And my award for forward thinking on a grand scale goes to...

MY award for forward thinking on a grand scale and working towards a more cost efficient approach to road maintenance this week goes to Central Bedfordshire Council.

The latest edition of their magazine informs me that the highways department has ‘adopted a holistic approach for co-ordinated planned maintenance works being carried out’. It seems that, wait for it, wait for it, “this means that as well as road repairs the contractor will, at the same time carry out any other programmed works at the same time!

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How ground breaking (forgive the pun) is that? Naturally any work will have to be programmed so if the maintenance men notice anything wrong that isn’t programmed they will ignore it?

Councillor Brian Spurr, Executive Member for Sustainable Communities Services says: “The approach will mean road works are carried out in one go where possible”. Note the “where possible” this is probably the get out clause for future use. For goodness sake are we to assume that it has taken until 2012 for someone to offer this up as new idea? Though perhaps Mr Spurr might like to spend some time thinking up a somewhat shorter title for him self

Another really good idea this week has been brought up by the people who are running the Olympic Games. It is to charge the folk who have volunteered to carry the flame across the country £199 if they would like to buy their torch after the event.

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Naturally the torch will not work after the games because the flame comes separately, nevertheless it’s a nice idea don’t you think? Every little helps when it comes to filling the coffers of those who will have already made a tidy packet out of sport.

It’s also true of course that the honoured guests from all the competing countries, including such peace loving places as Iran and North Korea, will be put up in five star hotels and have the full and private use of the roads to and from the stadium. Come to think of it they will probably get the best seats as well.

Add into the mix yet another political scandal concerning selling places around a dinner table with the Prime Minister and I suppose you could say it’s been a funny old week ain’t it?