Nanny state stumbles over gate safety

ONE WONDERS how far the nanny state can go in terms of nanny-ing us. I was amazed when an obliging digger driver said he couldn’t dig a pond deeper than two feet in our yard.

The reason? Health and Safety. He couldn’t dig deeper for fear a child would fall in and drown. I remarked that we’d raised seven children without drowning one of them. We’d hardly start now.

Last month, I was trying to get a modest length of estate fencing. This fencing is encountered in parks and is made of iron, painted black. It stands 39 inches high with a round top rail, four flat rails beneath and supporting posts every four feet. Seeking a supplier, I phoned Killarney National Park and asked where they got theirs.