ll have to wait and see."

So he was told no real news then.

We don't know anything about this crash - but the cynic in me says that a motoring journalist wouldn't have done it and a racing driver certainly wouldn't have done it - I may be completely wrong - it may well just be prejudice on my part - I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

After all, look at Hamster's history - he nearly died.

And James' two incidents (one was not his fault) made the recent Grand Tour the best one ever.

When the show goes out, will I end up thinking that he is in the same league as them?

Or the same league as these people who, despite the best efforts of the snow, haven't had their number plates blurred out:

Tampering With Evidence

When you are Chief of Police, you may think you can get away with a minor misdemeanour.

But you must be pretty confident if you first ask if you are being recorded and then still flash your badge to try and get away with it.

That is what Tampa, Florida's ex-Chief of Police did:

She was being driven by her husband in a golf cart on a public highway.

Therefore not licenced and not insured.  And presumably they were a slow-moving hazard.

The BBC have the story here and CNN have it here.

They were stopped by a Deputy and she announced who she was and asked if they could be let off.

And she would have got away with it if it wasn't for those pesky...

Hang on - how didn't she get away with it?

The Deputy did let them off.  And this happened weeks ago in November.

So I haven't a clue how this has come to light - did the Deputy hand his camera in for washing?

Or did his wife find Mary's business card and want to know the score?

Anyhoo, there is no mention of him - surely he should be in trouble too?

And why didn't she let the husband take the rap?  (Assuming you can use that phrase about someone who is actually guilty) After all, it was him who was driving.

Well, the mayor has forced a resignation which may sound a little harsh when you consider she has been a serving officer for 22 years, but...

Read the last sentence of the BBC report:

In 1995 she was fired as an officer after being arrested for attacking deputies during a traffic stop before being re-hired the following year.

Formula Gone

It's not just cars that are getting bigger.

The Formula 1 season is too.

It is in the news today because they have announced that there won't be a Chinese Grand Prix in 2023.

But that would still leave 23 which is the biggest calendar ever.  I'm glad I don't watch F1 any more - it would take up nearly half a year's worth of Sundays to watch races that have a devalued points stake and the last few races will probably be moot anyway as a decent driver/car combination will have wrapped up the championship before Halloween.

When I was young, there were about a dozen races - mostly in Europe.

Then Bernie started chasing the money and along came such noble countries as Russia and Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

And of course China, who, apart from assorted human rights issues, seem to have cocked up Covid which is the actual reason why they are not hosting now - stuff human rights, Sky need more viewers.

Meanwhile, a European country not known for hosting F1, Romania, had a problem with a vehicle for a different multinational today.

Literally a vehicle.

A Coca-Cola Christmas lorry in fact:

Oops.

Looks to me like a fridge in the trailer has had a fault. The BBC story is here.

Also looks to me like there are loads of different uses for Coca-Cola.

Although putting out fires doesn't appear to be one of them.