Peter Rhodes on Good Samaritans, soaring premiums and the end of the line for model railways
A reader asks: “Why have my motor insurers just doubled my premium?” There are two answers. The first, put about by the companies in recent weeks, is that, with people hesitating to buy electric cars, the price of second-hand petrol and diesel cars has risen. This means that more older cars, for which parts are not easily available, are on the road. Expensive parts mean expensive repairs which mean higher premiums.
The alternative explanation for massive hikes is that it's a greedy industry, hell-bent on squeezing more money out of a captive audience. If motor insurance were nationalised tomorrow, the nation would rejoice.
A woman in South Wales found a desperately sick, half-blind and neglected pony wandering on an industrial estate. She coaxed it into her garden where a vet gave it a lethal injection. After this act of mercy she had to pay a total of £1,250 for the treatment, removal and cremation of the animal. The RSPCA said she should have contacted the council. The council said it could help only if the horse was on “licensable” land such as a riding business. So nobody pays anything except the kind-hearted citizen. Being a Good Samaritan can seriously damage your wealth.
Is it the end of the line for model railways? Enthusiasts report a nationwide shortage of youngsters taking up the hobby. It is hardly surprising. From what I recall, the joy of model railways came from creating your own little world where trains arrived and departed at your command. And while guiding a tiny Flying Scotsman into the Totley Tunnel may be compelling, it hardly compares with the intergalactic lure of of a computer game.
And maybe there's another issue – lack of space. In the golden age of Hornby Dublo, the average dining table would accommodate a couple of sidings, a signal gantry and a platform. Today, you can fit the entire Gnark Cyber-Kingdom and a zillion strato-blasters on the same table.
Still on space, scientists at the University of Central Lancashire have discovered a gigantic, ring-shaped structure in deep space, 1.3 billion light years in diameter. Be very, very careful. I fear it may be the plug hole.
