B*ggered Up?

I stared in amusement at the cover of one of my presents, a book by Daily Mail columnist Quentin Letts entitled “50 People who B*ggered up Britain”. Who might feature inside, I wondered. Red Robbo? Sir Terrence Leahy? The BBC’s Mark Thompson? Sir Frederick Goodwin? Jonathan Ross? Sid Vicious or even the entire Beatles?

Erm, no. But our once very own chief constable Richard Brunstrom gets three pages, because of his tactics towards speeding motorists.

“Police forces should be feared by criminals and supported by the respectable majority”

I’m not sure we in our overlooked-rural-town-in-Wales should be so harsh on Brunstrom. Take motor bikes. The fine weather over the weekend once again brought motorbikes out, from as early as 7.30 a.m. (plus, on Saturday, annoying car rally hangers-onners). Sometimes, Brunstrom’s tactics might be questionable yet it has to be said that bikers are something of a nuisance. Noise. Speed. Misjudgement. Disregard. Disrespect. Not all bikers, obviously, but enough.

“He pursues his prey with a terrier’s determination”

This blog continues to greet safe and considerate bikers to Rhuthun. Others, though, are about as welcome on a sunny Sunday as a closed pub in dry Wales. For the inconsiderate biker, thankfully there’s the thin blue line. The problem is, in spite of what Letts and the bikers allege, the line is sometimes too thinly spread.

“The streets of Pyongyang know a very light regime compared to the northern reaches of the Principality”

Rhuthun is something of a focus and bikers scorch around here as if it were some sort of private racetrack. Affected are the A494 from Yr Wyddgrug/Mold; the A525 Nant y Garth; the B5105 to Cerrigydrudion; the A542 Bwlch yr Oernant/Horseshoe Pass; and the A5104 Llandegla. Do selfish bikers have the right to terrorise, as they rip selfishly through the countryside?

Was I the only one who shuddered when I learnt of last month’s so-called Reclaim North Wales bikers’ protest. Reclaimable for whom, I wondered. For those whose lives are made a misery thanks to excessive noise? For those who are placed at risk because of the antics of the few? For local ambulance crews called to horrific crashes during bank holiday weekends?

“71 year old former bank manager William Shaw dawdled [sic] along at 39 mph in a 30 mph zone… pootling [sic] along nine miles an hour faster than is strictly permitted”

Talk of a bikers’ tourist boycott might be concerning if they actually spent money here. They fuel up at home, stop for a cheap meal at the Ponderosa or at the diner at Betws y Coed and then hit the road. Stopping off to spend money seems rather pointless when they’re out for a *ride*. Rather than vilify Brunstrom, perhaps Letts and bikers should join with the police in promoting responsible biking.