Gosport firestarters are idiots: OPINION

I don’t know the ages of the idiots who have been named in conjunction with the fire at Browndown Ranges last weekend, but I am hoping very much that they are not teenagers as that would just be so utterly cliché.
A fire at Browndown in Gosport set by 'idiots' on July 12 seen from Calshot beach on the Isle of Wight. Picture: Jan SuttonA fire at Browndown in Gosport set by 'idiots' on July 12 seen from Calshot beach on the Isle of Wight. Picture: Jan Sutton
A fire at Browndown in Gosport set by 'idiots' on July 12 seen from Calshot beach on the Isle of Wight. Picture: Jan Sutton

And I also hope that whoever set the fires which caused two hectares to be destroyed – killing off countless wildlife – have to foot the bill for all those firefighters who came to the rescue.

I hope the perpetrators are made to watch films, many, many times, about the dangers of fire to communities, firefighters and associated teams. Then they should give talks, everywhere, about what total idiots they are and encourage others not to be like them.

Young drivers are penalised by astronomic insurance costs

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My son passed his driving test which was a bitter sweet occasion.

I’ll start with the sweet.

He’s a solid driver, I am pleased for him, it’s a confidence boost and now he’s perfectly capable of ferrying himself around and relying less on me.

Plus I can ask him to taxi his sisters around which is perfect.

Bitter because – wouldn’t you know – the price of insurance for a boy with no driving experience is astronomically high.

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I started with my current insurers who wanted to add a cool £1,400 per year to my policy.

The chap I spoke to candidly advised me to go online and use a price comparison website. He thought that I was getting a rotten deal with him, and he was right.

I must have spent more than five hours, entering details for the four of us – me, my husband, my son and my ‘provisional’ daughter.

What a complete and utter faff.

It was painful. made several phone calls off the results looking at okay deals only to be told that there must be a ‘glitch’ in the system.

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That happened every time I saw an internet figure which I could just about afford, rather than the real telephone price of £1,100.

I found it rather odd that more than one company was ‘glitching’ and then, even odder, that those companies were all linked. More like false advertising if you ask me.

Exploring chat-advice forums threw up several interesting facts.

Seemingly, second hand kit cars are a lot cheaper to insure for young men than normal cars – but we don’t have one.

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The comparison sites are ranked in order of economy, not everyone is equal.

And, my son will need to be 25, and have four years’ experience before we see a decrease in the price.

It really sucks, but I managed to wheel and deal – with an outrageously high excess – to find a price for all four of us at less than £500. That took me an hour on the phone to finalise.

Too good to be true? Maybe, but at least I’m not paying more that the car’s worth.

Am I wrong to be affronted by a man pointing a gun?

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A jet-powered flyboard was seen last weekend over a parade in Paris to celebrate Bastille Day.

This could be so exciting, but sadly the image which was splashed across the internet was the rider, with his gun, pointing down on the crowds below.

Am I the only one affronted by this? That the first time this epic technology is seen in a public place is to effectively mount a killing machine?

It’s easy to ask what our world is coming to, it’s much harder to ask what you can do to make it better.

We’d all hoped for Marty McFly hoverboards, used for fun, and instead we get a reminder that we are all only a trigger-pull away.

At least American cops aren’t riding them yet.

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