Not worth the candle
James Forsyth 3:51pm
The full absurdity of the health and safety culture is brought home by this story in The Sunday Times.
A chap was taking his date to the champagne bar at St Pancras for her birthday and so asked if he could bring a candle for them to put on a cake for her. This is the email he received in response: “I have asked the station operations if we would be allowed to have a lit candle at the champagne bar for a birthday cake and they have said that we will have to submit a risk assessment form stating what the risk will be to the bar and the station, and what we will put in place to combat any possible risks.
“The risk assessment form will then be put to Mike Page (head of station operations).” So, the date went ahead but without the candle. The couple subsequently split up.
Previous
Comments
Ann
April 13th, 2008 4:57pmOh, you think this is bad? What about the navy not being allowed to detain pirates since that would breach their 'human rights'? We are truly governed by the certifiably insane.
Bob
April 13th, 2008 7:16pmI remember the days that Piracy was a capital offence (wait a minute, that was only a decade ago - how long life under Labour seems)
simon hb
April 13th, 2008 7:33pmThis story has nothing to do with health and safety, and everything to do with risk averse insurance companies, surely?
Ben
April 13th, 2008 7:47pmI visited my home town of Stamford, Lincolnshire, at the weekend. Before I got the train back, I noticed that the access over the tracks (previously used by people with pushchairs, in wheelchairs etc) had been gated off. According to the sign, no person was to cross there without a member of staff (this is not a permanently manned station). If anyone was unable to use the bridge, they had to travel to a station in the opposite direction (ie Peterborough or Oakham), change trains and come back on the correct side. All this despite a perfectly adequate warning light ("cross tracks only when light shows"). Of course, anyone found breaching this edict (by whom?) was threatened with being turned in to the Transport Police for trespass...
Max Kaye
April 13th, 2008 7:59pmCrap, flash place for a date, obviously.
Our navy don't detain pirate because of fears that the pirates will confiscate our sailors ipods....
Utter disbelief
April 13th, 2008 8:55pmThe world's gone mad
Augustus
April 13th, 2008 11:23pmHe certainly blew it. What kind of moron asks permission to bring a candle? I would have just tipped the waiter for the cake, produced a candle from my pocket, lit it with a lighter, and asked her to make a wish.
Frank Pulley
April 14th, 2008 1:11amAugustus
Gotcha! You obviously write the Dear Mary column on the back page; I guessed it was a man - far too pragmatic to be a woman.
Augustus
April 15th, 2008 1:47pmLol!