You asked what Mr Varadkar

You asked What?

I read with interest in one of the weekend papers that Leo Varadkar was disgusted with Ryanairs Michael O’Leary (what’s new) rejecting his request for a one million €0 seat sale to be given away by Ryanair.  This just happens to be the amount of people they were hoping to confirm would come to Ireland for the various Gathering events organised throughout the country.  Now, call me foolish, but to ask any commercial organisation to offer up 1 million seats for free is just ludricious.  If Mr Varadkar is so desperate, why did he not ask Aer Lingus?  Why ask Ryanair?   The question I would like answered is ‘did Leo Varadkar ask Aer Lingus and what was their answer to the same request’?  I don’t understand any Minister asking a company that makes its revenue from selling a service to give that service to a substantial proportion of travellers for nothing!!!  Talk about not living in the real world! 

 

OH my pet hate……

I don’t hate driving.  It’s a necessary evil if you ask me.  But it’s becoming more difficult in this day and age to drive safely, not because my driving skills are called into question, but because there appears to be a huge amount of lunatics out there on the road.  I’ve talked about this before; the ones who think their indicator is a magic wand, instantly creating the right amount of space for them to move safely from one lane to the other, irrespective of the actual space available.  There also seems to be lane hoppers out there who have little or no regard for the motorists ahead or behind them.  And then there’s the cyclists; my real pet hate.  I am not against cycling on our roads per se, what I am against is the vast amount of cyclists out there who neither seem to understand the rules of the road nor follow them.  If I hit a cyclist, I am to blame irrespective of what they have done to cause the accident.  Some cyclists (I can’t say all here, although my experience certainly suggests MOST) don’t obey any rules other than what they want to observe.  ‘Some’ cyclists go through pedestrian lights, red lights, try to pass on the right or left even if my cars indicator shows that’s where I’m turning.  They try to squeeze past my car on the right or left against oncoming traffic and bang my car as if I am to blame because there’s not enough room for them to do this safely in my opinion.  These are on roads where no cycle path is evident, present or marked.  And don’t get me started on the cyclists who dress all in black with not a light or reflective item in sight.  If I drove my car and it was not fit for purpose, I wouldn’t pass the NCT.  Why is there no equivalent NCT for bikes?  Why is it not mandatory for cyclists to dress to be seen especially in these dark days and their bikes contain reflective lights at the front and back?  I understand that cyclists have a right to road space and I drive around them accordingly, they are much more vulnerable than I am, tucked up safely in my metal cage (car).  But I just wish cyclists would realise that they can be splattered in an instant and cycle accordingly, following rules that will keep them safe.    There is an unmistakable need for some sort of code of conduct for cyclists out there and if they don’t follow it, for some sort of punishment!  Either that, or get off the road……