In today’s ‘this is why we can’t have nice things’ news: Orangina.
You know Orangina. You’ll have seen bottles of it, chilled and gently glistening temptingly in a shop, where you might have thought how nice it would be to shake the bottle, wake the drink. Last week, I thought the same, but I was wrong, because it has sweeteners in it, and they make me pull a strange face. I’m aware this isn’t new news.
The recipe was changed last year to include sweeteners, in a move to circumnavigate a tax on very sugary food and drinks. I just hadn’t noticed until now. I don’t want to unfairly single out the orangey popster: Orangina isn’t alone, as fizzy pop fans will know. Laws being made, as they are, to protect the lowest common denominator, the sugar tax was introduced because too many people were consuming too much of the stuff, which gave drinks makers the choice of raising prices or reducing sugar levels. Many took the latter.
Which brings me to the North Coast 500, the 500-mile tourist loop taking in some of the most beautiful parts of Scotland. Intended by those who conceived it to be Britain’s answer to America’s Route 66 – to pull tourists and their money into one of the loveliest, quietest and least populated parts of this island – it’s a route that only uses roads that were there already. But as a marketing activity, it has worked superbly. It’s thought 30,000 people have driven, biked or cycled the route since it was conceived in 2015.
It hasn’t taken long, though, for this great idea, neatly executed, to have become a victim of its success. Part of the problem is that people are hopeless drivers, with some so slow they’re holding up locals, while others are attempting to set some kind of lap record: “It’s not the Indy 500, it is not the Le Mans 24 Hours...” the North Coast 500 is compelled to stress on the road safety section of its website. There is also litter, insufficient parking, and at peak times accommodation so busy that people are wild camping, with the grizzly implications this has on ‘sanitation’. A University of Stirling report found that 15% to 20% of locals have ‘withdrawn’ in some way from their enjoyment of the area.
This month, police have reported that somebody is routinely spreading roofing nails on part of the route, with at least four recorded incidents in the past eight months, which, if you ride a motorbike, is a pretty chilling proposition, even if you never ride very fast. At least when other people drink too much sugar, we just get a weird aftertaste. Here, somebody has decided that other people’s enjoyment of the area is spoiling their own so much that they are literally prepared to kill over it.
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nice
money, unfortunately not enough for everything. you always have to choose from something
Spoilt ? The swetners have
Spoilt ? The swetners have improved it - I d rather have sweetners than sugar - cant stand the horrid flemmy aftertaste sugar leaves, plus sugar makes you thristy, so you buy more sugary drinks - thats wy the manufacturers love to use it.
Good and not so good..
Having over the last thirty years travelled most of Scotland’s Roads up In the North I can honestly say it has some of the best scenery you’ll ever see, yes, I know, there’s just as good in the rest of the UK. I have never come across Drivers doing silly speeds because most of the most scenic are single track with passing places and you daren’t drive over 30mph, as for Nails on the Road, well, I hope they catch whoever does it, it puts the locals in a bad light.
Why don't fat people
just eat and drink less of these things instead of requiring them to be spoilt for the rest of us?
?
er...why do you think they got fat in the first place?
You are not fat?...then you
You are not fat?...then you must be stupid, ignorant and generally thoroughly unpleasant to share a postcode with. The first four letters of your name should be followed by another four letters...can you guess, given your ignorance, what they are?.
Come on now!
Laddies laddies!, that’s Scottish for Boys boys!, put your Handbags away an play nice, we’re all Adults on here an personal attacks aren’t nice, also, let’s talk about the actual topic.....
@ FMS
This is a motoring themed website. We're here to read about and discuss MOTORING. Granted, you know fuck all about anything related to cars, so nobody expects you to post anything meaningful. But still, you might have an opinion about cars and other motoring related topics. In which case, share it. If not, and you just want to post pointless attacks on other people's comments (does that make you feel like a big man?), then, with all due respect, piss off. I'm sure your mum would like you to do the dishes.
@jason_recliner
Exactly. FMS rarely (never?) contributes any constructive thoughts of his own, but sits there waiting to throw random abuse around. It's not clever and its not funny.