Andrew Dickens Afternoons

So here I am back at work after a long weekend. At home things are great in the garden. My wisteria has burst into life, my sage has a beautiful display of purple flowers and my grapevine is sprouting leaves daily.Meanwhile yesterday I was off on bereavement leave as I farewelled a friend who was a very strong influence on me early in my broadcasting career. A man who fertilised a love or words and humour. The man who introduced me to the technical nuance of Monty Python and a man who had no enemies in the whole world.So the mixture of Spring and sadness has kept me away from the hurly burly of the news. But that said almost every moment I looked at the news there was always one word in the headlines and that word is petrol.It shows you just how pivotal this hydrocarbon derivative has become to the functioning of human civilisation. Petrol, water, food and shelter. The four pillars of life.For days our country has been buzzing about the price of petrol. It’s all been said and I have little to add. But I will