Mark Andrews: Jumpers for goalposts, E-scooters, and Naked Education
My car insurance was up this week, and naturally my renewal quote was twice as much as last year's admittedly very low price.
Doing the modern thing I went on a price comparison website and was offered a slightly better deal by my present insurer, but when I went to take up the offer, a message came up telling me I would have to telephone to confirm my details.
When I phoned, the call handler said that because I was an existing customer I would not be able to take advantage of the online offer unless I first spoke to the renewals team to cancel my existing policy. This entailed almost half an hour on hold. Then I had to call back to speak to the sales team, which took another half hour.
New laws mean insurance companies are supposed to offer the same terms to existing customers as new ones. But it seems they aren't going to make it easy.
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The table of the most complained about television programmes has been released by broadcasting regulator Ofcom, and it makes for interesting reading.
Taking top spot is an edition of the Jeremy Vine show, where the presenter stated how much junior doctors were paid at the moment, and what they would get if they were awarded the pay rises they are going on strike for. That attracted 2,200 complaints.
In third spot was Naked Education, a programme aimed at children featuring full-frontal nudity. That attracted 1,413 complaints.
So in 21st century Britain, getting your kit off in front of children is now considered less controversial than a spot of mental arithmetic.
I suspect the PM's campaign for better teaching in maths might unleash more opposition than he bargained for.
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Police in Worcester have been ridiculed for issuing a letter about 'anti-social behaviour' following a complaint about youngsters playing football in the street.
"Whatever happened to jumpers for goalposts?" said one resident.
It seems to me the police can't really win, and I would like to know more before passing judgement. There is a huge difference between a few eight-year-olds having a gentle kickabout under the watchful eye of their parents, and a posse of 17-year-old booting the ball at neighbours' windows and cars.
The letter also refers to the dangerous and illegal riding of e-scooters, which suggests it is more likely to be the latter. Besides, if those hateful contraptions are not anti-social, I really don't know what is.
