MANY drivers are getting hot and bothered over news that police are introducing more speed cameras and cracking down on speeding generally. "A pox on taxing cameras", "Driving us out" and "Stop this car conspiracy" were just some of the headlines on articles denouncing the plans this week.

Police should be out there catching burglars, not harassing decent citizens like us, they complained. Tell that to the parents of 11-year-old Paul Mennie, mown down outside his front door in Manchester this week by a car travelling at twice the 30mph speed limit. He was hit with such force he was catapulted through the windscreen of an oncoming Transit van. Where a burglar takes a TV or video, a speeding driver may take a life. If we have got our priorities right, shouldn't we be thankful police are doing more? People all over the country joined large-scale protests over paedophiles in our communities after a number of appalling child murders, but the reality is speeding drivers cause far more death and injury on our streets every year. So why don't we all get a bit more worked up about it?

MOST women are regular liars, fibbing about everything from bank balances to love affairs, according to a survey. Among the top fibs were: "No, your bum doesn't look big in that," "Sorry I'm late, I got held up in traffic," and "I've got a headache." But how do you think people would react if we started telling the truth? I suspect "Your bottom's huge," "I couldn't be bothered to get up," and "Leave me alone, I can't stand the sight of you" wouldn't go down as well.

KATE Winslet has used a facial analyst to help her lose weight. Such experts "read" your skin, eyebrows and lips to discover the diet that's right for you. It is, apparently, an ancient art and, now that it has become so fashionable, a lucrative one too. But no matter how much we pay to follow the latest diet fad, all of them come down to the same thing, even if dressed up in different language. It may be boring, but if we want to lose weight, we have to eat less and/or exercise more. I could have told Kate that for free.

AS summer draws to a close and the nation gets back to work, psychiatrists have discovered a new syndrome - we are increasingly depressed at the thought of August ending. At the same time, we are apparently returning from holiday suffering from "beach envy", with thousands turning to cosmetic surgeons in an attempt to look more like the slim, toned bodies we envy on exotic beaches. Why not look on the bright side? As nights draw in and the weather turns, we can all cover up in huge, woolly jumpers and big winter coats - a whole ten months before we have to bare our flesh again.

SHELTER'S charity stunt - Strip 4 Shelter - asking people to wear their favourite team's kit to work or school on September 14 to raise money for the homeless, is both thoughtless and insulting. The adverts show a youngster wearing the sort of football top, costing about £45, that so many children pester parents for. Encouraging schoolchildren to wear expensive sports fashion items, which make huge amounts of money for big clubs, is a bizarre way to promote the needs of those who don't even have a home.

Published: Friday, August 31, 2001