OK! Jokes about bananas aside, there was a recent story in the Grauniad to suggest that EC regulation may not be all bad.
It seems clear to me, when sober anyway, that the way to a calm sea and a prosperous voyage is to start at sea level.
The bloody Belgians and nasty Netherlanders could not agree.
Inspire (www.ec-gis.org/inspire/), a European directive, seeks to end the situation in which neighbouring countries cannot make plans to deal with common issues because their national geographical databases do not line up. These differences can be as basic as the height of sea level. For example, notes Dr Max Craglia of the European commission's joint research centre in Ispra, Italy, there is a two-metre difference between Belgium and the Netherlands in the official height of low tide - essential data for flood prevention.Michael Cross, Thursday July 27, 2006, makes the point that, of course, the perfidious Brits are trying to kill this at birth!
Obviously what the Brits want is a measure of compromise and the bloody Belgians have to drop the height of low tide by 1 metre and the nasty Netherlanders have to raise their sights and sea level by 1 metre; or make that 39.37 inches if you would.
I see the Commissioner for Sea Level in the distance festooned by white pullovers, hats and wrap around sun glasses, crying -
"Over"!
Is it time for tea already?
