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— 1 wyneth Dunwoody, Shadow _r Transport Secretary, who has described by

13th July 1985, Page 25
13th July 1985
Page 25
Page 25, 13th July 1985 — — 1 wyneth Dunwoody, Shadow _r Transport Secretary, who has described by
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Edward Pearce, the int Parliamentary sketch writer of Daily Telegraph, as "The Iron iy", doubts whether Nicholas .7, her flesh-and-blood

emporary, has ever ridden on a bus. , she maintains, makes him iently unsuited to foster the gulation of bus services but, doxically, qualifies her to punch his rbara Castle, who confessed to g a poor driver, had no punction in accepting office as AIT Minster of Transport, turning road haulage industry upside down introducing the breathalyser. One of Labour successors, Fred (now Lord) Icy, also admitted to less-thaniant skill at the wheel.

am not aware of our Gwyneth's lineations for her job. Perhaps she is d at riding in trains.

'A GREAT character, tough as old boots, every inch a her, a budding Monty . . ." That is recollection of Lt Johnny Carpenter, latoon commander in the 8th Army, Jimmy James, who lives in

acewater, Truro, Cornwall.

The subaltern is better known as Maja V. H. J. Carpenter, North Eastern ensing Authority. "I would like to him again," writes Jimmy. "I don't pose I ever shall'„ he adds sadly, "as n nearly blind. Still, one can live on mories, especially happy ones." Dne of those memories, less painful at ; distance, is of the platoon nmander marching his men 25 miles a cold bacon sandwich and a dixie of . And Jimmy still admires him!

4 NOTHER of my

correspondent's indelible :ollections is of the 'most thrilling' hick he ever handled in 50 years of Ty driving in 14 countries. It was a ge captured Alfa Romeo with an mia starter.

This mystery to most present-day ivers Jimmy explains thus: 'Fitted just side the starting handle was a long under with a pull-ring on its side. The ige starting handle was spring-loaded Ld held in situ by a large leather strap. 'With all systems go, two of us irted to swing the huge motor and ter about six to eight revolutions we t go the starting handle and pulled the

ring on the inertia motor. With the scream of a Spitfire engine the giant came to life and coughed out a huge cloud of black smoke into the desert air.'

CLOAK-AND-GUN work is, I gather, going on in President Reagan's state of California to try to impose a crippling ton-mile tax on hauliers to bolster the railways. According to the American journal, Heavy Duty Trucking, 'Part of the strategy has been for rail interests to infiltrate the state's transportation department with their own people, who can then influence highway tax proposals."

There is, however, nothing clandestine about the Southern Pacific railway advertisement which attacks road competitors with such phrases as: "We've got the ammunition" and "Our guns are loaded."

The state of Maine has also jumped on the dirty-tricks wagon. Its former Department of Transportation Commissioner went so far as to cite to the Federal Highway Administration in Washington a non-existent study of Maine road costs in support of a ton-. mile tax. Shortly afterwards he resigned to become (guess what) president of a railway company.

AT first sight it might be thought that in discouraging small traders from buying light vans, Chris Wright, chairman of the light trailer and trailer equipment section of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, was undermining the interests of other members.

He suggested that instead of using a van to take out the family at the weekend, the trader who could not afford two vehicles could enjoy the best of both worlds by carrying his goods in a light trailer drawn by a car. There were, he said, advantages in depreciation as well as in passenger comfort.

As most small vans are made by car manufacturers', it hardly matters into which pocket the money goes. Indeed, a customer might be inclined to buy a larger, more expensive car to haul a trailer than he might otherwise choose.

/

T IS NICE to know that Commercial Motor still reaches the parts that others fail to reach.

Only last week, my colleagues received a duplicated letter from the commercial section of the British Embassy at Kabul, Afghanistan

addressed to our "Surry" (sic) office and thanking us for a "publication/ literature" it appeared to have received from us.

But it went on to say: "Although Afghanistan is the first country on the list of countries where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintains an Embassy, the state of our relations with the current regime and local conditions are such that there is unfortunately little use we can make of your literature.

"This is likely to remain the case for the foreseeable future and we are therefore telling you this because we do not like to see exporters' money wasted and you may wish to consider making appropriate savings on your postage costs."

The circular ends with a disclaimer for any errors or omissions and accepts no legal responsibility for the standing of firms, companies or individuals mentioned in it.

Should our man in Kabul read this, perhaps he would tell my colleagues what they sent him to prompt the circular . . . that is if he is not too busy watching the movements of Russian vehicles.

INGER-LICKIN' may now cease

n Kentucky Fried Chicken takeaway shops. The staff can wipe their fingers on the clean new uniforms that National Carriers Parcels, of Pudsey, is delivering in more than 16,000 parcels to nearly 400 shops throughout the UK.

Deliveries arc monitored by CAPTAIN-computer-assisted parcels tracking and information network. This is not to be confused with GENERALglib explanations not easily reconciled against losses.

FOR a moment, I didn't begrudge paying the toll. It was a dry night, so when I encountered a fine spray as I was driving through the Dartford Tunnel in the small hours I nearly panicked. Had the River Thames started to seep through? Had maintenance been neglected so badly owing to lack of funds?

Almost immediately my fears were allayed. I was following behind a cleaning vehicle which was spraying the walls with a mixture of detergent and water and scrubbing them with a large rotating brush.

I later learned that the vehicle, operated by Industrial Water Jetting Systems, was on one of its routine cleaning runs.

by the Hawk


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