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Fourth Estate
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Copyright © Jenny Paschall 1996
Illustrations © Andy Hunt 1996
Jenny Paschall asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Photoset in Linotron Goudy Old Style by Rowland Phototypesetting Limited
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
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Source ISBN: 9780006387138
Ebook Edition © JUNE 2016 ISBN: 9780008192105
Version: 2016-09-27
CONTENTS
Kangaroo Court – Animals In The Dock
‘One for the road’ always seemed to be such a friendly farewell, at least before the drink driving laws were enforced. In fact, the phrase has a much more sinister meaning, originating from the days of public hangings. When a condemned prisoner left Newgate Prison on his way to the gibbet, he would be put on a cart which would stop at every pub along the route. Each publican would give the prisoner a free drink – One for the Road. Usually by the time the gibbet and the hangman came into view, the condemned man was far too drunk to care about his fate.
Love-struck drivers beware: the lawmakers have considered you when devising codes for the roads. Drivers in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, for example, are prohibited from kissing a companion while driving on winding roads – obviously you’re safe to snog as long as the road ahead is straight! In Detroit, Michigan, it is illegal to make love in a car unless it is parked on the couple’s own property, while taxi drivers who have sex in the front seat of their vehicles during their working shifts are breaking the law in Springfield, Massachusetts.
In Bologna, Italy, a special law applies to prostitutes who drive. It states that a prostitute can, ‘drive a car carefully and at the same time lead a scandalous life’.
Bologna isn’t the only city to concern itself with the decency of its drivers. In Athens it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle on public roads if you are ‘poorly dressed’ or ‘un-bathed’. The lawmakers of Pocatello, Idaho, have taken things one step further, issuing a law that reads: ‘It is prohibited for pedestrians and motorists to display frowns, grimaces, scowls, threatening and glowering looks, gloomy and depressed facial appearances, generally all of which reflect unfavourably upon the city’s reputation.’
In Springfield, Ohio, it is unlawful to clean and dust the interior of a car while it is being driven down a city street.