PETER RHODES on minstrels, speed limits and the puzzling size of headlines

I came across a fascinating online essay by a US neuroscientist explaining why stupidity is an existential threat to America. He declares: “The cold hard truth is that there are a lot of stupid people in the world, and their stupidity presents a constant danger to others.” I agree with him. I encounter a lot of stupid people. And none of them agrees with me.

What will happen to the 20mph speed limits imposed over vast swathes of Wales? I suspect after a flurry of terror, they will be ignored. Drivers break existing 20mph limits in risky areas such as town centres and schools. If Joe Petrolhead thinks it's fine to cruise through a school's 20mph limit at kiddy-collection time doing 35mph, why would he observe a 20mph limit on a deserted suburban road at 3am? These new limits will be broken a million times a day and police will not have the resources to enforce them. So why is the Welsh government so hell-bent on creating them? I wonder whether the speed-awareness racket is in the frame. This £200 million-a-year industry demands a constant supply of speeders to keep growing and make money from courses. The lower the speed limit, the more customers. Gwaith da os gallwch ei gael, as they probably say in Porthmadog. (“Nice work if you can get it”).

A friend who clears houses came across a collection of old theatre programmes including one for Coventry Theatre's 1967 performance of The Black & White Minstrel Show. Today, the images of a show which once attracted 20 million TV viewers are grotesque and hurtful. Whatever were we thinking back then? You could almost argue a case for re-screening these shows, just to remind us how bad things were - and how far we have come.