Danger: men at work changing the world
The ladies have had a day dedicated to their achievements and commitments to the furtherance of these islands, and quite rightly so. Where would we be without people such as Fanny Cradock, Florence Nightingale, and Mrs Ada Scruggins who, in a fit of temper, perfected the perfect downward momentum and trajectory of a 12in rolling pin when her old man rolled in steaming? Now is the time to champion the forgotten side of the equation, the menfolk of Albion, with International Blokes’ Day. We geezers have for far too long scurried about in the background as the womenfolk hogged the limelight. Now is the time to champion all things blokeish, and chaps like Mr Trevor Baylis, inventor of the wind-up wireless. Where would your average man be without some tunes in his shed? Or Mr enzo Ferrari — what middle-aged fella would not like to celebrate his mid-life crisis in a legendary sports car, ditto harley & Davidson. Not forgetting the more prosaic men of innovation. Sit on any steam railway heritage line platform, and look around you — it’s all men. So I give you Mr George Stephenson, who started a whole new concept of overpriced and overcrowded travel, which we enjoy today. Or, more recently, Orville and Wilbur Wright, who in 1903 flew the first mechanical powered airplane at Kitty hawk. This resulted in bald, fat, ugly, middle-aged blokes from Manchester heading to far-flung lands, to sample the scenery and cuisine. We have Mr John Prescott to thank for the bus lane on the M4 — and Mr Tony Blair for all-day drinking, which means that we chaps can go out on Friday afternoon and roll home completely cabbaged, with the milk, on Saturday morning. It also keeps the thin blue line occupied, keeping order in the towns and cities of this fair land. A big man among men is Mr henry Ford. Who else do we thank for the wonderful experience of being cut up on the motorway by a twonk in a go-faster pratmobile, doing warp factor 3, and the exquisite pleasure of his loud music, which sounds, at any speed, like heavy mining machinery? Not forgetting Mr Alan Titchmarsh. This man has more than any other opened our eyes to the beauty of garden decking. Look what men have achieved!
tony levy, Wednesfield, West Mids.