Today’s Nanny State: Music Fine and Ancient Tradition

Surprise! England gone wild!

A mechanic faces a £2,000 fine if customers drive into his garage with their car radios on – because he does not have a licence to listen to music.

Len Attwood does not have a radio himself and has been forced to put up a sign in his workshop asking punters to turn off theirs as when they enter.

The 61-year-old has accused the Performing Rights Society, which issues licences to companies who want to play the radio for their customers, as ‘heavy handed’.

Mr Attwood, from Witham, Essex, said: ‘It’s total madness. The radio stations are paying to play the music and we have to pay to listen to it – they are taking with both hands.’

That’s about a $3,000 fine.

And up the road in Scotland

IT’S an ancient tradition from a time when there was no such thing as a compensation claim.

But now Orkney’s famous Kirkwall Ba’ Game could become the latest health and safety victim.

Every Christmas and New Year, locals divide into the Uppies and Doonies to take part in the annual game of street football, which sees large packs of men form scrums to drive the ball, and their opponents, down the street.  

But now it faces a fight for survival after fears over insurance problems for property damage and potential legal action over serious injuries.

For the first time in the game’s history, this year organisers read a safety warning to players before the ball was thrown up, partly in a bid to stave off legal action in the event of damage or injury which could ultimately see the game scrapped. 

Coming from a Barry Commandment to a city near you. Wait till you step out for that Thanksgiving Day football match with your friends and relatives. You might be stopped for “your health.” 

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3 Responses to “Today’s Nanny State: Music Fine and Ancient Tradition”

  1. Duncan says:

    … Performing Rights Society, which issues licences to companies who want to play the radio for their customers …

    All I can say about that is, what the fuuuuuuq? You’d think you would want your music to be out there so people would purchase it to listen to later. Completely retarded and backwards…

    For the second, I blame lawyers. Lawyers have to make money to put food on the table for their families, pay for their 8 bed-room house, their Infiniti G20 and their school loans, and that means litigate, and drive the settlement prices up to get a bigger chunk. Damn lawyers. I know the beverage I am about enjoy is hot, it’s called coffee, and you usually drink it hot.

    And when the government is paying for your medical bills as in England, then they will inevitably start working on telling you what you can do and if it is too risky…

  2. Can’t wait till they import this over here. We will all be driving around to the delicate sound of silence.

  3. Duncan says:

    If they do import this freedom and liberty crushing philsophy and policies over here, what worries me is that there are no Congressman/Senators/President, or even States for that matter, that have any balls to tell the Executive or Legislators to go pound sand. Nope. None at all.

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