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21 February 2024

This England: What a stink

This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain – has run in the NS since 1934.

By New Statesman

A Welsh translation error has caused drivers to be directed to “town egg gas” instead of the town of Monmouth. The mistake was spotted on the A449 near the Usk Interchange in Monmouthshire.

Trefynwy, which is Welsh for Monmouth, has been misspelled as “Trefwynwy”, which directly translates to “town egg gas”. The Welsh government said it was making arrangements for the sign to be changed.
BBC Wales (Daragh Brady)

The hole package

A driver was stopped by police in West Yorkshire after using flowery paper and parcel tape to fix a hole in his car. The silver Toyota Yaris hatchback owner was reported but Bradford officers called his quick fix the “highlight of the evening”. The car has been banned by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
Metro (Amanda Welles)

Auto ban

A driver in Knaresborough has handed himself into the police after he called them to say he was “drink-driving and doesn’t know what he is doing”. Police received a call from a man to say that he had had a heavy weekend. The Force Control Room immediately sent officers to the area.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: “Well it’s not every day that a suspected drink driver dobs themselves in to the police. A roadside breath test was carried out and the driver blew 118 at the side of the road – the legal limit is 35.” The man remains in custody.
Harrogate Advertiser (Oliver Beard)

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[See also: This England: Send in the artillery]

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This article appears in the 21 Feb 2024 issue of the New Statesman, Fractured Nation