Thanks to Rebecca Curran and Ken Banks and BBC Online news for the Headline
Well I’m sure the food must be very tempting when you are on an oil rig and perhaps the idea of going to the gym is not very appealing after a hard physical shift.
Still you have to be trim to fit in the harnesses and there is a weight limit for aircraft and winches ( when needed). Seems it all came to a head a few years ago when the powers that be realised that 2200 workers were above the limit of about 19 stone.
Give them credit that number has been reduced to 800 workers who have yet to lower their weight before the deadline in two months. Actually I’d like to congratulate this mass weight loss, it is truly inspirational.Though I’m sure there was some natural wastage (excuse the pun) from people leaving the industry.
So best wishes to the 800 workers who still need to trim down, you can do it if you want to .
Thanks to George King and BBC Online News for the Headline
A record number of 16.9million parking charges were issued by Private Companies in 2025/2026. So most drivers have come across a situation where they are trying to park and want to get a ticket, but there is no signal and there is a sign saying no card or cash payments .
It really doesn’t matter how old you are, some oldies “love” technology, most don’t.No one should be forced to sign up for applications or indeed scan bar codes ( which are notoriously scammy).
Recently on holiday in Cornwall we got a ticket, my partner thought it had gone through, but it hadn’t so we got a fine on our return home. It was stressful in the car park , we must have spent about half an hour trying to pay and then stressful when we got home. I do actually believe we tried ringing the number for customer service help but we couldn’t get through. My partner paid the fine as the letter was quite threatening.
The latest twist to the sorry scenario is that Cornwall Council has put a sign up in their Council run Car Parks to say that they have had to increase parking charges as they have lost money for Council supplied social services that they used to pay for with EC grants, but that they could no longer apply for as the UK was no longer part of the EC and that the increased parking charges are now used to pay for local services. I suppose moving to cashless and card less payments was another way for them to save money.
Rightly or wrongly I reduce my stress levels by going to places where the parking isn’t complicated. Hence we go to National Trust sites( parking included in membership, ticket machines run on solar power, but you can always leave your card in the window of the car.)Also we do tend to park where there is free parking, some places just seem to think it helps local businesses which it does.
We frequent coffee shops and local shops because we can park for free. There is no doubt in my mind that hospital car parks should be free to those who have appointments or are visiting sick relatives. That to me is a no brainer.
There is something called the British Car Park Association (is your car park a member )and what do the B.C.A think of fining vunerable people, not sure anyone has asked them? However, parking is a money maker for many organisations both Public and Private. Do they really want to make things easier for us or anyone for that matter? The answer is no.
Thanks to Josh Cann and BBC Online News for the Headline
Being a dog owner, this is a subject close to my heart. I have to tred carefully myself to ensure that where my dog goes to do his business is clear of any mess. If we all picked it up and disposed of it in a poo bin I wouldn’t have a problem.
Why in a beautiful coastal area with a lovely beach anyone would want to foul it with their dog is unbelievable.Pleased to say that the Isle of Man’s approach focuses on education first and the law second.
The gentleman who will patrol the three areas chosen already runs a part-time dog waste clearing business, so this role in which he and others will approach owners who are failing in their duty is a very natural progression to what he is already doing. The local authorities are giving it a three month trial to see if the situation improves.
Thanks to Phil Mercer and BBC Online News for the Headline.
Headington has it’s shark, Banbury is looking to update it’s pigeon mural.
In 2024 the owner of the now Power Cup café in Banbury updated the colourful mural on the side of the building of his coffee shop which for almost thirty years featured a giant pigeon, with a wing span the width of the building.
Unfortunately the new design did not feature the pigeon, which had begun to look the worse for wear and artistic licence won the day and although the new work was colourful , the local’s missed their “Pigeon”.
Now the café owner Tomas Kolbus is looking to update the mural and has contacted local artists. Although the plans are currently under wraps, the final design will probably feature a pigeon but would be “funnier and more interesting”
Thanks to Matthew Lockwood and BBC Online for the Headline
You see it everywhere, lots of piles of rubbish which should be disposed of in a sensible fashion. Just dumped in lay-bys , behind residential areas, entrances to farmers fields, farmers land itself. The disruption and unpleasantness it causes , and in this particular instance the harm to health is significant.
When these people are caught on CCTV, they really don’t look like the brightest tool in the box, is this really what the problem is? Are these people the school children who thought it was OK to throw all their waste packaging on to the ground despite there being bins available , Do they grow up to be fly tippers?
The 200 tonnes of asbestos that was left by the roadside in four trailers cost the Council £200,000 to clear up and make safe.
I’ve no doubt that the people who dumped it feel they are somehow working outside the box, they weren’t going to pay anyone for “processing” the waste. Why should they? They’d done the job of removing it from wherever it was and now someone has a nice shiny new building. They rebelled against a system and sneakily dumped it where the Council will have to foot the bill.
Perhaps , we need to look at this a different way. Perhaps Councils’ and Governments should advertise that rather than fly-tip, if the expense of “processing” is for whatever reason felt to be too high, contact them and see what can be done.
I’m sure in the long run that would be cheaper than having to clear up the mess randomly , investigate criminality and also encourage people to look after there environment. Prevention is better than cure. I think this would be a lot less expensive than having to clear up rubbish after it has been dumped and also the significant cost of prosecuting a case even if it can be proven. Not to mention the damage to the environment and wildlife.
As I say fly-tippers don’t look the brightest tools in the box , perhaps they need help. It might save money in the long run.
thenotsomightyom 