We’ve become accustomed to seeing various parts of the UK suffer from flooding, each year it seems to be somewhere different. Other countries have also suffered from excessive rainfall with similar after effects but one place I’m sure none of us would think of as having a problem is Venice, a city already associated with wate. The buildings, walkways and bridges are based upon small islands as well as pole driven deep into the silt and mud which act as supports for the wonderful architecture. Obviously, associated with so much water, flooding isn’t something you would ever think would be a problem however they are indeed experiencing problems with water levels and there have been some bizarre images of people swimming in St Marks Square, one of the most famous spots in the city. WIth such magnificent, albeit fragile, architecture, let’s hope the water’s ingress has a minimal impact of such historic buildings.
I only half caught the news today, during my travels and heard mention of an evening debate in the House of Commons (British Parliament) to discuss a proposed increase in duty on the price of fuel. Without having time to hear the remainder of the article I decided to fill my car up so if such levies were imminent I would hopefully have save some money. I wish, on two counts, that I hadn’t bothered. Firstly, when I finally got to hear the full article, any price hikes will be introduced in January but secondly, and more importantly, I hate what having a full tank of petrol (gas, if you prefer) has done to my car. My car is a front engined, rear wheel drive two seater sports car, which I love to throw around the country lane but that’s with less than half a tank when it’s agile and nimble and makes mincemeat of the corners however sharp they may be. It’s a very, very different story when I’m having to lug around the weight of the other half a tank of petrol, in fact it feels like a very different car. You would think having more weight over the rear wheels, the wheel that transmit the engines’ power into movement, would help increase downforce and give more grip, however the car now feels like I’m maneuvering a very large ship (ship, not boat) which needs a turning circle of a couple of miles and I hate to think what my current stopping distance would be!
Andrew Skelton: 
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