Nanny Bans Brunel

Nanny seems to be getting above herself; not only does she assume that she has the power to mould the way that we act and think in the present, but now in a display of pure ego she is trying to alter the past.

Nanny's friends at Heinemann, the publishers, have decided to don the mantle of "Time Lords" and try to alter the past.

Specifically they are very concerned about Isambard Kingdom Brunel, one of Britain's finest engineers, and his habit of smoking 40 cigars a day.

That's an impressive input!

Anyhoo, we all know what Nanny thinks about smoking, Heinemann have decided that photos of the Brunel with his trademark cigar are simply not acceptable anymore.

Specifically they are gunning for the photo taken by Robert Howlett of Brunel, standing in front of the SS Great Eastern with a cigar in his mouth.

Heinemann have recently published an educational book called The Life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel; the photo on the front is Howlett's, yet is it s "sans" cigar.

Heinemann have adopted the old Stalinist trick of editing out parts of photos of which they disapprove. They claim that the cigar has been erased, because teachers and school librarians will not buy books for young children if the covers picture people smoking.

Andrew Kelly, director of Brunel 200, a body organising celebrations of Brunel's life in 2006 to mark the bicentenary of his birth, said:

"The publishers say they feel the image could offend some teachers of young children.

This is ridiculous. It's daft. They have even had to change the shape of his mouth to do it."

I dare say there will come a time when stove pipe hats will be considered to be a danger as well, and as such Brunel will lose his.

You can no more disinvent your past, than you can disinvent the wheel.