Fuel madness

Sometimes I thank my lucky stars that I do not live in Britain! This week the British government called on motorists to keep a can of petrol in their garage just in case there is a strike by fuel truck drivers. A perfectly normal piece of advice. But, all of sudden there is an almighty uproar. Shock, horror you can´t keep a can of petrol in your garage because it is a major fire-risk, according to fire prevention officers, who obviously having little else to do but appear on the 24 hour TV channels to criticise the government. So, according to them, if you want to store a can of petrol in your garage you must take the necessary precautions; wear special clothing and have a fire engine outside the garage just in case! When I lived in Britain we stored our small lawn mower and a small can of petrol in the garage but what I didn´t know was that this was a major offence. So if you are planning to buy a Jerry Can full of petrol, first you must inform the fire brigade who will despatch an officer to the petrol station who will accompany you home waving a red flag. You must then bury your Jerry Can in the garden (wearing protective clothing ofcourse) marking the area with warning and danger signs. Also, you must inform your local police force that you have dangerous fuel on the premises. The government did not make a mistake, the people who made the mistake are the small army of pen-pushers in the nanny state who appear to have little else to do.