Scandal of women jockeys and the one-armed washer-up

Everybody loves an oppressed minority. It's incumbent on us as a civilised nation to do so, although to quite what extent we would be wise to go in championing their cause is a matter for debate.

People who remember forgettable sitcoms of the 1970s will remember Albert Riddle, the one-armed washer-up who caused all manner of calamity in Robin's Nest, given his obvious shortfall in qualifications for a job best suited to a man (or woman) able to create a vigorous plate/tea towel interface at will.

In real life, actor David Kelly was Irish, talented and two-armed; in the programme he was Irish, thick (two qualities often inter-linked in the comedy of the time) and useless and dropped a lot of crockery, but the couple who employed him in the restaurant of the title stuck with him, out of a sense of pity and social obligation.