by Alice Scarsi

How bad is the drainage on Britain’s roads? According to an AA survey, the situation is worrying

A survey conducted by the AA looking at the condition of Britain’s roads has revealed that motorists across the UK believe that road drainage has been as bad this winter as it was during the last one.

68 per cent of 18,806 AA members polled in late January were keen to accept that puddles and pools of water on the road were “much worse than they used to be” and, despite local councils across the country being unable to be blamed for all that Mother Nature has to throw at us, road users’ levels of sympathy with councils has crashed to a shocking 53 per cent following this past winter.

50 per cent of those interviewed declared that, where they live, heavy rain leaves roads pockmarked with pools of water managing to create a driving menace. Although this compares with 51 per cent at the same time last year, those feeling strongly about the hazard have risen to one in five of all members.

Rural parts of the UK, predictably enough, stand out as the worst areas for puddles, pools and small lakes on roads. However, the parity of the South East within these areas underlines the bleak conditions of rainy roads in the most populated part of the country. From the results of the study, it is quite apparent that AA members feel that roads proving the biggest threat are in South East England.

Two-thirds of drivers, 66 per cent of the questioned, argue that councils don’t clear drains as well as they used to in past years – a consideration that could heavily weigh on the shoulder of councilmen now that local elections are approaching; after all bad road drainage will surely be one of the key issues that will drives the vote.

Edmund King, the AA’s president, harshly commented the results of the poll: “Without last winter’s extensive flooding and ‘biblical’ levels of rainfall to drown out complaints of bad road drainage, this winter’s better weather has left councils high and dry to criticism of poor road maintenance.
“Arguably, roads pockmarked by puddles and pools of water pose more of a hazard to more drivers than flooding – floods are no-go areas, while deep patches of surface water are passable but perilous for drivers, bikers and cyclists. They also hide the potholes road users might otherwise avoid,” King continued.

Highlighting the necessity of a serious intervention required, King went on: “Potholes and the condition of the road surface may be the focus of the Department for Transport report on the condition of English roads but bad drainage can present a more extensive and potentially more damaging threat to UK drivers and their vehicles. A car that loses grip and goes off the road or blows its engine because air intakes suck up water become an insurance job. Councils are rarely held to account for this level of damage – unless someone is killed.”

It goes without saying that bad road drainage is an issue likely to put more motorists’ lives in danger, even more so if you are towing a caravan. Nonetheless, the results of the survey shows that Britain’s road users feel as though councils aren’t doing as much as they can to keep their roads safe or clean.

As a user of the road, do you feel that this problem affects you? Is the situation on our roads really as bad as the poll suggests?

by Justine Iorga

Study reveals big time lottery winners enjoy a caravan holiday just as much as everyone else
Could you imagine winning the big jackpot in the EuroMillions lottery? What would you even spend all that money on?
With the current jackpot at £72m it seems that the options on what to do with all that money are limitless. Now, in a research study on the purchasing habits of 3,000 National Lottery jackpot winners there were some interesting reveals.
The most surprising, well actually maybe not so surprising to us caravan owners, was the finding that winners have generated £7.4m of caravan sales in the UK alone.
Taking a holiday seemed to be popular amongst winners; even though they could afford to go away and stay in a five star hotel they much better preferred the quaintness of a caravan. It probably wasn’t your average caravan holiday, but our imagination can only lead us to picture how nice it must have been to have a holiday with possibly no budget restrictions in place.
Could you imagine the kind of holiday you could take with £72m in your back pocket?
Other popular destinations for winners’ holidays were America, Stateside, the Caribbean, the Canary Islands and Dubai. We’re not saying these destinations would have been ideal as far as taking the caravan along would be concerned, but with that much money at your disposal, anything is possible.
The study revealed other favourite ways to spend, which included: property (with the average around £900,000 on new homes), staff (with the winners employing cleaners and gardeners), and early retirement (with some no longer working or just taking up unpaid voluntary work).
On that note, it’s another rollover tomorrow, so we’re off to get a ticket. Let us know how you would spend the winnings if you won.

by Justine Iorga

Charity event provides eating challenge with a difference all for a good cause
We never thought maggots, locusts and mealworms along with pig and lamb genitals would be something associated with caravans, especially in a good way.
But it looks like these horrifying delicacies were all part of the bush tucker eating challenge at the Lee-on-the-Solent Working Men’s Club recently to help raise funds for the Oakley Waterman Caravan Foundation.
The Oakley Waterman Caravan Foundation was set up following the tragic loss of Dave Waterman and wife Lorraine’s son, Oakley, to Rhabdomysarcoma – a rare form of cancer – at the age of six.
Oakley was first diagnosed with Rhabdomysarcoma in 2002 following the discovery of a tumor in his pelvis. The brave young kid went through extensive treatment therapy, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but unfortunately the tumor returned in 2005 and it was found to be inoperable.
Oakley very much enjoyed staying at the Church Farm Holiday Village at Pagham and it was while on holiday with his parents that Oakley announced his last wish. So, soon before the passing of their son the family set up their foundation to help provide holidays for ill children and their families.
The foundation has caravans in Pagham and Devon Cliffs, which provide respite for children and their families suffering with life-threatening illnesses to help create memories to cherish.
The foundation puts on many events like the latest bush tucker event in order to raise money towards the upkeep of the caravans at their sites – all for a wonderful cause.
Graham Waterman, 65, Oakley’s granddad completed the challenge and spoke afterwards, saying: “It was great that everyone got involved with the night and dared to eat more than their friends.
“We couldn’t believe how much people had been sponsored by their friends and family.”
Through generous sponsorship and donations that night the charity has raised more than £1,000.
The Waterman family is thankful to all that helped and hope to continue this bush tucker challenge and similar fundraisers in order to keep the foundation raising money for many more years to come.
To help make a donation to such a worthwile cause and to find out more details about this wonderful charity, click here.

by Alice Scarsi

Finnish businessman fined in accordance to income

A man in Finland has been fined 54,000-euro for speeding.

According to Finnish newspaper, Iltalehti, businessman Reima Kuisla was caught doing 103km/h (64mph) in 80km/h (50mph) zone.

Finnish law states that speeding fines are linked to an individual’s income and, following authorities looking into Kuisla’s 2013 filed tax return, which saw he had earned 6.5m euros (approximately £4.72m) that year, the speeding millionaire was subsequently fined accordingly.

Kuisla has failed to take the fine very well, expressing his disdain on his Facebook page in true capslock fashion and is contemplating leaving Finland for good: “Ten years ago I wouldn’t have believed that I would seriously consider moving abroad,” he wrote.

“Finland is impossible to live in for certain kinds of people who have high incomes and wealth,” the furious Finn continued.

Reima can seek some solace in the fact that his fine hasn’t broken any records; in 2012 an executive at Nokia received a whopping 116,000-euro fine for speeding on his Harley-Davidson.

Do you think the Finnish fine is fine, or in your opinion this is an unfair system that punishes rich people? Let us know in the comments section below.