Words About Things

The chief secretary to the Treasury David Laws has announced that Government Ministers will no longer be given chauffeur driven company cars and will instead be forced to travel by public transport or pay for their own travel. Ministers have previously had the pleasure of “swanning around in chauffeur-driven cars like they’re the royal family” as David Cameron put it.

“In the future, no minister should have a dedicated car or driver other than in exceptional circumstances. Ministers will be expected to walk or take public transport where possible, or use a pooled car.” – David Laws

The ban on governmental company cars is a two birds, one stone measure designed to cut costs and show a little humility. Now ministers will be forced to travel by public transport (like most people in big cities) which will be both cheaper and better for the environment. If they wish to travel by car they must be willing to pay for Taxis or car hire from their own wages. Whilst this is being described as a cost-cutting measure it is surely seen as a way to rehabilitate MP’s image following the expenses scandal.

Former minister Chris Mullin has been cited as the inspiration for the abolition of Chauffeur driven cars. Mullin’s memoirs (A View from the Foothills) contained the following passage:

I am entitled to a car and a driver. Entirely pointless since the 159 and 3 buses will continue to run past my door, even though I am a minister. Jessica [his private secretary], who cycles in from Brixton, was sympathetic but explained that the situation is a little more complicated than I might suppose. For a start, red boxes cannot be transported by public transport.

She also explained that the funding of the government car pool is geared to encourage maximum use of the car. The drivers are on a low basic wage and are heavily dependent on overtime. So, if I accept a driver, he will be hanging around all day doing nothing and hating me for not giving him enough to do.

Mullin was amazed that £864 a week was being paid in order to transport him when he could easily travel by pubic transport. Whilst Chris Mullin, who served under Tony Blair, can be commended for his efforts, David Cameron is clearly less of a role model. Cameron made a big show of cycling to work but was rather embarrassed when it was revealed that a car drove behind him carrying his papers.

One of the most important things we look for when buying flowers is how they smell. While some flowers are scentless those which we cultivate and give as gifts tend to have pleasant odors and this is part of their appeal. The smell is of course an effective way of attracting pollinators like Bees and other insects but it also attracts humans. Flowers which we find pleasant have surely benefited from being cultivated by humans over the years, becoming more prevalent than they might otherwise have been.

The problem is that people like to buy flowers when have yet to open but it is difficult to tell what they will smell like. The boffins at a well known British supermarket have come up with an ingenious solution to this problem: scratch and sniff packaging. The Telegraph explains the process that went into creating the scratch and sniff panels:

Floral fragrance expert Dr Hazel MacTavish-West and natural perfumer Dr John Heffernan were enlisted to assess the fragrance of open lily flowers. Each component of the fragrance was analysed and then recreated as a fragrance in a bottle… The final step was to encapsulate the fragrance into a print varnish, which is applied to a print label as the final step. The varnish is unscented until you brush your finger across the page, breaking open the capsules and allowing the fragrance to escape.

So now you can tell what your flowers will smell like once they have opened, assuming that the synthetic compound is accurate. I wonder if they will accept returns if the flowers don’t match the scratch and sniff?

Related links:

How does scratch and sniff work?
Save 25% on M&S fresh flowers
Why do flowers smell good?

Another great skate video from Vimeo: Wizard Smoke by Salazar.

Wizard Smoke from Salazar on Vimeo.