Peter Rhodes: Trains before drains

AFTER my recent item on car-tax evasion soaring since they scrapped paper discs, a Jersey reader points out that cars on the island have to display an insurance disc, and car tax is included in the price of fuel. He wonders why Britain doesn't do the same. Because it is far, far too sensible.

PEDANT corner. Spare me the emails, please. I am fully aware that car tax is officially known as vehicle excise duty. It's still car tax.

WE need safe, secure, flood-proof homes on high, well-drained plots. We do not need to trim a piffling 20 minutes off the rail journey time from London to Birmingham. As Cumbria drowns, our beloved leaders are still preparing to spend £50,000 million or more on HS2. What a monumentally misguided set of priorities. Our grandchildren will think we were mad.

THE most fascinating social-network development of the past few weeks is not the endless re-tweeting of "You ain't no Muslim, Bruv" but the online growth of ex-Muslim organisations for those who want out. Why not? Millions of people who were born and raised as Christians and Jews have quietly renounced the faith of their forefathers and the sky has not fallen in. It is perfectly possible to lead a decent, compassionate life without signing up to the fatwas of ayatollahs, the rage of barmy bishops or the hatred of rabid rabbis. Agnostics may not be perfect but they never behead other people for being the wrong sort of agnostic.

AND as the dust settles on the argument over who made the best speech in the Commons debate, I'm sticking with Margaret Beckett who declared: "I invite the House to consider how we would feel and what we would say if what took place in Paris happened in London, if we had explicitly asked France for support and France had refused." My only reservation is that the last time the Entente Cordiale was invoked so passionately we ended up in the First World War.

WAR produces some very odd maxims. Take this, from a Scottish website: "The most powerful weapon we have against Daesh is our contempt." Yup. Nothing deflects a Kalashnikov bullet quite like a really good sneer.

THEN there's this exercise in the bleedin' obvious, from a Guardian columnist: "Let's be honest about terrorist attacks. They make us feel scared." Quite so. And those bears are still heading for the woods.

MEANWHILE, a three-way tussle has broken out over who owns the San Jose, a Spanish treasure galleon sunk in 1708. It has been discovered in deep water off the coast of Colombia and is reckoned to contain about £1,000 million worth of gold and jewels. Colombia has claimed ownership but this is disputed by the US salvage company which located the wreck. Spain is also said to be considering a claim. But hang on a minute. Who was responsible for putting the San Jose in its present position, thus ensuring that the wreck and its fabulous contents would remain undisturbed, and steadily appreciating in value, for 300 years? It was the Royal Navy. If Britain doesn't get a share of the loot there is no justice.

A FAR more likely outcome is that David Cameron will have to apologise to Spain for sinking their ship. We live in an age of grovelling.