SOMETHING awful has happened this week.

My commute, which previously took about 15 minutes, has now doubled in length.

What is the reason for this I wonder?

Hmmm, could it be that the nippers are back at school?

Now, a lady never reveals her age, but back when I was knee-high to a grass hopper (and probably smaller in my case as I'm "vertically challenged") we had to walk to and from the classroom every day.

If I’d asked my parents for a lift to school, the answer would have begun with N and ended in O.

It would seem these days that no child in Bolton walks, based on the sheer volume of traffic now on the roads every morning.

But if, as the experts insist, we're facing a childhood obesity crisis, wouldn't it be sensible to get kids (only those old enough to do it safely) to walk to school?