Margaret Thatcher was a hoochie mama or 'The Apologies of a Serial Ranter'

Today I was going to write about fancying the young Margaret Thatcher and why the BBC have all of a sudden felt the need to portray the old hack as human being but instead something much more interesting and closer to my heart (Sorry Maggie) caught my eye. Its pretty much the talk of the town that petrol prices are going through the roof and drivers are filling up everything they can from petrol cans to hot water bottles, so its little surprise that the woolly left media are embarking on a discussion that I have rehearsed in my head for years. It is terrible that farmers are having to stoop to hatching deals with local filling stations to run their tractors - but what is not awful is that people are having to queue up at Tesco to fill their Mercedes Coupe with over priced fuel. I wont go into the economics of the oil industry nor why petrol is so expensive - the reason being that the answer is simple-we're running out. The story of Russia racing to the North pole to stick a Russian flag in it last year seemed to have shocked (and disgusted) a few people who knew what it meant but has since sadly died...nonetheless this is the terrifying truth that oil reserves are so low that man will have to dig under the last unspoilt place on earth so that he can fill his car up with petrol and drive to work. Ok Ok, oil doesnt just fuel cars (it also allows silly men to fly Amy Winehouse out to Moscow for an hour show!!), but my point here is simple: we need to rethink why we are still driving excessively here in Europe.

Dramatic? Utopian? Maybe, but this weeks strike related fuel 'crisis' is a small hint as to what the future may look like. So whats the alternative? Many will point to short term solutions such as bio fuels. Ah yes! Bio fuels, that lovely fuel that looks like sunflower oil and can be grown in your back garden - not the one that starves out developing nations! Others say electric cars -where does that electricity come from then? From the wind turbines silly! You know, the ones near the Norfolk coastline and the Highlands - the ones that just about cover 0.9% of the UK's energy consumption! The challenge is real and immediate but the answer in theory is simple. More public transport -trams, buses, trains and why not the hell not - rivers. Better and efficient cycle lanes, better pedestrian footpaths and better town planning.

Ok, my point is simple and I will try not to spell it out like I am some kind of anti car mentalist - cars are unnecessary and make you look stupid.