The standard preamble to all marine weather bulletins is: ‘Welcome to the marine weather report. Please be aware that wind speeds may be 40 per cent higher than predicted and wave heights may be twice the height.’

Imagine, if you will, who else in the country could possibly get away with such margins of error!

‘Excuse me, madam, as your doctor I have to caution you that during this operation I may cut off 40 per cent more than needed and you may end up 50 per cent shorter than when you came in!’

For those of us earning a living from the...