UNDER THE BONNET


I have just telephoned my local Ford garage, to be told that the cost of servicing my five-year-old Mondeo will be £35 per hour. And what a bargain this is compared to the prices that would be charged by a franchised dealership.



I have also just read Lord Carter's review of legal aid procurement, to find that if I go to the police station to represent someone accused of murder or rape, I will be paid the princely sum of £224 inclusive of travel and VAT. If I attend the police station for, say, 16 hours, this will work out at £14 per hour.



At no stage am I likely to ask my Ford mechanic questions about the possibility of life imprisonment, or whether servicing my car could result in loss of my job, my reputation or my family. To be fair, these topics have never arisen in conversation with any car mechanics I have dealt with in the past.



However, they are likely to crop up in a conversation I have with the next person I deal with accused of murder or rape.



Do your readers have any details on how long it would take for me to retrain as a car mechanic?



NP Tweddle, Townshends, Coventry