As deadly as griffins

In the book by Dante that no one reads, the Purgatorio, his beloved Beatrice moves forward in a stately chariot pulled by a griffin, a creature displaying the head of an eagle and the body of a lion. It was a favourite draught animal in medieval myths, another romance picturing Alexander the Great drawn through the air by griffins pursuing bits of meat on sticks, like a donkey following a carrot. But by way of danger those adventurous conveyances had nothing on the urban e-scooter. These silent and invisible vehicles collide with pedestrians and dart beneath the wheels of heavy lorries. The Government, so the Department for Transport says, smiles upon them as conveyances ideal for short journeys. It’s a pleasant change from being told to stay safe at home in bed, but we might as well fill the streets with fabulous monsters.