A member of parliament once told me there wasn’t a friend or foe in the House of Commons who hadn’t at some stage been pictured in a local newspaper looking anxiously at a pothole. I thought about curating a montage of all 650 such photographs and entering this work of art for the Turner prize. But I couldn’t be bothered with doing the legwork to find them all. A quick search now yields a bizarre example of the genre, featuring a happy-looking Theresa May – wearing Converse! – on the Berkshire Live website three years ago. The headline reads: “Former PM Theresa May pictured smiling and relaxed on pothole duty in her Maidenhead constituency”. Well, thanks for taking an interest, Ms May, but may I respectfully suggest that a look of concern rather than happiness might be more appropriate here?
I know this is pothole season, what with all the entirely predictable cold and rain and whatnot, but it seems to me there are more of the things than ever before. I accept this might be because of my age. Potholes – like poor grammar, the youthfulness of police officers and lights left on – are, after all, the kind of thing you notice more as you get older.
