Reflections - An interview with SPVR

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Departures

Yesterday was a mixed bag of a day. The warm, welcoming start to the day turned into a cold, damp afternoon just at the point I was going for my walk. On the other hand, my phone returned to normal function. But we lost Tim Brooke-Taylor and Stirling Moss. For people of my generation, Stirling Moss was a hero. A man who risked life and limb on the motor racing circuit. But also came second in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1952 when driving a Sunbeam Talbot 90. That is arguably when he first came to serious public attention. He certainly influenced my father. For my father went out and bought a Sunbeam Talbot 90. He bought the coupe version, that is to say, the one with a fabric roof which if one had time and energy, that could be rolled back to experience the joy of open-air motoring. What on earth induced him to buy one painted a gold colour remains a mystery. At a later stage in its life, it was, to general relief, resprayed black. It must have been a very substantial co...

Newsing

Today, as every day, I rise from my slumbers, pad through to the kitchen to make porridge and then sit down to breakfast in front of some of my computers. The order I then read the morning's media is theoretically random but actually formed of habit. It follows a predictable pattern. With the Financial Times being my most expensive monthly indulgence, it comes top of my reading list. Even the recently announced reduction in tax on online media will make no difference. The FT is pocketing the saving and my subscription will remain the same. It actually costs more than I pay for my broadband connection. Is it worth it? Yes. But is it worth more than my next read which is free? That's the Independent. A very different publication and since 2016, online-only. And apparently making a financial success of it. Their figures published in March show a profit of £2.3 million on £27 million turnover (source: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/independent-financial-results-profit...

I love trains

Sundays are the day for checking that everything is in place for the week ahead. The meetings in the calendar include discussion of our environment. When I was appointed Climate Change Minister in 2007, it moved that topic up my personal interests list. And it has remained there. Yes, COVID-19 is our immediate and very pressing problem. Yes, by reducing our travel it has checked our greenhouse footprint. But we lose that if we up our car mileage post-pandemic. With Scotrail back to near normal tomorrow, we now, after a considerable period of actively encouraging the opposite, must get us back onto public transport. All its previous advantages, lower cost, lower stress, lower environmental footprint are still there. Lower cost you say, Stewart? Yes, I do! Let's nail it now. When I travel by car on Parliamentary business, I am reimbursed at the rate of 45 pence per mile. And the taxman does not charge me for the sums I receive. Because simply getting back what it cost me to tra...

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