'I would put the 50mph lights on flashing for the whole stretch, as it's fast becoming one of the worst stretches of motorway in the country.'

Columnist Dave Swanton writes about clapping, accidents on the motorway and floppy discs.
Dave SwantonDave Swanton
Dave Swanton

I always like the bit on the news when the presenter says, ‘Finally’ and reads out an offbeat story which makes you start talking to the radio or television as though they are talking to you directly.

Recently it was the decision to ban clapping after performances. The National Union of Students in Manchester has done this, and if it was a PR stunt it worked, as the story spread like wildfire.

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Let’s be honest, if you go to a live performance you clap at the end, either because you enjoyed it or were relieved it had ended.

It got me thinking of shows, concerts, sporting events that I had attended down the years and it’s always been the ‘done’ thing to clap.

The only time I remember it being differently was in the punk rock era of the late 1970’s when fans used to spit to show their appreciation, but hopefully that won’t return any time soon. I find the whole thing very odd and doubt it will catch on.

The good people of Chorley and Leyland continue to push for Chorley Hospital to return to its full former status and I am 100 per cent in agreement.

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Getting to Preston hospital is a tough ask as it is, and with the regular accidents on the M6 around junctions 31-33 it just gets tougher.

Personally, I would put the 50mph lights on flashing for the whole stretch, as it’s fast becoming one of the worst stretches of motorway in the country.

Lorries crashing into bridge walls in the middle of the carriageway is a mystery to me, as I thought they had to stay in lane two.

Whilst hobbling round at home with my broken leg I have been doing some research into taped-up boxes in the garage.

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Opening them is like Christmas and it’s amazing what you find. I found a little tobacco tin (my late grandad’s) with badges inside.

My old cub badges (house orderly included I might add) and my cycling proficiency badge awarded when I was nine for being a competent cyclist.

Now I may open a can of worms here, but what is the current ruling on cyclists? Is Lycra optional?

Is riding three abreast down country lanes acceptable when it holds up traffic (part of the driving test is to keep up with the flow of traffic), and with all the gear on is wearing headphones listening to music a good idea when the cyclist is clueless on what is going on around them as they listen to Bat out of Hell?

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I do have sympathy with the pothole situation and that cyclists don’t want to ride over them, but three abreast in country lanes is very irritating.

Finally...this week I have just bought a bit of kit to help me organise my photo collection.

I still like prints, but have thousands on memory sticks and a few on floppy disks (older readers will know what they are) and putting them together has been hard work…until now.

It organises them, identifies duplicates and has a huge memory.

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I have too many hard drives and won’t use clouds as I have a funny feeling one day the cost of hosting will go through the roof.

I own my own stuff and I look after it. I also have a library full of books and may need a new home for them soon, especially as the word ‘downsize’ has been mentioned recently.