At this moment in time, the stretch between junctions 15 to 18 on the M1 is subject to road works in both directions. The workforce (seen in occasional patches) is protected by average speed cameras limiting the passing traffic to 5o miles per hour.

Average speed cameras are no nonsense devices that actually work (not like the Gatso equivalents that just concertina speeding traffic between them and, in my opinion, make our motorways less safe); I enter the works zone and engage the cruise control to show my solidarity with the workers and of course to protect my driving licence.

Other drivers are less risk averse and seem willing to chance their luck with the camera settings.

Last week, something happened that annoyed me to the point of writing this blog post - my purpose to ask any of my readers if they can help me get my head around whether the speed limit rules apply to some and not to others.

At 50 miles per hour, I am constantly finding HGVs overtaking me or driving so close to the rear bumper of my car as to be menacing. The event that I want to share saw me in the middle lane passing junction 15. I was in the middle lane rather than the inside lane because I had been passing traffic exiting the junction that was slowing down below 50 mph. As I passed the junction, I ended up with an articulated truck on my inside and another (belonging to DHL) so close to my bumper that the Mercedes badge and yellow grill filled my rear windscreen.

The truck driver on my inside (1) was doing more than 50mph as he approached the back of a Jag in the slow lane (the Jag driver no doubt also using cruise control). The presence of his truck of course stopped me being able to pull into the slow lane. The DHL wagon (2) right up my arse made it difficult to brake enough to pull in behind (1).

After a short period of time stuck behind the Jag, Lorry driver 1 was clearly impatient with regards to his progress and, being impeded from overtaking by the presence of my car, decided to force a change of scenario. Meanwhile the DHL driver (2), similarly frustrated started flashing his headlights at me – f--cking idiot thought I.

Trucker 1 then put his indicators on and without further ado just started pulling into my lane – that dangerous decision forced me to brake hard and pound my horn.

As lorry 1 started accelerating away, lorry driver 2 sounded his horn at me and started rudely gesticulating from his cab as I pulled into the now vacant space in the slow lane. Insult added to injury!

Driver 2 then accelerated off into the distance – most certainly exceeding 50mph.

I was so cross that if I’d been in a position to report these drivers to their respective organisations, I would have done. Unfortunately, I didn’t have at my disposal the means to record number plates. Maybe I should invest in a dash-cam!

So having vented some frustration, my questions to my readers are:

• Are lorry drivers given some kind of special dispensation when it comes to speed limits?
  
• Are the average speed cameras set at a limit that allows any driver to go faster than the posted limit?
  
• If so what are the boundaries – is it the posted limit plus 10% for example?
  
• Does the boundary vary by location/road works?
  

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I recently got door stopped by a couple of members of the Daventry District Conservative Party, one was Wayne Howard, the Hill Ward District Councillor.

The Tories wanted to know if they could count on my vote in the upcoming elections. Now unlike religious salespeople (they get short shrift), I am prepared to engage with politicians and I spent about ten minutes chatting to these guys.

One of the subjects I put them on the spot about was their views on Trident replacement – hardly a local political issue I accept, but if I vote for Howard, it is also a vote for Heaton-Harris (MP) and a vote for Cameron too.

Having made a point of raising defence, it bothered me therefore to read this article on the BBC…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32435850

…that suggests that defence is way down the political agenda.

The BBC piece is worth a read because there is some content that one should be aware of, have an opinion on and, arguably, be making sure is on one’s radar when deciding who to vote for in the local or the general elections.

In our world of increasing tensions – the Russians being provocative, IS rampaging in the middle-east, the Argentinians agitating over the Falklands and global terrorism on the up – it worries me a lot to read that our regular army could fit into Wembley Stadium with seats to spare and that our aircraft carriers have empty parking bays for fighters.

But it would appear that the Tories, UKIP and the LibDems (to a degree) are still willing to spend £20 billion on replacing Trident (though CND reports that the investment value equates to about £100 billion - http://www.cnduk.org/campaigns/no-to-trident).

I feel the need to get on my campaign perch and preach to everyone prepared to listen because surely our politicians have their priorities wrong. I can’t be alone in thinking that better things could be done with tax payers’ money to make a greater, positive difference to the defence of the realm and contribute more to the economy.

In my opinion, Trident is a waste of money – what is the point of investing billions in armaments that we will never use? Some use the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction to justify the possession of nukes but think about it this way - if another nation fires nuclear missiles at the UK, Joe Public will be screwed. How much difference would it make to the average citizen to know that some of our ordnance had been fired back at our aggressors? We are f--ked but it is okay because they are f--ked too – it’s stupid isn’t it?  

The only nutters that would be mad enough to actually think nuclear weapons could be used are the type of people that run IS.

Conversely, IS won’t be defeated by weapons of mass destruction – to eradicate that enemy, soldiers on the ground would make the most difference - but in the UK’s case we haven’t got many of those.   

I appreciate that my personal “scrap trident” perspective will meet with disapproval from many, but there is a middle ground. Our government could/should consider halving our Trident submarine fleet. Right now, the UK has four subs, two of which are docked in Scotland at any given point, whilst the other two are operational. The LibDems propose a fleet of three.

The concept is simple, if subs are laid up in dock, we don’t need them.

Reducing the fleet saves money immediately but still keeps the people at Faslane and the surrounding areas in employment.

The money saved could be used to fund people and equipment for the armed forces that we might actually derive some value from. Employing more soldiers would create wealth for the nation because the government derives tax revenue from their earnings and soldiers will spend their salaries on goods and services.

Improved employment prospects for UK citizens; recruits having the opportunity to learn trades whilst in the military; a greater ability for the armed forces to respond to national or international incidents - feels like a good investment to me.

Aside from those bearing arms, new equipment ordered could help keep some of our factories (and those of our allies) in full production and that’s beneficial for the European economy.

Without some new thinking, what will happen is that the government will invest in Trident without consulting voters. It will continue to erode non-nuclear military spending in order to protect the budgets for health and education (which have been ring fenced).

And one day we’ll end up needing soldiers and have to resort to conscription!

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Some interesting news today, first up the wonderful subject of trains. If you’ve ever owned, desired or coveted a train set; if you’ve ever been in awe of steam trains, or adored the APT; if you’ve been watching Griff Rhys Jones in Africa - then this news item is for you.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32391020

The Japanese Maglev train has just broken its own speed record - 374 miles per hour now achieved. The name Maglev, short for magnetic levitation, reflects the fact that the train operates using electro magnetics for lift and propulsion.  The train looks, and sounds like something from a science fiction movie and, if you’re a male, I defy you not to find the whole subject really rather exciting.

Electro magnetism brings me on to electrical current and charges…       

…Phil Rudd, the drummer for the legendary rock band AC/DC, has pleaded guilty in an Australian court to threatening to kill a former employee. The whole, farcical chain of events was started by the flop of a solo album. To add further spice, drugs charges are also being levelled for possession of cannabis and methamphetamine.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32391010

Given the title of the latest AC/DC album (which, unlike Rudd’s solo efforts, has been successful), I can’t help but note the irony that for Rudd it’s clearly “rock or bust”, with bust looking highly likely (gaol time coming).

In terms of controversial behaviour, Phil Rudd has certainly trumped Jeremy Clarkson and that brings me on to the BBC.

The cost of the annual BBC licence fee is something that I am getting increasingly grumpy about – to be frank, I don’t think it is justifiable any longer because of the profusion of TV channels offering the same service free of charge.  I have to state that I rate the BBC but its services are not worth £150 a year?

Personally, ITV4 is my favourite channel on the box at the moment; Channel 5 is also worthy of praise for starting to screen “Breaking Bad” - at last I am beginning to understand what all the fuss about that series has been about.

But pardon that brief digression, the reason for bringing up the fee is that Nigel Farage has finally said something that resonates with me. With the election getting ever closer, Farage thinks the BBC licence fee should be cut by two thirds. Whilst the thought of UKIP in power bothers the heck out of me, Farage is on to a vote winner with that outlook.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2015-32390436

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My trawl through the news today unearthed a few blogging gems; new scientific evidence has been gathered to suggest that being a bit fat may give one more resistance to dementia than being skinny.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32233571

And, being more fat than a bit, may confer even greater protection. Hallelujah say I because the extra pounds around my middle may now fulfil a useful purpose – the protection of my razor sharp intellect…

… all right, maybe it’s a little less honed than that.

Thinking about the loss of one’s marbles is not comforting at all; for a bloke it’s perhaps as concerning as erectile dysfunction or even worse the wastage of one’s barnet.

But, good news on the hair front too. As counter intuitive as it might seem, scientists are suggesting that pulling hair out, stimulates the growth of more of it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32233570

Now I have to be frank; being a parent has meant that on a great many occasions, I have felt like pulling my hair out. Suffering as I do with age related thinness towards the back of my bonce (unlike my waist), I have found other means to vent my frustrations. Now though, perhaps hair pulling could be introduced and even pay dividends.

But of course there is no certainty, the scientists only really commit to the need to do more science.    

So those bothered by male pattern baldness are left with something of a quandary – go bald naturally or pull one’s hair out (and become more bald as a consequence) but with the hope (potentially forlorn) that pulling it out may actually result in the restoration of one’s locks.

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UPDATE
04/03/2020 Read the follow-up post to this one - hair matters

The image of the stag featured on this jigsaw instantly transported me back to my youth and sinking pints with my mates in my favourite pub. My nostalgia circuits fired up when I saw this puzzle and I felt compelled to buy it, then to make it…

…and then to share it with you!

You might be thinking “oh dear” (though “oh deer” might be more relevant), an article about a jigsaw, but bear with me because the puzzle only has a minor part to play in this post.  

During my teenage years (and beyond), the Red Hart on Bucklersbury, in the heart of Hitchin town centre, was a pub that felt like my second home.  At the far end of the bar, on the wall, by the pool table, lived a large framed canvass of this print…

…or one a lot like it anyway. Time may have blunted my recollection a little, but that doesn’t really matter. The Willem S de Beer (an appropriate surname in the circumstances) painting featured on the puzzle was good enough to inspire me.

In the late eighties, the Red Hart was a rocker-orientated pub that occasionally put on gigs and had a great jukebox to supply tunes at all other times.

As I write, I can picture myself; a young, slim, long haired, black leather biker jacketed, jeans and heavy metal tee shirt wearing, Guinness drinking, enthusiastic, easy going soul surrounded my pals - all of us singing along to such greats as:

• Paradise by the Dashboard Light (Meatloaf)
  
• Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen)
  
• All the Young Dudes (Mott the Hoople)
  
• Thunder & Lightning (Thin Lizzy)
  
• Cold Sweat (Thin Lizzy)
  
• Every Rose has its Thorn (Poison)
  

Mike Costantini, Chris Williams, Richard Davies, Derek Fisher, Vince Coppard, Tracy Westgate, Susan How, Jackie & Sally (their surnames long forgotten), my sister Tina and many others may have similar, positive recollections too.

Long before public place smoking bans came in to force, entering the Red Hart was like walking into the foggy embrace of a large ashtray. But back in the day, this just didn’t register; as a non-smoker, it was the price one paid for one’s socialising gains.

The Red Hart, which had a few refits during the nineties and noughties, is still trading (unlike the King's Arms from across the street), albeit that it is trying to attract a different clientele these days.

The stag print though is long gone and that’s a bit of a shame – still I guess it was nicotine tarnished and it ponged a bit too.

During my occasional visits to Hitchin, I make an effort to have a beer in the Red Hart if the opportunity arises. When I go in, I expect to see people I know…

…and occasionally I do. The smoking ban does of course help, the cigarette induced shroud is long gone (thank God) and that makes it easier to see into the corners, even with my ageing mince pies.

Becoming a husband and a father marked the end of the regular pub going phase of my life; my alcohol tolerance levels now pitiful when compared to my earlier standards. Infrequent, Hitchin based, get-togethers of some of my old buddies are treasured events, but the sad truth is that many more jigsaw puzzles get completed than those outings take place.  To be clear though, I am not complaining, this post is about remembering/celebrating good times, good music, good ale and good company.

Back to the puzzle; it has a 1,000 pieces and that reminds me of the saying “a picture paints a thousand words”. Bizarrely, the de Beer resulted in 666 words from me (excluding the title and the link words below).

Should I/you be perturbed that I happened to finish on this particular number? For me it’s just a coincidence…

…though I did have a hell of a good time.  666 words is simply a good start - maybe readers with Red Hart recollections can contribute the remaining 334.

Over to you.

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