The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are a necessary evil, without them the cowboys would really take the mick and cut corners wherever and whenever possible. A recent incident however made me realise just how frightened people are becoming of them. During the Newcastle Hoppings funfair, my daughter along with most other kids at the event attend an onsite school, specially set up to enable them to continue their education whilst the fair is in progress. The fair this year was extremely muddy, so my wife walked our daughter to school both in their wellingtons. On arriving at the school my wife told the teacher she had brought a clean pair of shoes so that our daughter didn't spread mud over the floor and "make it slippy". Unfortunately, the day before my wife had purchased a raincoat from an on site vendor selling surplus clothing. This raincoat had in small letters (about 1 inch tall), the emblem HSE embroidered on the front. Within a couple of hours my wife heard a rumour that the Health and Safety executive were threatening to close the school.
On returning to the school at lunch time, my wife was greeted by Albert Austin, the fairground manager. He anxiously explained that they had covered the floor of the schoolroom in cardboard to prevent any injuries from slips and would she like to inspect it to make sure it was safe! Explaining that she had nothing to do with the HSE saw everyone breath a sigh of relief. The point is, the panic induced by 3 tiny letters on a surplus raincoat was out of all proportion, the HSE has a serious problem if it is spreading fear and panic on this scale by the mere mention of its name. No wonder childrens playgrounds are being closed and carnivals cancelled due to health and safety fears.
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On returning to the school at lunch time, my wife was greeted by Albert Austin, the fairground manager. He anxiously explained that they had covered the floor of the schoolroom in cardboard to prevent any injuries from slips and would she like to inspect it to make sure it was safe! Explaining that she had nothing to do with the HSE saw everyone breath a sigh of relief. The point is, the panic induced by 3 tiny letters on a surplus raincoat was out of all proportion, the HSE has a serious problem if it is spreading fear and panic on this scale by the mere mention of its name. No wonder childrens playgrounds are being closed and carnivals cancelled due to health and safety fears.
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