WHAT will they target next?

Many people will have had this thought when hearing that the EU was going to ban vacuum cleaners above a certain power rating. This ban is now in place.

I understand it’s all to do with protecting the environment by reducing the amount of power used by households.

The General Manager is not convinced the EU has got it right when it comes to vacuum cleaners.

Her experience is that a powerful cleaner does the job more quickly because a less powerful example may have to be run over the same area a number of times before it has sucked up all the dust and whatever else.

She admits her thinking may be wrong, but she’s simply stating her experience.

Those who have owned dogs, especially German Shepherds with longish hair, will be aware that vacuums have to work hard in their homes.

That is why we have had umpteen cleaners, including one so powerful it nearly lifted the floorboards. Almost all had a short life, with a couple giving up the ghost a month or so after the warranty expired.

Returning to the EU, somewhere in Brussels there must be a large building, perhaps without a name on the door, which is occupied by hundreds of bureaucrats sucking their pencils while trying to figure out things to ban.

Almost certainly someone will be considering restricting the thickness of Wellington boots to cut back on rubber production.

He or she may even be thinking of taking matters further by making it mandatory for Wellingtons to be made of a bio-degradable material that washes away when coming into contact with water.

The person at the next desk may be toying with the idea that curbing the decibels created by bagpipes might somehow make our planet more green. Meanwhile, those who got the power limitation on vacuum cleaners will be pushing for an outright ban on such machines so carpet cleaning in the future may involve sucking on drinking straws.

You may think I’m joking but wait and see what the Brussels bureaucrats come up with next.